Principal Psychologist | Integrated Front Door Clinical Lead


Company:	Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust
Salary:	£66,582 - £77,368 p.a.
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	Wareham, BH20 4PP
Job type:	Permanent
Posting date:	10 Jul 2026
Closing date:	19 Aug 2026

Apply for this job

Summary

A Vacancy at Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust.

Are you an experienced Clinical Psychologist ready to lead transformational change in Children and Young People's Mental Health Services?

Dorset CAMHS is seeking an exceptionalPrincipal Psychologistfor our Integrated Front Door (IFD) Team to provide professional, clinical and strategic leadership within our Pan Dorset service. This is an exciting opportunity to influence how children, young people and families access mental health support, ensuring that every referral receives a high-quality, needs-led assessment aligned with the THRIVE model of care. This is a PAN Dorset post working out of Wareham and Bournemouth.

Working alongside the CAMHS Head of Service, Deputy Head of Service and senior operational colleagues, you will play a pivotal role in shaping service delivery, supporting our highly skilled multidisciplinary workforce and driving continuous improvement across Dorset.

This is a highly influential role combining clinical expertise, operational leadership, workforce development and service innovation.

This role aligns with Dorset's THRIVE approach, ensuring children and young people receive the right support at the right time, with a strong focus on collaboration, shared decision-making, prevention, early intervention and enabling young people to achieve their goals. You will play a key role in supporting engagement and helping young people access the networks and resources they need to thrive.

The post holder will have a passion for system wide working, be able to foster strong multi-agency partnerships, working collaboratively with health, social care, education, voluntary sector and community partners to improve outcomes and create a seamless experience for families. You will provide expert psychological leadership, consultation and supervision to multidisciplinary colleagues, supporting evidence-based practice and a psychologically informed culture across the system.

The role requires a strategic and operational leader who can drive service development, influence system-wide change and ensure equitable access to support for children and young people. The successful candidate will combine advanced clinical expertise with excellent relationship-building skills, a commitment to innovation and a passion for collaborative working to deliver high-quality, responsive and person-centred care.

Employment in this post requires an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, which the Trust will cover the cost of.

At Dorset HealthCare we’re on a mission to empower people to make the most of their lives through our outstanding, joined-up healthcare services. We’re a dynamic, forward-looking Trust, running 12 community hospitals, specialist inpatient facilities and a wide range of integrated community and mental health services for a population of almost 800,000 people.

We do things differently here – it’s one of the reasons the CQC rated us ‘outstanding’ in 2019. It’s also why 95% of patients across our services say they have a good or very good experience of our services and 89% of staff feel they can really make a difference. Whether you’re looking to work with us in one of our bustling market towns, vibrant urban locations, thriving seaside spots, or among the rolling hills of Dorset, there are lots of ways you can make a difference in our communities.

Our 7,000-strong workforce is at the heart of what we do and our success is a testament to our brilliant people. We're all about building a workplace for the future, we believe in equal opportunities and we celebrate diversity. We’re an inclusive workplace, where everyone is welcome, everyone can be authentic, and we are all encouraged to be the best version of ourselves.

For the main duties and responsibilities for this role please read the attached job description and person specification. When completing your application please ensure your supporting statement reflects the criteria set out in these documents by showing how your experience and skills apply to this post.

We understand that using AI can be a useful and supportive tool when completing your application. However, we have also seen an increase in the over-reliance of AI tools which is negatively impacting applications as they remove candidate’s individuality, and it becomes much harder to get a sense of who you are and your authentic experience. If you do use AI, it should be used to enhance your application and not to create your supporting statement in its entirety. If we suspect you have used AI to create your supporting statement and this does not match your experience, we may withdraw your application.

As part of our vision to have a skilled, diverse and caring workforce, Dorset HealthCare offers support for people getting into work. We offer an employability service to support individuals with application writing, interview skills and other employment support. If you would like or know of anyone who would value this support, please do contactdhc.wideningparticipation@nhs.net

This advert closes on Thursday 30 Jul 2026

Apply for this job