About this role
Job summary
We are seeking a clinical or counselling psychologist with extensive strategic, clinical and professional leadership and governance experience at senior organisational level.
As Director of Psychological Professions and Psychological Provision, you will provide Trust-wide leadership for psychological therapies, assessments, interventions and psychologically informed care across our mental health and community services, aligning provision with Trust priorities and national policy.
Reporting to the Executive Director of Nursing and Therapies, you will be our most senior psychological professional. You will set strategic direction and lead professional governance and assurance to continuously improve the quality, safety and effectiveness of psychological provision and the management of professional risk.
You will lead complex transformation to enhance access, equity and outcomes, and develop a sustainable, diverse workforce equipped to meet current and future needs. Working with colleagues and partners, you will ensure psychological evidence and expertise inform strategy, models of care and investment decisions.
The post is based at London House, Bracknell, with work across Trust sites and travel to external meetings required. Flexible and hybrid working may be available, subject to the requirements of the role and Trust policy.
Interviews will take place on Friday 11 December 2026.
Main duties of the job
You will lead Trust-wide strategy for the Psychological Professions and psychological provision, with accountability for professional governance and assurance. You will advise the Executive Team on quality, safety, effectiveness, workforce and professional risk, and act as the Trust's senior professional escalation point where standards, quality or safety are compromised.
Working across services, you will
- Oversee professional standards, registration, supervision, education and development
- Lead strategic workforce planning, working with operational and clinical leaders to align workforce supply, recruitment, retention, deployment, productivity and succession with local and national priorities
- Lead or oversee improvement, innovation and research to strengthen clinical quality, delivery models, and outcomes for psychological provision
- Lead and influence transformation, workforce redesign and new care models
- Jointly oversee psychological support for staff with the operational lead
- Advise on investment, business planning and commissioning, and manage delegated resources
- Champion co-production and partnerships with service users, carers, communities, education and system partners to improve care
- Represent the Trust locally, regionally and nationally
You will professionally manage all Consultant Lead Psychological Professionals, Consultants with Trust-wide remits, including direct management of the Consultant Head of Psychological Workforce and Training.
About us
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated 'outstanding' by the CQC, we're committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we're committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.
Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are
- Caring for and about you is our top priority
- Committed to providing good quality, safe services
- Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions
Your wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:
- Flexible working options to support work-life balance
- 27 days' annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
- Generous NHS pension scheme
- Excellent learning and career development opportunities
- 'Cycle to Work' and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
- Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
- Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
- Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality
- Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave
- Free parking across Trust sites
Job description
Job responsibilities
The must haves for this role
- 1. You will be an HCPC-registered clinical or counselling psychologist with recognised post-qualification specialist clinical qualifications, and evidence of continuing professional development, as well as leadership qualifications or substantial training relevant to a senior corporate position.
- 2. You will bring extensive strategic, governance and professional leadership experience at senior organisational level in complex healthcare environments, with substantial responsibility spanning multiple services, specialisms and professional groups.3. You will bring a strong record of:
- Leading clinical and professional practice across multiple services, specialisms and professional groups
- Professional management, supervision and leadership of consultant-level psychological professionals
- Establishing and overseeing professional governance and assurance systems, including service quality, professional standards, registration, risk management and managing professional concerns
- Managing or advising on professional conduct, capability, registration and practice concerns
- Working with Executive Directors, senior leaders and corporate governance structures to influence strategy and decision-making
- Leading complex organisational transformation and demonstrating sustainable improvements in quality, outcomes, workforce or resource use
- Strategic workforce planning and effective deployment, including workforce supply, role development, recruitment, retention, education, training and succession
- Building effective partnerships across professional, organisational and system boundaries
- Financial and business planning, developing business cases, and resource management
- Using clinical, workforce, financial and performance data to inform improvement and investment decisions
4 . You will combine clinical and professional credibility with sound judgement and the ability to influence complex organisational decisions. You will lead collaboratively and compassionately, communicate a clear strategic vision, build trusted relationships and exercise professional authority, recognising when matters require Executive escalation.
- 5. You will demonstrate a clear commitment to co-production, reducing inequalities and improving outcomes and experience for people who use services, communities and staff.
For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification. Your application is your opportunity to demonstrate to us how you meet the requirements of the role. We recognise thatAItools can support accessibility, equity and confidence for applicants. However, its important that examples and responses given in your supporting statement genuinely reflect your own experience and abilities, as these will be explored further during the selection process.AImust not be used to provide misleading or false information during any stage of the application journey.
In addition to explaining how you meet the person specification, you must complete your employment history for at least the last five years. Any experience, skills or responsibilities referenced in your supporting statement should be evidenced within your employment history. Applications that do not include sufficient employment history to support the experience claimed may not be shortlisted.
Were committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Stonewall Proud Employer, Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed.
We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please dont hesitate to call: Deborah Fulton, Executive Director of Nursing and Therapies, tel. 03002473000 / [email protected] or Dr Bridget Gemal, Director of Psychology and Psychological Therapies, tel. 07789033862 / [email protected] wholl be delighted to help.
Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible.
We have identified that this is a role where we have underrepresentation of ethnically diverse colleagues. As part of our commitment to inclusion and Unity Against Racism we offer guaranteed interviews to candidates who meet the essential criteria and identify as: Asian or Asian British, Black or Black British, Mixed and Other Ethnic Groups.
Person Specification
Education, qualifications or training
Essential
- Postgraduate doctorate in Clinical or Counselling Psychology, or approved equivalent for those who trained before 1996 or overseas, conferring eligibility for Chartered Membership of the British Psychological Society (BPS).
- Doctoral-level knowledge of research design, methodology, service evaluation and critical appraisal.
- Current registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist.
- Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to senior professional, clinical and corporate leadership.
- Recognised post-qualification specialist clinical qualifications within areas of specialism relevant to provision within the Trust, with associated specialist registration or accreditation where applicable
- Previously attained specialist registration or accreditation may be accepted where the applicant demonstrates that the associated advanced expertise has been maintained and applied through clinical, professional, supervisory or senior leadership practice. Statutory registration and any specialist registration or accreditation required for current practice must be maintained.
- Postgraduate qualification or substantial leadership and management training relevant to strategic leadership, quality improvement, programme delivery and organisational change.
Senior leadership and organisational experience
Essential
- Extensive senior strategic, clinical and professional leadership experience in NHS healthcare, working at senior level across multiple services and professions.
- Substantial responsibility for governance, workforce, quality and service development, with demonstrable influence on organisational and/or system strategy, policy and decisions.
- Substantial experience of providing professional management, supervision and leadership to senior consultant-level psychological professionals.
- Experience of leading complex organisational transformation involving multiple services and stakeholders, delivering sustainable change and using evaluation to demonstrate improvements in quality, outcomes, workforce or resource use.
- Experience of representing an organisation or profession in internal, regional and national forums and building effective partnerships across organisations, systems, professions and communities.
- Experience of leading or providing senior professional oversight of research, service evaluation, clinical audit or quality-improvement programmes, and translating findings into changes in practice, policy or service provision.
Professional practice, governance and staff support
Essential
- Experience of establishing and overseeing professional governance and assurance systems across dispersed services, covering standards, registration, quality, risk and escalation of professional concerns, with sustainable arrangements for professional leadership, supervision, appraisal and continuing professional development.
- Detailed knowledge of relevant national policy and guidance and of professional, statutory, regulatory, safeguarding, clinical-governance and employment frameworks, with experience of interpreting them and providing professional oversight and assurance of their application within healthcare organisations.
- Experience of managing or advising on complex professional conduct, capability, registration or practice concerns.
- Demonstrable advanced expertise in a relevant clinical specialism and the ability to provide authoritative consultation on exceptionally complex or high-risk psychological practice issues.
- Knowledge of evidence-based approaches to psychological support for staff, teams and organisations, including post-incident support, and the ability to provide senior professional leadership for their governance, development and evaluation.
- Experience of contributing to psychological responses to significant or major incidents.
Workforce, education and professional development
Essential
- Knowledge and experience of strategic workforce planning and effective deployment, including workforce supply, role development, recruitment and retention, education and training, career development and succession planning.
- Experience of working with universities, NHS England and other education and training partners in relation to workforce supply, placement capacity, and professional education.
- Extensive understanding of the Psychological Professions' roles, contribution, evidence base, service models, and registration and development needs across health and care systems.
Financial, business and performance leadership
Essential
- Significant experience of financial and business planning, budget and resource management, and developing business cases.
- Ability to synthesise highly complex, incomplete or conflicting clinical, workforce, financial, performance and organisational information to inform defensible strategic decisions, prioritisation and investment. Experience of developing and using outcome, quality, access and workforce measures to identify variation, lead improvement and evaluate impact.
- Understanding of NHS planning, commissioning, contracting and system partnership arrangements relevant to psychological provision.
Communication, influence and partnership working
Essential
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, presenting highly complex, sensitive or contentious information and strategic proposals clearly to Executive, professional, staff, service-user and external audiences using appropriate digital and presentation methods.
- Highly developed influencing, negotiation and conflict-resolution skills, with evidence of securing agreement across differing professional views, organisational priorities and resource constraints.
Leadership approach and personal effectiveness
Essential
- Ability to lead autonomously through complexity and ambiguity within broad organisational and professional parameters, maintaining strategic focus, managing competing priorities and recognising when matters require Executive or Board escalation.
- Demonstrable commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, with experience of meaningful co-production in strategy, workforce or service development and action to reduce inequalities in access, experience or outcomes
Additional Requirements
Essential
- Ability to travel Trust-wide and to external meetings as required to fulfil the responsibilities of the post, with reasonable adjustments considered in accordance with the Equality Act 2010.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Employer details
Employer name
Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust
Address
London House, London Road, Bracknell, RG12 2UT
Bracknell
RG12 2UT
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.berkshirehealthcare.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)