Staff Psychologist

Purpose of the Post

· To provide a basic grade level of professional practice, educational and professional development with The Centre for Obesity Management at St. Columcille’s Hospital.

· To work within the Consultant-led MDT and contribute to the continuous improvement of evolving service provision, including change processes within service planning, clinical service delivery, triage and service audit.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

The Basic Grade (Clinical or Counselling) Psychologist will:

Professional Practice

· Provide psychology service delivery within the Level 3 (MDT Outpatient) Centre for Obesity Management and Level 4 (Inpatient Rehabilitation and Surgical) in St Columcille’s Hospital, Loughlinstown.

· Collaborate in the clinical triage and delivery of individual and group psychological interventions to patients attending the service, including individuals struggling with obesity, chronic disease management, pain, mood and anxiety issues, eating disorders, the impact of stigma and more.

· Undertake both individual and group based psychological interventions and workshops

· Demonstrate evidence-based practice through the process of clinical reasoning and decision-making and apply this to the assessment, formulation and treatment of complex cases.

Multi-disciplinary Team Work

· (1) Work as part of an MDT, embracing the concepts of both intra- and inter-discipline competencies and contributions to deliver synergistic and integrated interventions that maximise patient and service outcomes.

· (2) Engage with the development and delivery of efficient and effective communication and collaboration pathways within the MDT and wider service.

The above Job Description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him/her from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.

Eligibility Criteria

Qualifications and/ or experience

Candidates must by the latest date for receipt of completed application forms for the post possess:

1.Professional Qualifications, Experience, etc.

(i)

(ii)

Have a university degree or diploma (QQ1 level 8 equivalent) obtained with 1st or 2nd class honours in which Psychology was taken as a major subject and honours obtained in that subject

And

Have an Irish post-graduate professional psychology qualification accredited by the Psychological Society of Ireland in Clinical or Counselling Psychology. (Applications are welcome from psychologists in clinical or counselling training who will have obtained this professional qualification and be eligible for the post by Sept 2026)

Or

An equivalent qualification from another jurisdiction validated by the Department of Health. (Applicants with non-Irish qualifications who wish to work in Ireland must first have their qualifications verified by the Department of Health in Ireland. Please apply directly to them at validation_unit@health.gov.ie)

And

(iii)

Have 3 full time (or equivalent) years of clinically relevant experience under the supervision of a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist, which may include 3 years of doctoral level training.

And

(iv)

Candidates must have the requisite knowledge and ability (including a high standard of suitability and professional ability) for the proper discharge of the duties of the office.

2.Health

Be fully competent and capable of undertaking the duties attached to the office and be in a state of health such as would indicate a reasonable prospect of ability to render regular and efficient service.

3.Character

Candidates for and any person holding the office must be of good character.

Skills, competencies and/or knowledge

Candidates must demonstrate:

Professional Knowledge

• Demonstrate evidence of experience in differential diagnosis and in keeping with current evidence based practice.
• Demonstrate evidence of application of clinical standards, guidelines and procedures.
• Demonstrate evidence of IT skills to enable service and statistical analysis, health care records documentation, report writing and email communication and a willingness to develop IT skills relevant to the role.
• Demonstrate evidence of appropriate documentation in line with HSE standards for Health Care Records.
• Demonstrate evidence of identifying and availing of formal and informal learning opportunities in the specialised area of obesity management.
• Demonstrate a commitment to CPD.

Evaluating Information & Judging Situations

• Demonstrate evidence of appropriate referral of decisions to a higher level of authority and/or inclusion of colleagues in the decision making process
• Demonstrate evidence of collecting, evaluation and reporting data on therapy outcomes for service users.
• Demonstrate evidence of use of evidence based practice through clinical reasoning and decision making, applying evidence based outcome measures to evaluate efficacy of treatment and quality of care.

Commitment to Providing a Quality Service

• Demonstrate a commitment to assuring high standards and strive for a user centred service.
• Display awareness and appreciation of the service users and the ability to empathise with and treat others with dignity and respect.
• Demonstrate initiative, flexibility and openness to change.

Planning and Managing Resources

• Demonstrate evidence of appropriate planning and balancing of clinical demands with other responsibilities through effective time management and organisation skills.
• Demonstrate evidence of appropriate consultation with line manager within the clinical area.

Communication & Interpersonal Skills

• Demonstrate evidence of experience in communication skills, oral and written in clear, concise and well-structured manner in MDT working appropriate to the context and target audience.

Managing and Developing

• Demonstrate evidence of team-building skills.
• Demonstrate evidence of multidisciplinary working in the designated clinical area.
• Demonstrate an ability to manage and develop self in a busy working environment.
• Demonstrate history of participation in clinical supervision from higher grade psychologists.

Campaign Specific Selection Process

Ranking/Shortlisting / Interview

A ranking and or shortlisting exercise may be carried out on the basis of information supplied in your application form. The criteria for ranking and or shortlisting are based on the requirements of the post as outlined in the eligibility criteria and skills, competencies and/or knowledge section of this job specification. Therefore it is very important that you think about your experience in light of those requirements.

Failure to include information regarding these requirements may result in you not being called forward to the next stage of the selection process.

Those successful at the ranking stage of this process (where applied) will be placed on an order of merit and will be called to interview in ‘bands’ depending on the service needs of the organisation.

Code of Practice

The Health Service Executive will run this campaign in compliance with the Code of Practice prepared by the Commission for Public Service Appointments (CPSA). The Code of Practice sets out how the core principles of probity, merit, equity and fairness might be applied on a principle basis. The Code also specifies the responsibilities placed on candidates, facilities for feedback to applicants on matters relating to their application when requested, and outlines procedures in relation to requests for a review of the recruitment and selection process and review in relation to allegations of a breach of the Code of Practice. Additional information on the HSE’s review process is available in the document posted with each vacancy entitled “Code of Practice, Information for Candidates”.

Codes of practice are published by the CPSA and are available on www.hse.ie/eng/staff/jobs in the document posted with each vacancy entitled “Code of Practice, Information for Candidates” or on www.cpsa.ie.

The reform programme outlined for the Health Services may impact on this role and as structures change the job description may be reviewed.

This job description is a guide to the general range of duties assigned to the post holder. It is intended to be neither definitive nor restrictive and is subject to periodic review with the employee concerned.