Family Therapist, Children and Young People’s Gender Service

Main area CYP Gender Services Grade Band 8a Contract Permanent Hours

• Full time
• Part time
• Flexible working

37.5 hours per week (We are happy to consider part-time with a minimum of three days per week to include Tuesdays and Wednesdays) Job ref 411-NEI-26-8291963

Employer Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Warrington Town Warrington Salary £57,528 – £64,750 Per Annum Salary period Yearly Closing 30/09/2026 08:00

Family Therapist, Children and Young People’s Gender Service

Band 8a

Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust is a provider of specialist health care and has a presence in community outreach sites and, in collaboration with other providers, our clinicians help deliver care closer to patients’ homes by holding local clinics at locations from Cumbria to Shropshire, in Wales and the Isle of Man. The Trust also provides inpatient care for children with complex mental health needs at our Sunflower House building newly relocated, and opened on the hospital site.

We currently have more than 4,000 staff working across our community and hospital sites. We’re also a teaching and training hospital providing education and training to around 540 medical and over 500 nursing and allied health professional students each year.

As black and minority ethnic (BME) employees are currently under-represented in this area, we particularly welcome applications from members of our BME communities. All appointments will be made on merit.

You can expect a warm welcome at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, our staff are friendly and welcoming. We listen to each other and work together to embed our Trusts values and behaviours. At Alder Hey we appreciate our staff and reward them with an outstanding benefits package including:

• Great flexible working opportunities
• Lease car scheme and Home Electronics Scheme
• Generous annual leave and pension scheme
• Extensive staff health and well-being programmes

Job overview

• Right to work: We actively promote diversity and inclusion. This role may be eligible for sponsorship under the Health and Care route. We recommend that you assess your eligibility before applying for this position. Visit Health and Care Worker visa: Overview – GOV.UK

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an exceptional clinician with strong clinical experience to be a family therapist in the Children and Young People’s Gender Service (North West). We are a Phase 1 Provider of Gender Services provided in partnership by Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.

As the family therapist in the service you will lead the family therapy clinic and provide specialist assessment and therapeutic interventions to children, young people and their families. You will have protected time specifically for family therapy. The role will also include liaison and engagement with a range of partnership agencies to ensure an integrated and coordinate care plan is provided. Experience of providing supervision to clinical practitioners will also be essential to this role.

Successful candidates will have a passion for delivering safe, high quality and effective services to children and young people and will be a strong communicator, committed and well organised, with the ability to work effectively as a senior clinician in a multidisciplinary team.

Main duties of the job

The main duties for this role are provided in the attached job description

For further details please contact gsnorthwest@alderhey.nhs.uk.

Working for our organisation

The base for this service is Mandarin Court, Centre Park, Warrington which includes the following benefits:

• Free parking and free EV charging
• Short walk from Warrington Bank Quay station
• Bicycle storage and on site changing facilities

We welcome applicants looking for both full time and part time contracts, with flexible working opportunities available. Some remote working will also be possible in this role.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The main responsibilities for this role are provided in the attached job description/person specification

Person specification

Education and Training

• Qualified in core profession as per BABCP criteria BABCP | British Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies > Accreditation > Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist Accreditation > Core Professions > Core Professions list and criteria
• Current registration with appropriate regulatory body
• Professional qualification in Family and Systemic Psychotherapy (or equivalent if you have trained overseas or hold an ECP validated by EFTA)
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Evidence of substantial post qualification competence, incorporating significant experience working within services at a senior level
• Certificate in supervision skills or equivalent experience
• Relevant post graduate qualification in related field

