Main area Bariatric Dietitics Grade NHS AfC: Band 8b Contract Permanent Hours

• Full time
• Part time
• Flexible working
• Home or remote working

Employer East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Colchester Town Colchester Salary £64,455 - £74,896 per annum, pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 09/10/2025 23:59 Interview date 24/10/2025

Principal Bariatric Clinical Psychologist

NHS AfC: Band 8b

We are one of the largest NHS organisation in England. Our scale provides exciting opportunities for development, innovation, research, education and training.

Talk to us about our range of flexible working opportunities, apprenticeships and staff benefits

Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is at the heart of all we do; and it forms part of the ESNEFT’s core activities. The Trust operates and relies on everyone treating each other with dignity and respect, to receive equitable and fair treatment in the implementation of Policies, Procedures and in its Practices, to foster positive work relationships, and finally to act with integrity as a professional within ESNEFT as well as a representative of the NHS as a whole. The EDI Agenda reflects the Trust values such as Optimistic, Appreciative and Kind. In line with the NHS Long Term Plan, People Plan, People Promise and a Model Employer intrinsic in the Equality Diversity and Inclusion Agenda, we consistently strive to improve, to take the learning into Action for a better ESNEFT.

If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge then we are keen to hear from you.

Job overview

ESNEFT is a large NHS Foundation Trust serving a population of approximately 1 million people in the Suffolk and North Essex area.

ESNEFT is starting a new Complex Obesity Service which will deliver bariatric/metabolic surgery, endoscopic and medical weight management treatments to the Suffolk and North Essex population. We have designed our service with many innovations to make it fit for purpose for the current obesity landscape.

We have combined the traditional Tier 3 and Tier 4 into a single comprehensive service (Tier 4 PLUS) and will offer all treatments including IWMP, GLP-1 medications, endoscopic and surgical bariatric procedures.

A national BOMSS survey of bariatric psychologists in 2022 found that there was a significant disparity between what activity bariatric psychologists wanted to be delivering within Specialist Weight Management Services and the activity they were actually carrying out. Psychologists spent most of their time assessing patients for bariatric surgery or other treatments whereas they would prefer to focus on psychological treatment of patients who need it.

We have allocated funding and created outline pathways for psychological assessment and treatment to provide a quality psychological element to the service. We are keen to recruit a psychologist who can continue to innovate and develop these assessment and treatment approaches using the latest evidence and quality standards.

Main duties of the job

This post would be available full or part time and options for flexible working hours and remote working will be considered by mutual agreement.

The role within the Weight Management Service will involve both direct 1:1 patient care, service development, advice to other MDT members and the potential for group patient sessions. You will be a core member of the Multidisciplinary Team meetings and discuss each patient’s suitability for treatment to agree with other members of the MDT a shared decision for treatment for each patient.

We are recruiting Bariatric Psychologists to develop and deliver this new service and currently seeking an experienced psychologist looking to progress their career in a Band 8b Principal Clinical Psychologist position. Supervision will be provided by experienced Consultant Bariatric Psychologists.

This post would be available full or part time and options for flexible working hours and remote working will be considered by mutual agreement.

Any psychologists interested in discussing more about these roles and the Complex Obesity Service are invited to contact Mr Hywel Room, Consultant Bariatric Surgeon - Hywel.room@esneft.nhs.uk

Working for our organisation

We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across east Suffolk and north Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients’ own homes.

We are one of the largest NHS organisations in England, employing more than 12,000 staff.

We pride ourselves on supporting our staff. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options.

Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.

Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients.

We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic. This digital transformation will bring what’s widely regarded as the world’s best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients.

If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge, then we want to hear from you.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.

Person specification

Experience

• Significant experience of working as a senior clinical psychologist at band 8a or above, in relevant settings and services , e.g. physical health and/or mental health services.
• Evidence of training, experience and expert knowledge in psychological models and therapeutic approaches with an evidence base in bariatrics or physical health settings.
• Experience of delivering psychological interventions in physical health settings
• Experience in assessment and therapeutic work with adults with mental health/psychological needs including complex risk assessment.
• Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for patients’ psychological care and treatment, within the context of multidisciplinary care.
• Experience of working autonomously within the professional guidelines of the British Psychological Society (BPS) and the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC).
• Experience of representing psychology in multidisciplinary settings.
• Experience of using ACT, CBT, CFT and/or other therapies.
• Experience of delivering specialist psychological interventions in a weight management service and/or eating disorders.
• Experience of developing intervention programmes and recording outcomes.
• Experience in delivering teaching and training to multidisciplinary groups
• Experience of supervising the work of junior staff members.
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups with varying levels of severity in multidisciplinary settings.

Qualifications

• Professional qualification in Psychology at doctoral level (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS).
• Registration as a Clinical Psychologist with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC).
• Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice, including training in supervision skills.
• Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological relevance (e.g. within physical health).
• Formal training in the supervision of other psychologists.

Knowledge

• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, formulation, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
• Highly competent application of theory and clinical skills in one or more distinct modes of psychological therapy.
• Doctoral level knowledge of research design, methodology and evaluation.
• Knowledge and experience of applying legislation and national guidance in relation to the physical health specialism.
• High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies e.g. ACT, CFT, DBT, CBT.
• Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies or models relevant to physical health settings.
• High level knowledge of behaviour change theories and techniques.

Skills

• Ability to work under pressure including working directly with staff or clients who may be highly distressed or within teams where professional opinion may differ
• Ability to work efficiently, effectively and pragmatically.
• Ability to sit in a constrained position for long periods for client therapy and computer work.

Please note that where response levels are exceptional we may close the post before the specified date, therefore early application is recommended.

Please make sure that you read the Job Description and Person Specification attached and that your statement in support reflects this as your application will be judged against these criteria.

Secondment - if you are interested in undertaking a role on a secondment basis, please ensure that you have discussed this with your current line manager prior to submitting your application. Please note if you are already an employee of ESNEFT fixed term roles will only be offered on a secondment basis.

When providing reference details please provide email addresses so references can be sought promptly to cover the last 3 years of employment.

Successful candidates may be charged for their DBS check. Please ensure you read the information found in the attached DBS Information document

The Trust is committed to its staff and their development and to equal opportunities and diversity. Applications are welcomed from all sections of the community.

Whilst we welcome applications from all and your application will be considered on individual merit, if you are offered a position and require a Skilled Worker Certificate of Sponsorship we may not be able to process your application to the final stage due Home Office eligibility. Please note Band 2 roles are not eligible for sponsorship.

In submitting an application form, you authorise East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust to confirm any previous NHS service details via the Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process should you be appointed to the post.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust; we look forward to receiving your application for employment.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.