Skeleton Role Brief for Band 8 Senior Registered Psychologists resource for Early Adopter (EA) Sites

Applicants must have passed their probationary period before applying for other roles within Psychology Services Group or FPS Wales where applicable

Role(s) are for an initial period of 18 months, commencing 1^st July 2025 dependent on wider Enable Programme developments.

Band 8 roles will form part of Directorate/Regional/Group line management. There will be a dotted line to the Band 9 Enable Early Adopter Lead who will provide guidance, support and structure on how the Band 8 role will operate at site level. The Band 8 roles will be a key part of the Enable EA provision and be required to work with the EA Support Team (EAST) in delivering Enable specific work. All Enable activity will need to be recorded.

Models of operating may be different depending on Directorate and Regional needs and resourcing opportunities. Variation of roles and work can be accommodated but critical activity such as SLT attendance and engagement will be necessary, as will reporting up to the Band 9 EA lead, to ensure resource commitments are fulfilled. In all instances a Band 8 SPOC (or agreed equivalent) should be available to ensure clear reporting lines. Psychology Services will be required to account for Band 8 FTE level of resource at each EA site. This may be made up of a combination of activities by different staff but must be clearly defined.

We are excited to announce this opportunity for 5 Band 8 Psychologist to lead in the development, mobilisation, and testing of Psychology supported components of the Enable Transformation Programme. The successful candidate will play a critical role in working as part of a wider team in supporting sites towards evidenced based conditions for change. This work will be central to and play a critical step in enabling HMPPS to deliver its vision ‘Working together to protect the public and help people lead law-abiding and positive lives’ through: an open learning culture; transform through partnership; enable people to be their best; and modernise our estate and technology.

‘The Enable programme is a HMPPS workforce transformation programme based on relational practice which supports HMPPS ambition to improve operational delivery in prisons’.

Band 8 roles in collaboration with the Band 9 lead will work towards supporting the above critical conditions but principally work towards supporting the introduction of the Reflective Skills Framework (RSF), an evidence informed model in which front line staff are able to engage in reflective practice to enhance their learning and development. Specific engagement with Governors, Senior Teams and other key partners will be critical in ensuring sites are ready and prepared to adopt these and other new positive approaches.

The Band 8 roles will link up through the Band 9 EA lead who will in turn work with the Band 9 London lead to ensure co-ordination of activity. The EA and London teams will work on different Phases of the Enable Programme but co-ordinated through the Directorate Lead for Corporate Services, Governance, Safety and London (Giles McCathie). As such both Band 9 lead roles will be line managed by the Band 10 Area Lead for London, and subsequently all Enable activity will be co-ordinated.

In Phase 1 of the Enable Programme 5 Early Adopter sites were selected to trial several of the emerging Enable products. This included supporting the introduction of initial components of RSF. The Band 8s will be recruited and manged through regional lines (expected start date 1^st July), although work will be directed, co-ordinated, and monitored by the Enable EA Band 9). Good visible leadership across all the sites will be essential to support the embedding of this practice and support on site leadership.

Early Adopter Sites: Implementation Expectation: Scoping, design, development and testing of individual products to understand their need and feasibility as standalone products in five early adopter prisons.

The primary objective of the roles is to work to support the implantation of the Reflective Skills Framework (RSF). It is recognised that a key condition of success will be site Readiness and as such activity that supports this will also be a likely core activity. In the initial phases of the work activity will need ti be mapped against individual site need. This will be undertaken by the Band 8 roles and co-ordinated through the Band 9 leads. It is suggested that the key model of operating will be framed around the COM-B model of behaviour change. This will also be informed by the Enable Theory of Change (ToC) products covering a number of elements of the programme.

Key learning used to inform the work of the Psychology Service Resource will include:

Some suggested activity emerging from the EA sites is noted in Annex A. This is not a definitive list and early work may identify additional or alternative priority work. The below is provided as an example only.

This is an exciting opportunity in both roles to enhance skills and experience. Working alongside a major HMPPS programme is likely to stretch the applicant’s skills whilst working as a Psychologist but also linking with a wide and varied range of stakeholder on this important service wide transformation. Updates and input at Senior level boards will be a necessary activity for both roles.

During the application stage of the Expression of Interest you will be assessed against the following behaviours

Applicants will be invited to interview using Success Profiles. Success Profiles guidance can be found on My Hub and Civil Service Learning

Applications should be made using the form attached and sent via email to psychologyoperationaldelivery@justice.gov.uk

COM-B system (Michie, S., van Stralen, M. M. & West, R. The behaviour change wheel: a new method for characterising and designing behaviour change interventions. Implementation Sci 6, 42 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1186/1748-5908-6-42