Experience

• Experience of working within a multi-disciplinary team
• Experience of providing consultation/teaching/ training
• Experience of working with children and young people, families and carers
• Experience of clinical supervision
• Experience of leading on developing, delivering and evaluating evidence based clinical care packages.
• The application of specialist mental health assessment and therapeutic interventions in different cultural contexts
• Working collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team AND with other agencies and professionals in a variety of settings including managing difficult conversations and differences of opinion
• Assessing clinical risk and developing and communicating appropriate risk management plans including safeguarding.
• Analysing presenting problems and able to work autonomously utilising a range of therapeutic perspectives and modalities, depending on the needs of the client.
• Providing case management and/or clinical supervision for colleagues and students as required.
• Experience of mentoring and supervision of others, including supporting the mental health and wellbeing of junior staff and trainees.
• Experience of developing and providing evidenced based assessments, formulations, and care plans and effective use of Routine Outcome Measures (ROMs).
• Understanding of the principles of Clinical Governance and a willingness to follow Trust Policy and Procedures
• Experience of managing and/or leading on service developments
• Experience in the line management and professional management of staff
• Effectively managing policy implementation and demonstrable service development work, audit and research
• Experience of providing a variety of therapeutic interventions for children and young people and their families
• Community mental health experience across a variety of settings
• Experience of delivery of group work and workshops

Knowledge

• Up to date knowledge of child mental health and relevant legislation, NICE guidance and government policies
• An understanding of child development and psychological/psychosocial theories.
• Advanced knowledge and skills in delivery of evidence-based practice and the ability to demonstrate how this influences clinical practice

Skills

• A proven ability to work as a member of the multi- disciplinary team
• A proven ability to network with other professional groups/agencies
• A proven ability to assertively engage young people, families and carers.
• A proven ability to accept guidance and supervision from senior colleagues.
• A proven ability to demonstrate leadership ability, to be self-motivated and to work on one’s own initiative.
• A proven ability to demonstrate a non- discriminatory attitude regarding race, gender and disability issues.
• Demonstrate commitment to user participation
• Demonstrate a positive attitude.
• Demonstrates skills to contribute to modernisation across a range of diverse services
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Ability to motivate and enthuse colleagues
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to respond effectively to multiple priorities
• Ability to develop, provide and evaluate training and workshops.
• Highly developed communication skills with the ability to provide and receive highly complex, sensitive or contentious information and overcome barriers to acceptance with children, parents and professionals.
• Skilled in assessment and formulation, with the ability to manage care appropriately, ensuring discharge is timely
• Skilled in the planning, delivering and evaluating evidence-based therapeutic interventions (individuals and groups) with children and young people across the age range, and their families/carers.
• Skilled in the assessment of clinical risk and developing and communicating appropriate risk management plans
• Skilled in case management, able to function as a part of a multi-disciplinary team and to liaise effectively with other internal and external agencies, maintaining positive working relationships.
• Ability to work independently with the support of clinical and management supervision.
• Ability to select, use and interpret assessment tools and outcome measures / ROMs effectively and in collaboration with the child, young person, and family.
• Ability to integrate psychological theories and outcome data with clinical practice and service provision.
• The ability to work with people from a range of different backgrounds, cultures and or different ages.
• To be able to provide feedback and constructive guidance to junior members of the team and trainees to facilitate their personal and professional development.
• The ability to reflect on and critically appraise own performance.
• The ability to follow policy and make proposals for change.
• The ability to maintain clinical records both written and electronic.
• The ability to cope with stressful situations including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the case of highly emotive and distressing problems.
• Good analytical and strategic visioning skills.
• Ability to build credibility quickly and sustain it within the organisation
• Advanced IT skills

Personal Attributes

• Demonstrates the ability to make sound judgments and generate new ideas in complex situations.
• Able to work autonomously
• Committed to continuing professional development
• Accountable for own professional actions
• Works within professional ethics and Trust policies and values
• A commitment to the inclusion of young people’s and parent/carer views in service delivery, development and design.
• Willingness to contribute to team functioning, performance and the ongoing development of the service.

Should you require any support during your application or require alternative formats of our vacancies, please contact recruiting manager of vacancy or the recruitment team at recruitment@alderhey.nhs.uk or call 0151 282 4599

Please declare within the supporting information if artificial intelligence (AI) has been used in your application.

Please note, the selection processes at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust are in place to ensure we recruit candidates with the right skills and values, please be advised that the use of AI in applications are monitored. We remain vigilant against candidates who misuse these tools to generate an application that doesn’t accurately reflect their skills.

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.

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