Director of Psychology (LW)

NHS Fife is committed to growing and developing our workforce; alongside wider ongoing whole system working and 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, empowers, supports and develops our staff.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join Fife Health and Social Care Partnership’s Senior Leadership Team in a key innovative role as the substantive Director of Psychology. This post has the option of blended remote and onsite working to suit the preferred candidate’s needs.

Within the Fife PT are provided and delivered by the Health and Social Care Partnership. The service has 12 core specialties and some sub specialties. The core services include Adult Mental Health, CAMHS, Older Adult Mental Health, Learning Disabilities, Clinical Health, Addictions, Forensic, Maternity and Neonatal, Perinatal, Physical Rehabilitation, Staff Support and Wellbeing and Digital Therapies.

The post holder will lead and operationally manage a workforce of 218 staff including clinical and counselling Psychologists, Clinical Associates, Accredited Therapists, EPPs, Assistant Psychologists, Peer Support Workers, Clinical Trainees and business enabling staff.

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 Fife; 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 NHS Fife and Fife Health and Social Care Partnership 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 service redesign and 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 across all levels of Psychology staff, and improving the impact of Psychology in our organisation, with partner agencies, in our communities and across our population. We will support the successful applicant to create 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 Universities of Edinburgh, Dundee, Stirling and St Andrews, 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.

Realise your full potential with NHS Fife

With its stunning beauty, rich history and abundance of sporting and leisure activities, Fife is a fantastic place to live and work, with an identity and a character all of its own. The cost of living here is lower than the national Scottish average and house prices offer superb value for money, providing you with a high standard of living and quality of life. The major economic and cultural hubs of Edinburgh, Stirling, Perth and Dundee are all within easy commuting distance. In Fife you really can have it all.

It’s a beautiful life

The Kingdom of Fife occupies the peninsula formed by the Firth of Forth to the south and the Firth of Tay to the north. The region’s landscape is as beautiful as it is diverse, with rolling hills, lochs and spectacular coastline. This is a place steeped in history. Dunfermline was the first capital of Scotland, home to royal inhabitants, as well as birthplace of Andrew Carnegie, steel magnate and philanthropist whose legacy lives on across the world to this day. The more recent past saw the establishment of the pits and coal mines, heavy industry whose rich heritage is still evident today in the close-knit communities of Cowdenbeath, Lochgelly and Kelty. The town of St Andrews, named after Scotland’s patron saint, sits on its own on a wide bay on our north east shores, boasting not only Scotland’s first university, but also its oldest golf club, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, which helped to establish the sport as one of Scotland’s greatest exports. Nowadays it’s Kirkcaldy and new town Glenrothes that offer the modern bases favoured by major manufacturing and services industries. Both towns are well connected to Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh and the North via the M90 motorway and are easily accessible in less than half an hour by car.

Prospective applicants are encouraged to make contact with Jillian Torrens, Head of Complex and Critical Care Service at [email protected]

NHS Fife is legally obliged to ensure all its employees are legally entitled to work in the United Kingdom. If you are not a United Kingdom (UK) or Irish National, you are required to confirm your right to work in your application. NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Fife welcomes applications from all sections of society.

We offer flexible working and family-friendly policies and fully support disabled candidates, and candidates with long-term conditions or who are neurodivergent by making reasonable adjustments to our recruitment policy and practices.

Please note the salary is pro rata for part time hours.

NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society.