Consultant Psychologist - Maternity Cover | South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

The Richmond and Wandsworth Community Drug and Alcohol Service has been run by SLaM, as lead provider in partnership with non-statutory organisations: We Are With You, St Mungo’s and Community Drug & Alcohol Recovery Services (CDARS) since April 2020 as part of the Richmond & Wandsworth Consortium. The current Consultant Psychologist is going on maternity leave in mid-July and this post is for a full time maternity cover for 12 months fixed term.

Fundamental to the Consortium’s ethos is therapeutic optimism about what can be achieved in recovery, combined with expertise regarding best-evidenced approaches, innovation and quality improvement, piloting new developments in the field (e.g. Buvidal), motivated and cohesive multi-disciplinary working and training, and co-production with SU peer networks and partner agencies. We build on our ability to positively transform wider social, medical and mental health systems, aiming for integrated clinical-recovery excellence, and the highest standards of innovative care for people that struggle with the full spectrum of substance use disorders (SUDs) - licit and illicit, prescribed, over-the-counter and the range of associated mental, physical and social conditions related to problematic use.

We champion Freedom to Speak Up locally, as well as actively ensuring an inclusive and anti-racist stance within the workplace and the work we do.

· To lead the strategy, planning and management of the delivery of model-informed psychological approaches in the context of a specialist substance use disorders treatment service.

· To work closely as part of a Senior Management Team (working with Consultant Psychiatrists and Borough Lead Manager).

· To offer leadership more broadly across the treatment service including contributing to clinical governance, service developments and relationships with key partners and Commissioners.

· To be responsible to theProfessional Head of Psychology and Psychotherapy in Addictions for the monitoring and implementation of professional standards in the practice of psychological therapies and psychosocial interventions.

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· To contribute to enabling other staff disciplines and the service as a whole to flourish by working to create a psychologically informed environment.

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· To share responsibility for good clinical governance, quality improvement and appropriateness of the work of practitioners in the service.

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· To take a role in staff support, containment, and development across the service, working closely with Senior Management Team, Corporate Psychology and Psychotherapy to support colleagues and ensure all staff in the service have access to evidence-based support in relation to service delivery. To participate, as a recipient, in staff support work when appropriate.

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust(SLaM) provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well as substance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London and are part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. Our scope is unique because it is built on three major foundations: care and treatment, science and research, and training.

SLaM employ around 5000 staff and serve a local population of 1.1 million people. We have more than 230 services including inpatient wards, outpatient and community services. Currently, we provide inpatient care for approximately 5,300 people each year and treat more than 45,000 patients in the community in Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark; as well as substance misuse services for residents of Richmond, Wandsworth, Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich.

By coming to work at SLaM, you will gain experience of being part of an organisation with a rich history and international reputation in mental health care. You will have access to professional development and learning opportunities and have the chance to work alongside people who are world leaders in their field. In addition, our working relationship with King's Health Partners allows those working at the Trust to get involved in academic research.

Key Responsibilities

KR 1 Clinical and Client Care

· To plan, organise and ensure the deliveryof psychological/substance use services in the Consortium.

· To plan and organise the integrated delivery of the service with other agencies and service providers and ensure co-ordination of the offer with other services within the treatment systems (Richmond & Wandsworth).

· To ensure robust governance arrangements are in place to reflect this integrated offer.

· To provide specialist psychological therapy assessments, formulations and interventions focused on supporting the recovery of clients with substance use disorders.

· To provide culturally appropriate psychological therapy interventions/substance use offers with carers or families of referred clients when required.

· To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans

· To ensure that all services provided are acceptable and accessible to the diverse communities which make up the patient population across both Boroughs.

· To foster the development of psychologically informed work across the Consortium recovery services and wider interagency treatment system.

KR 2 Responsibilities forteam or service clinical functioning

· To work with the leads/managers of SLaM, South-West London & St Georges’ Services (SWLSTG), and other relevant key partner agencies (including for examples Police, Probation, Social Services, IAPT etc) to plan and deliver joint services that are integrated around the needs of service users in treatment with the Consortium.

· To co-ordinate (and chair) team and service meetings for the service to ensure effective functioning and review when appropriate.

· To ensure the effective working of the team or service and a psychologically informed framework for the service.

· To take a lead in ensuring the team or service’s ability to deliver accessible and acceptable services to diverse local communities.

· To be proactive in challenging discrimination and support the development of culturally competent services.

· To advise other members of the service on specialist psychological care/good substance use practice with clients.

· To liaise with referrers, GPs and other professionals concerned with clients in order to develop and review care plans.

· To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual and group work and work with other team members.

· To hold clinical oversight and over-arching responsibility for quality assurance and governance leadership of the Consortium group programme and psychosocial interventions.

KR 3 Policy and service development

· To interpret relevant policies and guidance for application in the service and be responsible for policy development and implementation

· To initiate, implement and ensure appropriate service developments to improve the quality and delivery of services in the service and in partner services.

· To ensure the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities.

· To participate in, or lead when appropriate, Trust and Directorate (SLaM Addictions CAG), South London Partnership strategic development and implementation of new initiatives (e.g. national guidelines), through membership of committees and/or working parties.

· To be responsible for applying clinical governance standards within the service and ensure that these are maintained and improved.

· To take a lead role in ensuring that services to clients are of a high quality and are managed efficiently, according to the overall requirements of the Trust, NHS and government guidance and standards.

KR 4 Care or management of resources

· To be responsible for the management of team resources.

· To ensure that the service has sufficient materials and equipment.

· To be authorised signatory for testing materials for the service.

· To ensure the cleanliness and safe functioning and use of equipment that will be used by clients or other persons.

· To monitor and advise clients on the safe use of materials and processes.

· To ensure adequate confidential and safe storage for artefacts produced during the therapy process in line with professional guidelines.

· To be responsible for obtaining, storing and maintaining all necessary materials and equipment for the provision of therapy in work setting within budgetary constraints.

· To ensure that the post-holder has sufficient resources by estimating future needs and requesting or ordering supplies as needed.

KR 5 Management and supervision

· To deputise when appropriate for the Professional Head of Psychology and Psychotherapy for Addictions.

· To provide leadership to psychological practitioners and other professionals in the service.

· To ensure appropriate systems are in place for the clinical and professional supervision of psychological practitioners and other staff in the service.

· To lead recruitment of psychological therapies staff across the Consortium services.

· To lead appraisals of, and personal development plans for psychological practitioners and other staff (in conjunction with their professional supervisors) in the service.

· To be responsible for the management of the staff in the service,including allocation and review of work, supervision and any performance reviews.

· To provide professional, clinical and management supervision to less senior psychological practitioners, assistants and trainees and the psychological work of other professions as appropriate and having completed the relevant training.

KR 6 Teaching and Training

· To organise access to, and provide specialist clinical placements for trainees and applied psychological practitioners and other staff as directed by the SLP

· To be responsible for planning, organising, and the delivery of teaching and training of pre and post- qualification psychological practitioners and specialist training to other professions.

· To contribute to the development of the knowledge and skills base within the service by maintaining an active awareness of current developments in psychological therapy and by implementing knowledge gained in practice.

· To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.

This advert closes on Monday 11 May 2026