Assistant Psychologist - Clinical Research
Oxford
Expired
Full Time
£31,049 - £37,796 per annum
Expires: Today at 23:59
Band 5
Fixed term: 12 months (with the possibility of extension subject to funding)
About the Role
Job overview
We are seeking an Assistant Psychologist to join us in delivering a new national centralised clinic. The clinic will recruit patients at NHS mental health trusts across the UK to take part in two of our trials: Feeling Safer (ISRCTN93974770) and Sleeping Better (ISRCTN71800376).
Feeling Safer is testing a six-month supported online programme for patients experiencing persecutory delusions. Sleeping Better is testing a 12-week remote intervention for helping improve sleep with patients with psychosis and young people at ultra-high risk of psychosis. This role will support the liaison with clinical teams and NHS R&D offices across the UK, recruiting patients, and carrying out the trial assessments.
You'll be part of the Oxford Cognitive Approaches to Psychosis (O-CAP) clinical research group based in the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford. We are a large clinical research team (40 people) working to understand why mental health problems happen and how they can be best treated psychologically. It is a thriving and supportive clinical research group that aims to carry out work to the highest standards for patients.
If you have experience of psychological research including participant recruitment and a Degree in Psychology (2:1 or above), we'd love to hear from you!
Main duties of the job
- Supporting a clinical psychologist to form excellent relationships with NHS mental health trusts in the UK to work effectively in helping patients with psychosis and young people at ultra-high risk of psychosis take part in Feeling Safer or Sleeping Better.
- Screening and recruitment of patients experiencing persecutory delusions (in the context of the treatment of psychosis) into the Feeling Safer trial. Screening and recruitment of patients at ultra-high risk of psychosis experiencing sleep difficulties into the Sleeping Better trial. This will involve: speaking to referrers regularly, including clinical team members and Research Delivery Network (RDN) staff; checking eligibility; and explaining the trial to potential participants. There will be monthly recruitment targets.
- Completing eligibility screening assessments and seeking informed consent from patients.
- Carrying out the assessments at multiple timepoints. You will need to arrange these interviews and administer clinical interviews and self-report questionnaires.
- It will be crucial to maintain very high follow-up rates , meaning you will need excellent engagement skills.
- The post is based in-person at the O-CAP team base in Oxford.
Please refer to the job description attached for a comprehensive list of duties.
Working for our organisation
Oxford Health is a great place to work and to be able to showcase the best of yourself when making an application please read the “candidate guide to making an application” and ensure your supporting statement is tailored to the role you are applying for and addresses any essential criteria.
As a Trust we provide physical, mental health and social care for people of all ages across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Swindon, Wiltshire, Bath and Northeast Somerset. Our services are delivered at community bases, hospitals, clinics and people’s homes, delivering care as close to home as possible. Our vision is that no matter who you are or where you are, you will tell us that you receive: “Outstanding care delivered by an outstanding team”
Our values are: “Caring, safe and excellent”
At Oxford Health we offer a wide range of benefits designed to support your career and wellbeing. These include:
- Excellent opportunities for career progression
- Access to tailored individual and Trust wide learning and development
- 27 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days with continuous service
- NHS Discount across a wide range of shops, restaurants and retailers
- Competitive pension scheme
- Lease car scheme
- Cycle to work scheme
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Mental Health First Aiders
- Staff accommodation (please note waiting lists may apply)
- Staff networking and support groups hosted by our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion team
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The primary base will be in the Oxford Cognitive Approaches to Psychosis (O-CAP) team in the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford. Although based at Oxford and liaising with collaborating NHS primarily remotely, you are likely to travel to project sites.
Interested applicants will find the type of work described in these two publications:
Freeman, D., Emsley, R., Rosebrock, L., Morrison, A., Chapman, K., Common, S., ... & Waite, F. (2025). Efficacy of a 6-month supported online programme (Feeling Safer) for the treatment of persecutory delusions: protocol for a randomised controlled trial. BMJ open, 15(6), e104580.
Waite, F., Černis, E., Kabir, T., Iredale, E., Johns, L., Maughan, D., ... & Freeman, D. (2023). A targeted psychological treatment for sleep problems in young people at ultra-high risk of psychosis in England (SleepWell): a parallel group, single-blind, randomised controlled feasibility trial. The Lancet Psychiatry, 10(9), 706-718.
We hope that the advert has given you a clear understanding of the skills we are seeking and the opportunity at hand. You will need to use the “supporting statement” element of your application form to demonstrate your suitability for this role and you should refer to the job description, person specification and the guidance notes attached to this role to help you tailor your application.
The essential and desirable criteria will be used to shortlist for interview, and you should ensure that you refer to these within your application to increase your chances of being selected for interview.
We are aware that some candidates may choose to use AI tools to support their application. We kindly remind applicants that submissions should remain an honest and accurate representation of their experience and must take care to ensure the use of AI tools does not generate an application that does not accurately reflect their knowledge, skills and values.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Degree in Psychology 2.1 or above
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of psychological research
- Experience of recruiting to a research study.
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working within NHS mental health clinical teams
- Experience working with patients with psychosis or young people at ultra-high-risk of psychosis
- Experience of providing an intervention for patients with mental health difficulties.
- Experience of using psychiatric or psychological assessments.
Essential criteria
- Ability to engage young people and patients having experiences such as paranoia, hearing voices, anxiety and depression, and who may be in acute distress.
- Interest and knowledge of psychosis
- Knowledge of clinical trials methodology and experimental psychology.
- An interest in psychological approaches to understanding and treating psychosis.
- Ability to write clearly and concisely, and produce reports quickly and accurately.
- Ability to follow protocols to high standards.
- Ability to apply psychological theory in practice.
- Ability to engage patients, teams, and underserved communities in NHS trusts across England.
Documents to Download
Job Description - Assistant psychologist - national clinic (PDF, 448.4KB)
Person spec - Assistant psychologist - national clinic (PDF, 336.4KB)
Guidance Notes for Candidates Applying for a job at OHFT (PDF, 424.6KB)
Recruiter Contact Details
Name: Dr Felicity Waite
Title: Consultant Clinical Psychologist
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 01865 618192