Assistant Psychologist (XR04)

Posting date:	08 July 2025
Salary:	£27,485 to £30,162 per year
Additional salary information:	£27485 - £30162 a year
Hours:	Full time
Closing date:	29 July 2025
Location:	Leeds, LS9 7TF
Company:	NHS Jobs
Job type:	Permanent
Job reference:	C9298-ATH-420

Summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a 1.0 WTE Band 4 Assistant Psychologist post at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. The role is based within the Neuropsychology Outpatients, department at St Jamess University Hospital, working with people who present with a wide range of neurological and neurosurgical difficulties. The successful candidate will support qualified psychologists in their specialist neuropsychological assessment and therapeutic work. The post-holders time will be mainly clinically-focused, but opportunities to support research and development of the service are also available. Clinical work will involve the administration and scoring of psychometric tests, conducting initial triage appointments to assess patients coming into the service, as well as delivering brief therapeutic interventions for patients with functional neurological disorders. There will also be the opportunity to support qualified clinical psychologists and CBT practitioners in the delivery of groups for patients with various neurological conditions. Receiving regular individual supervision is integral to the post, and there are opportunities to join in regular departmental meetings and group supervision. We would welcome applications from individuals with relevant qualifications who have an interest and enthusiasm to work in clinical neuropsychology. Previous experience of work in this area and of administering and scoring neuropsychological tests is desirable. PRINCIPAL DUTIES & AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY Clinical & Research 1. To undertake cognitive assessments of patients. 2. To undertake brief, structured psychological interventions. 3. To contribute to the initial screening / assessment of patients coming into the service 4. To undertake data collection, data entry and analysis. 5. To undertake searches of evidence-based literature. 6. To in the running of the research activities where required 7. To be responsible for organising and co-ordinating own workload 8. To work constructively with other staff and to be responsive and proactive in relation to supervision 9. To attend and contribute to appropriate department and project related meetings. Supervision 1. To receive regular supervision in accordance with professional practice guidelines. 2. To gain wider experience of professional psychology within the NHS over and above that provided within the principal service area where the post-holder is employed. 3. To develop skills and competencies that assist in the delivery of current duties. General 1. To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the post-holders professional manager. 2. To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing in accordance with professional codes of practice of the British Psychological Society, Trust and Department policies and procedures. 3. To undertake specific administrative duties as required. 4. To perform other duties of a similar kind appropriate to the grade, which may be required from time to time by the service. To be noted: This is not an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities and the post holder may be required to undertake other duties which fall within the grade of the job, in discussion with the manager. This job description will be reviewed regularly in the light of changing service requirements and any such changes will be discussed with the post holder. The post holder is expected to comply with all relevant Trust policies, procedures and guidelines, including those relating to Equal Opportunities, Health and Safety and Confidentiality of Information. 5. CORE BEHAVIOURS AND SKILLS A positive and professional attitude Effective communication skills Constructive working relationships Effective use of supervision Highly developed ICT skills Ability to follow and deliver a manualised treatment protocol 6. CORE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING An understanding of psychological principles An awareness of the emotional challenges experienced by patients living with physical health problems Psychometric evaluation Use of statistical programmes and analyses 7. THE LEEDS WAY VALUES Our values are part of what make us different from other trusts, so we see this as a strength, as well as a responsibility. They have been developed by our staff and set out what they see as important to how we work. Our five values are: Patient-centred Collaborative Fair Accountable Empowered All our actions and endeavours will be guided and evaluated through these values. 8. WEST YORKSHIRE ASSOCIATION OF ACUTE TRUSTS (WYAAT) Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is part of the West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts (WYAAT), a collaborative of the NHS hospital trusts from across West Yorkshire and Harrogate working together to provide the best possible care for our patients. By bringing together the wide range of skills and expertise across West Yorkshire and Harrogate we are working differently, innovating and driving forward change to deliver the highest quality care. By working for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust this is your opportunity to be a part of that change. WYAAT is the acute sector arm of the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership, one of the largest integrated care systems in the country. The Partnerships ambition is for everyone to have the best possible health and wellbeing, and the work of WYAAT, and each individual trust, supports that ambition. 9. INFECTION CONTROL The jobholder must comply at all times with the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Infection Control policies, in particular by practising Universal Infection Control Precautions. Hand hygiene must be performed before and after contact with patients and their environment. 10. HEALTH AND SAFETY / RISK MANAGEMENT All staff are responsible for working with their colleagues to maintain and improve the quality of services provided to our patients and other service users. This includes complying at all times with the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Policies, including Health and Safety policies, in particular by following agreed security and safer working procedures, and reporting incidents using the Trust Incident Reporting system 11. EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY The jobholder must comply with all policies and procedures designed to ensure equality of employment and that services are delivered in ways that meet the individual needs of patients and their families. No person whether they are staff, patient or visitor should receive less favourable treatment because of their gender, ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion etc. 12. TRAINING AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT The jobholder must take responsibility in agreement with his/her line manager for his/her own personal development by ensuring that Continuous Professional Development remains a priority. The jobholder will undertake all mandatory training required for the role. 13. COMMUNICATION & WORKING RELATIONSHIPS Liaison with lead neuropsychologist and other psychologists and CBT practitioners in the team Liaison with the wider team of neurologists, neurosurgeons and allied health professionals as required. Liaison with external services and agencies as required. SPECIAL WORKING CONDITIONS Physical Effort: The post holder will be required to move test materials i.e. the psychometric tests. Each test is not very heavy and are typically contained within a brief-case style housing. Lifting test equipment will be required each time the post holder performs an assessment. Clinical work will also require the post-holder to sit for long periods of time (typically 1 hour in duration) whilst delivering 1:1 therapy sessions or longer for psychometric testing. Therapy sessions may be in person (face-to-face) or via video consultation. The post-holder may also be required to work with a laptop and be able to move this equipment in line with their workspace. Mental Effort: Mental effort is sustained and considerable. Psychometric testing may occur over a 2-hour period. Emotional Effort: Psychology may be considered to be an emotive area. Some patients will have histories of severe emotional, physical or sexual abuse and some will be severely depressed and suicidal. Others will have experienced traumatic incidents e.g. road traffic accidents, assaults, work injuries or physical disasters. The post holder will receive regular formal supervision. The supervision acknowledges this potentially emotive component. Working Conditions: In this post there will be some exposure to patients who are intimidating and/or physically aggressive. The Department has a system of panic alarms which can be used and a departmental policy and procedure for dealing with aggressive or violent patients. The Department works closely with mental health services when required.