Director of Psychology NHS Grampian (37.5 Hours) – Band 9

NHS Grampian continues to grow and develop our workforce; alongside wider ongoing whole system service evolution. Our organisation is dynamic, inclusive, values based and multi-disciplinary; with an ethos that promotes safe, effective, patient-centred care; and a culture that values, enables and develops our staff.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join NHS Grampian’s Senior Leadership Team in a key innovative role as the substantive Director of Psychology. This post is open to external and internal candidates and has the option of blended remote and onsite working to suit the preferred candidate’s needs.

Within the Grampian area Psychological Therapies (PT) are provided and delivered by three Health and Social Care Partnerships (Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray) and NHS Grampian hosted services including Acute and In-patient, Specialist Services and CAMHS. We are part of the North of Scotland regional network.

We are looking for a candidate who has significant experience of working in senior leadership roles and is able to evidence excellence in leading others in delivering safe and effective clinical care within Applied Psychology services. The successful candidate will be dynamic and share core values of innovation, creativity, compassion, caring and kindness in all aspects of leadership and patient care and embody these in their day to day work.

This post will take forward and lead the ongoing and collaborative organisational redesign of Applied Psychology Services to manage demand and re-shape the delivery of PT across the piste in Grampian; with the aim to have accessible, flexible and adaptive services from digital delivery through Primary Care to Specialist Mental Health and Acute Psychology Services; with a focus on excellence, innovation and high-quality care. Services will be developed in keeping with the wider objectives of the NHS Grampian Plan for the Future and will embed service user outcomes and feedback in continuous service improvement.

To be successful, the applicant will need to have a Doctorate level (or equivalent) qualification in Clinical or Applied Psychology and be registered with the HCPC. Evidence of leading and developing large services and teams, competency in complex Demand, Capacity, Activity, Queue (DCAQ) and trajectory modelling, and experience of organisational change is desirable. In addition, the successful applicant will need to demonstrate considerable experience as a Senior Consultant Psychologist with Head of Specialty managerial and leadership responsibilities as a significant and core part of current or past roles.

We look forward to the successful applicant developing further our culture of trust, respect, openness, collaboration, encouragement and integrity; and inspiring cohesion, motivation and high performance among all levels of Psychology staff, and improving the impact of Psychology in our organisation, partner agencies and community. We also look forward to the successful applicant creating an environment to improve recruitment and retention, through the development of varied career pathways, including management, teaching, research, improvement and innovation.
There are excellent opportunities for a wide range of both research, academic and clinical experience (1:1 work, family work, group work, specialist workstreams and consultation), in early intervention through to Secondary Care; taking part in local and national teaching / training; and being part of dynamic service developments at a challenging time nationally. We are an active teaching Board working alongside NES and the University of Edinburgh and we host D.Clin.Psych, Adult and Children & Young People MSC, and Enhanced Psychological Practice (EPP) trainees across services.

Tailored and supportive line management alongside one to one, peer group and multi-disciplinary supervision structures are in place to support professional reflection and growth.

Grampian, located in the North East of Scotland, has a population of over half a million. The scenery across the North East is enchanting and inspiring, from beautiful coasts to the Cairngorm Mountain range. The area offers both rural and urban based leisure, cultural and sporting activities to suit a range of interests. There is easy access to airports in both Aberdeen and Inverness. Grampian is a major centre of Education with two Universities, Aberdeen and Robert Gordon’s.

Prospective applicants are encouraged to make contact with Dr June Brown, Executive Nurse Director.

We look forward to hearing from you.