Job Advert
Clinical Psychologist
AfC Band 8a plus a High Secure Environmental Allowance of £1,750.47 per annum and a High Secure Clinical Responsibility Allowance of £4,201.29 per annum.
Hours – 37
Contract Duration – 1 Year Fixed Term to support Maternity Cover
Post Details – The State Hospital Psychology Department is pleased to be able to advertise for a fixed term Clinical Psychologist post to join its highly motivated team.
This is an exciting opportunity to work within a unique environment. The State Hospital provides high secure care for patients from Scotland and Northern Ireland. Our vision is to excel in the provision of high secure forensic mental health services, to develop and support the work of the Forensic Network, and to strive at being an exemplar employer.
The Psychology Department delivers high quality psychological assessments and comprehensive risk assessments as well as delivering a range of individual and group psychological interventions across four service areas. This post will provide input to patients with a range of mental disorders.
The team work closely with colleagues from other disciplines and the postholder will work as part of a clinical team but will also have the opportunity to have additional hospital wide areas of work. The postholder will also have an opportunity to be involved in delivering training, offering supervision and reflective practice, offering consultancy to colleagues and both using and sharing their research expertise with others across the hospital site. Due to being a national service the post comes with opportunities that may not be available in other Health Boards.
There are close links with stakeholder services including the East of Scotland Clinical Psychology Training course, Medium and Low secure forensic services as well as the other UK High Secure Hospitals. We are pleased to have close links with the Forensic Network and support the work that they do across the country which also provides additional opportunities. The service is committed to supporting and developing its staff team.
We share the same core values as every other NHS Scotland health board: care and compassion; dignity and respect; openness, honesty and responsibility; quality and teamwork, and our core values are central to service delivery.
Please note that this position will be required to work in all clinical locations within the State Hospital.
For an informal discussion please contact Dr Joe Judge, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Telephone 01555 840293 ext. 2052
Closing Date – The closing date for applications is 11.59pm on Wednesday 19th November 2025
Interview Date – TBC
If you have any queries or require assistance regarding the application form or recruitment process, please contact the HR Team on tsh.jobs@nhs.scot to discuss your requirements.
Please note we anticipate a high level of interest in this position therefore we may close the vacancy prior to the closing date once a sufficient amount of applications are received. Please ensure you complete and submit your online application at an early stage to avoid disappointment.
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. NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society. It should be noted that the State Hospital is a high secure hospital and the current organisational position based on a risk assessment is that we welcome applications from people under the age of 18 for non clinical roles however to be eligible for a clinical role applicants should be 18 years and older. Should you have any questions in relation to this please contact TSH.Jobs@nhs.scot
Right to Work – To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigrations Service.
As part of the pre-employment checks for a preferred candidate, NHS Scotland Boards will check this entitlement to work in the UK. It can be evidenced through a number of routes including specific types of visa, and settled and pre-settled status. To find out more about these routes of permission, and if you can demonstrate such cover, please refer to the GOV.UK website here.
For specific types of post, it might be possible to secure sponsorship via a UK Skilled Worker/Health & Care Worker Visa. However, this is only possible if the employer is a licenced Sponsor, and if the post does not fall below the current minimum salary threshold or ‘going rate’. Further information on these criteria can be found here.
Please note that the State Hospital is NOT licensed to issue certificates of sponsorship under current UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) regulations. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK without requiring sponsorship to work with us.
It is ESSENTIAL that you have checked that you have an appropriate right to work in the UK BEFORE applying.
Reduced Working Week* From 1 April 2026, the working week for NHS Agenda for Change staff in Scotland will reduce from 37 to 36 hours for full-time employees. Part-time staff will receive a pro-rata reduction in hours, with no loss of earnings. The State Hospital is committed to implementing this change; however, it may not be possible to fully transition on 1 April in all areas. In some departments, implementation may take longer to ensure patient safety and service continuity. If your department cannot safely accommodate the reduced hours from 1 April, you may be required to continue working 37.5 hours per week (pro-rata for part-time staff) until adjustments can be made. You will, of course, be remunerated accordingly. Our priority is to implement the 36-hour working week across all areas as soon as it is safe and practical to do so.