West Sussex Professional Lead for Psychological Professionals

Job summary

We are seeking an experienced and compassionate senior psychological professional to join us as Professional Lead for the Psychological Professions in West Sussex Adult and Older People's Mental Health Services. This significant divisional leadership role will shape psychologically informed care and improve outcomes across local services. The postholder will also provide Trust-wide strategic leadership for psychological professions practice in older people's mental health and dementia care. We would be especially pleased to hear from candidates with substantial expertise in working with older adults and/or people living with dementia.

The role is open to practitioner psychologists, psychological therapists and psychotherapists who meet the requirements of the relevant attached job descriptions and person specifications. We welcome applicants with senior clinical credibility, professional leadership experience and relevant expertise in adult and older people's mental health or dementia care. Candidates will also need the strategic leadership skills to influence practice across the Trust and a strong commitment to developing psychologically informed services.

Main duties of the job

This is an exciting opportunity to shape the future of psychological professions leadership across West Sussex, while also influencing the strategic development, governance and quality of psychological practice for older people across Sussex. Working as part of the divisional leadership team, and in close collaboration with the Director of Psychological Professions and senior operational and clinical colleagues, you will help ensure that psychological thinking, evidence-based practice and compassionate, trauma-informed approaches are embedded across services, in line with the Trust strategy and the Psychological Professions strategic priorities for 2025-2030.

You will provide professional leadership to registered and unregistered psychological professionals across adult and older people's community, acute and specialist services in West Sussex. A central focus will be strengthening supervision, professional development, workforce planning, recruitment, clinical governance, service improvement, research, audit and evaluation so that psychological professions are supported to improve the effectiveness, timeliness and accessibility of psychological interventions and improve outcomes for patients, carers and their families.

About us

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health, learning disability and neurodevelopmental services across diverse coastal, rural and urban communities, with strong links to partners across health and social care. In West Sussex, you will join committed multidisciplinary teams and senior leaders who want the psychological professions to be visible, valued and influential in improving care. You will work with NHS, local authority, voluntary and community partners to strengthen reflective, compassionate and inclusive approaches for adults and older people, including people living with dementia and those who support them.

The psychological professions workforce is broad, skilled and developing, with colleagues working across a wide range of roles and levels of experience, from band 4 to band 8c. This includes practitioner psychologists, CBT therapists, family and systemic psychotherapists, mental health and wellbeing practitioners and other psychological professionals working into community neighbourhood mental health teams, specialist pathways and inpatient settings.

Our Psychological Professions Strategic Plan 2025-2030 focuses on four objectives: improving the effectiveness, timeliness and accessibility of psychological interventions; improving outcomes for patients, carers and families; supporting inclusive and diverse practice; and fostering staff and team wellbeing. The postholder will provide leadership in translating these priorities into practice

Job responsibilities

As a senior professional leader, you will bring substantial clinical and professional leadership experience and the confidence to advise on complex, sensitive or contested matters. You will influence at a strategic level and support evidence-informed change across organisational boundaries. This may include contributing to complex case reviews, specialist placement or risk panels, patient safety learning responses, and discussions with commissioners, senior managers, clinical colleagues and partner agencies. You will provide authoritative psychological leadership in older peoples mental health and dementia care, maintain credibility across the wider adult pathway and hold a specialist clinical caseload relevant to your professional background and expertise.

Provide strategic and professional leadership for psychological professions across West Sussex Adult and Older Peoples Mental Health Services, together with Trust-wide strategic leadership for psychological professions practice in older peoples mental health and dementia care.

Work as part of the divisional leadership team and with senior professional leads for nursing, allied health professions and medicine to support safe, effective and sustainable services, bringing a clear psychological voice to business planning, transformation, service development and partnership working.

Lead professional governance for psychological professions across West Sussex adult and older peoples services, including supervision, appraisal, continuing professional development, job planning and standards of professional practice. Provide senior professional advice on governance and support consistent standards in older peoples mental health and dementia care across the Trust.

Support robust supervision, reflective practice and psychologically safe systems that promote compassionate, trauma-informed and inclusive care for both service users and staff.

Shape service and policy developments that strengthen psychological and psychologically informed care across adult and older peoples community, acute and specialist pathways, including prevention, early intervention, transitions, support for carers and partnership working with primary care, social care, commissioners and voluntary and community organisations.

Lead workforce planning, inclusive recruitment and professional development to build a skilled, sustainable and diverse psychological professions workforce aligned with transformation programmes and future service needs.

Champion inclusive and culturally sensitive psychological practice by embedding equality, diversity and inclusion in supervision, service development, clinical practice and divisional action planning.

Foster staff and team wellbeing through clear role expectations, wellbeing conversations, peer support, communities of practice and opportunities for psychological professionals to connect across services.

Provide expert consultation and advice to multidisciplinary colleagues, senior leaders, commissioners and partner agencies on complex psychological care, formulation, risk, service design and professional practice across adult and older peoples services, with particular leadership in older peoples mental health and dementia care.

Lead and contribute to audit, research, teaching, training, service evaluation and routine outcome measurement, using evidence, psychological theory and high-quality data to inform continuous improvement and innovation.

Hold a specialist clinical caseload and maintain advanced clinical credibility within your area of psychological practice.