Principal Clinical Psychologist (Security) REF.3026


Apply Now
 

Details

Reference number

307724

Salary

£54,495 – £58,576

Job grade

Senior Executive Officer

Contract type

Permanent

Type of role

Psychology

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Part-time, Shift Working

Number of jobs available

5

Contents

Cheltenham, London

Job summary

About Us    

MI5 and MI6 are part of the UK’s Intelligence Services. We work together to safeguard UK’s people, interests, and businesses from various threats at home, overseas, and online, including cyber-attacks, espionage, terrorism, and organised crime. Working across our vital missions, you’ll deliver impact at the heart of national security, all within a supportive and inclusive environment that allows everyone to thrive.

Job description

The Role

As a Principal Clinical Psychologist (Security), you’ll work with a number of functions in National Security Government Departments, supporting people who operate in complex, risk-based roles. Providing expert advice and consultations regarding vulnerability, resilience, and risk, this will be highly rewarding and challenging multi-disciplinary work in a fast-paced environment.

You’ll offer consultations with a number of corporate and other teams on the psychological aspects of staff security and wellbeing issues, including complex casework, and provide direct and indirect clinical assessment of individuals. Engaging with Team Leads to identify themes and issues of relevance to risk/suitability assessments and training, you’ll develop, deliver, and evaluate psychologically informed training sessions and provide psychological assessment in support of the selection of personnel for highly sensitive or demanding roles.

But your work won’t stop here. You’ll also participate in small scale research and audit projects – to inform and develop best practice approaches to your work – and engage with the wider behavioural science community to facilitate innovation and the sharing of ideas and skills. You’ll also participate in regular peer supervision and ethical practice reflection, engage in continuing professional development to meet Health & Care Professions Council and local requirements, and attend UK and international conferences relevant to your area of expertise.

Person specification

About You

You’ll have a Master’s or Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (or its equivalent, conferring eligibility for chartership with BPS) and be registered with the Health & Care Professions Council. It’s also essential that you possess significant experience of working at NHS Band 7 (or its equivalent) as a Clinical Psychologist.

Skilled at interpreting a range of information from clinical interviews and psychometry, and producing accessible formulation-driven reports, you’ll be comfortable working autonomously on clinical risk assessments and decision making. Ready to network and work with a wide range of multi-disciplinary colleagues, we’ll also expect you to be open to learning and innovation and to taking on new challenges.

Please do not deselect yourself if you feel you don’t have any direct experience of working in Government, Intelligence, or Security. If you’re an accomplished Clinical/Forensic Psychologist with strong formulation, risk assessment, and interpersonal skills, we’re keen to receive your application.

Training and Development

We’re proud of our inclusive and supportive working environment, which is designed to encourage open minds, attitudes and ensure that everyone is equally valued. And as an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential.

We offer a wide range of in-house and external opportunities for personal and professional development, and we also actively support training and development in specialist skills related to your role.

Equal Opportunities

At MI5 and MI6, diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce such as women, those from an ethnic minority background, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.

Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our website:

https://www.mi5.gov.uk/careers/diversity

https://www.sis.gov.uk/about-us.html

We’re Disability Confident

MI5 and MI6 are proud to have achieved Leader status within the DWP’s Disability Confident scheme.  This is aimed at encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people.  Being Disability Confident, we aim to offer a person-to-person interview to any candidate who self-identifies as disabled and meets the essential criteria for the role.  This is our ‘Offer of Interview’ (OOI). To secure an interview for this vacancy, the essential criteria (in order of application process) are: 

  • Passing the eligibility stage
  • Meeting essential criteria for the role at the application form stage*

*Please see role description to see essential criteria

Rewards and Benefits  

You’ll receive a starting salary of £54,495-£58,576 plus other benefits including: 

–    25 Days Annual Leave automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years’ service, and an additional 10.5 days public and privilege holidays
–    Opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme
–    Interest-free season ticket loan
–    Excellent pension scheme
–    Cycle to work scheme
–    Facilities such as a gym, restaurant and on-site coffee bars (at some locations)
–    Paid parental and adoption leave

Selection process details

What to Expect

Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:

•    Initially, we will ask you to complete our pre-screening questions to find out if you meet our initial criteria. If you meet these criteria we will then ask you to begin an application.   
•    You will need to create a login and provide your full name, email address and memorable password. Once you have successfully created a personal account, you will be required to complete a registration form, providing contact details and equal opportunities mentoring information.   
•    You will then be invited to upload your CV and complete an online application form. 
•    If you pass the sift, you may be required to attend a telephone interview which should last approximately 30 minutes and will check that you have the potential skills and motivation to work for us.  
•    Successful applicants will then be invited to a final interview, which will include competency based questions, a role-play and further exploration of your motivation to work for the security agencies.  

Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 – 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer.

Before You Apply

To work at MI5 or MI6, you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. You can read our full eligibility criteria here:

https://www.mi5.gov.uk/careers/applying-for-jobs

https://www.sis.gov.uk/apply-now.html

This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. You can find out more about the vetting process here:

https://www.mi5.gov.uk/careers/vetting

https://www.sis.gov.uk/apply-now.html

Please note we have a strict drugs policy, so once you start your application, you can’t take any recreational drugs and you’ll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage.

You’ll need to live within a commutable distance of the location you apply for. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application, as we do not offer relocation costs.

Please note, you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from outside the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member

Right to Withdraw Statement: 

Please be aware that we withhold the right to bring forward the closing date for this role from the original closing date once a certain number of applications have been received. Please be mindful of this and submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment. 

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

  • UK nationals
  • nationals of the Republic of Ireland
  • nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
  • nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
  • nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
  • individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
  • Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available.
You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

  • Name : Recruitment Team
  • Email : careers@recruitmentoffice.org.uk

Recruitment team

  • Email : careers@recruitmentoffice.org.uk

Share this page

 
 

Apply Now


Posted

in