Featured job: Director of Psychological Services

What's distinctive about the role?

The Director of Psychological Services role is truly autonomous, with complete oversight of all Psychological Services within the North, South and East Ayrshire Partnerships and NHS Ayrshire & Arran. This includes responsibility for management and budget, a strong senior leadership structure and administrative support. The structure of Psychological Services allows the Director to lead on ensuring that the service is cohesive, supports staff and is integrated within our wider multi-disciplinary, multi-agency and HSCP Board context.

There is close proximity to senior leaders in Acute and Community directorates, allowing for psychological processes to be central to organisational missions and aims. The role requires high-level leadership to multiple systems whilst ensuring the maintenance of an existing culture where psychological safety presides within Psychological Services during the period of recovery and renewal and beyond.

There is direct involvement with the Scottish Government, and a responsibility to ensure delivery of Government strategic priorities. The soon-to-be-published National Specification for Psychological Therapies will provide a framework for services to be benchmarked against, and development areas to be highlighted.

What might a typical day involve?

The role has membership of the senior management team of the North Partnership and this involves attendance at strategy and governance meetings. Direct reports from the four Heads of Psychological Specialties allow for streamed information sharing, alongside a highly-skilled Personal Assistant who filters and manages the Director's diary. There is also weekly contact with Scotland's National Heads of Psychology Group, with subsequent engagement with the Scottish Government, Doctoral and Masters National Training Courses and NHS Education Scotland. The demand for attendance at multiple meetings can be a challenge, although delegation to senior staff does allow mitigate this.

Can you say more about the personal qualities/values you are looking for?

Psychological Services prides itself on the provision of a safe, structured and dynamic working environment that augments an individual's talents with a genuine forum in which differences can be made. We would be keen to build on our existing senior leadership team with a compassionate and experienced psychologist who is able to communicate and support current service priorities, whilst representing Ayrshire & Arran at a national level. The Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCP) and Acute Services value the skillset that psychologists bring to the wider functioning of the health service and would very much hope that the successful candidate will continue to evidence this.

Values of the postholder have to include visibility, communication and recognition of the value/benefit of Psychology within the wider HSCP context.

What's it like working in Ayrshire and Arran?

Situated within the South West of Scotland, and with 80 miles of beautiful coastline, Ayrshire and Arran is an area of outstanding natural beauty with access to the Islands of Scotland, along with ease of connection to Glasgow and the population centres of Scotland. From Ayr in the south to the idyllic settings of Brodick on the Isle of Arran, the region offers the remoteness of a rural lifestyle, alongside the convenience of excellent infrastructure. Our staff population are a mixture of commuters from Glasgow (travel time ca 40 minutes) and local residents, with some living in the Island communities.

We offer a flexible approach to the work we do, meaning blended working is utilised, within the requirements of posts. All of this is coupled with an exceptional CPD program, meaning that the successful candidate should feel valued and supported in their transition to the role. The culture in NHS Ayrshire & Arran is refreshing where staff views matter, are heard and collaboration is key. The three key values of the board – caring, safe and respectful – are evident in how staff work and deliver services at all levels, where psychological safety is on the agenda of senior leaders within the organisation.

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