Practitioner Psychologist
ContentsLocation*For roles based in London, your contractual place of work will be Stratford. While the Stratford site is expected to become operational from November 2025 March 2026, you will be required to carry out your contractual duties from Vauxhall or another reasonable location on a temporary basis during the interim period.
Please note that, as Stratford will be your contractual place of work, any subsequent move from a temporary location will not entitle you to payments for travel time or costs under the Relocation and Excess Travel Policy.
Job summary
The role of the Practitioner Psychologist is to psychologically support the health of the National Crime Agency's (NCA) workforce, with a focus on mental wellbeing and the protection and promotion of personal resilience, to enable the NCA to deliver its mission.
Candidates must be able to competently offer treatment in two or more types of evidence-based psychological therapies, ideally in one or more of the following areas:
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
- Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), or trauma-focused CBT.
- Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT).
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
- Trauma Focused Psychotherapy, or Humanistic Therapy (e.g. person-centred).
Working Pattern: The National Crime Agency has a hybrid working policy which is applicable for this role. This role is available on a Full Time or Part Time basis (minimum 22 hours across 3 days).
Job description
The role of the Practitioner Psychologist would suit a newly qualified Psychologist.
You will provide practical and clinical support to NCA Officers on wellbeing, occupational and mental health matters via a range of mediums such as biopsychosocial assessments, interventions, psychoeducational workshops, articles, and organisational support where appropriate.
The role reports to a Senior Practitioner Psychologist, who will provide clinical supervision, and continual professional development is reviewed regularly.
The department is overseen by a Consultant Psychologist, Head of Clinical Services and Wellbeing.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Biopsychosocial assessments -
Provide appropriate biopsychosocial formulations, consultation and advice based upon analyses of a range of available psychological information concerning Officers, their role, disabilities and any psychosocial hazards in Law Enforcement work and related to the Health and Safety Management Standards.
Provide advice and guidance - Support and advise Managers and Officers regarding matters impacting on employee welfare and their ability to fulfil role requirements within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the service's policies and procedures, ensuring best practice. Actively support reduced waiting for psychology appointments.
Produce and disseminate articles - Provide written articles for dissemination in the Agency, including those with a self-help focus.
Support audits and compliance - Contribute to clinical audits, reviews, development of policies/procedures and data systems across business areas as appropriate.
Design and implement psychological interventions - Exercise responsibility for designing and implementing psychological interventions (including psychoeducation sessions and post incident support) and, with supervision, adjusting, interpreting, and reformulating the psychological models as appropriate based on feedback, monitoring and follow up.
Assess Officer fitness and suitability for their role - Be responsible for the assessment, formulation, and management of Officer fitness/suitability for their role, ensuring any reasonable adjustments or recommendations for support are made and monitored. Manage difficult emotional and operational situations with sensitivity and skill.
Information management - Ensure the quality, secure handling and dissemination of data/information, maintaining confidentiality, sensitivity and a duty of care in line with NCA policy and GDPR.
Continuous Professional Development (CPD) - Manage self-care and be an active participant in professional development.
Person specification
- Experience of psychological assessment, formulation and risk mitigation management in accordance to the clinical governance and best practice
- Experience of managing issues relating to consent and confidentiality in line with professional guidance and legislation.
Interview
You will be assessed on the following at interview stage:
- Behaviour - Making Effective decisions
- Technical criteria 1 - Experience of psychological assessment, formulation and risk mitigation management in accordance to the clinical governance and best practice
- Technical criteria 2 - Experience of managing issues relating to consent and confidentiality in line with professional guidance and legislation.
- Technical criteria 3 - Experience in a range of clinical skills and delivery in a variety of adult settings, including working with a range of stake holders who are not psychologists. (To Note: Candidates successful at sift will be asked to deliver a presentation, on this criteria, at their interview. Further details to be provided to successful candidates, prior to the interview.)
- Strengths - The interview will include strengths based questions.
- Hold or working towards registration with the Health Care Professional Council (HCPC) as a Clinical or Counselling Practitioner Psychologist.
To note
- The HCPC registration needs to be secured and evidenced ahead of an employment start date.
- Anticipated start dates for roles is April 2026, subject to completion of Pre-Employment Checks.
Licences
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Making Effective Decisions
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Experience of psychological assessment, formulation and risk mitigation management in accordance to the clinical governance and best practice.
- Experience of managing issues relating to consent and confidentiality in line with professional guidance and legislation.
- Experience in a range of clinical skills and delivery in a variety of adult settings, including working with a range of stake holders who are not psychologists.
All officers in the NCA are members of the UK Civil Service. You will be eligible for:
- A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
- 26 days annual leave rising to 31 on completion of 5 years continuous service. If qualifying criteria is met new joiners to the NCA from UK Police Forces or UKIC will have service with those employers taken into account for continuous service purposes for Annual Leave entitlement only, this will be up to a maximum of 31 days leave (including 1 privilege day).
- Training and development opportunities
- Special leave
- Flexible working and family friendly policies
- Cycle to work scheme
- Blue Light scheme
- A range of sporting and other activities on offer
- We can provide flexible working arrangements if the role in question is suitable. This includes flexi-time, job sharing, and compressed hours (working contracted hours over a shorter period).
For further details on benefits please visit our benefits and support page.
Selection process details
If you wish to apply for this vacancy, you must submit your application by 18/08/2025, 23:55
Application Process
In your application you may be asked to provide a selection from among the following: A statement outlining your suitability for the role, Answer specific questions about behaviours, experience, and technical skills, Upload a copy of your CV.
You will be asked to set out your career history, including relevant training and qualifications, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please provide reasons for any gaps in employment within the last two years. Please ensure that the dates of any accreditations you are relying on are entered.
Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to undefined your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
For further application guidance, please visit
https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/careers/applying-and-onboarding
Sift Stage
Application Process
In order to progress to the next stage, you will need to pass the following criteria
Sift
CV - Please demonstrate that you either hold OR are working towards the HCPC registration. If you are working towards the HCPC registration, kindly indicate the anticipated date of completion.
You will also need to demonstrate the below criteria 2 statements no more than 250 words per criteria.
- Experience of psychological assessment, formulation and risk mitigation management in accordance to the clinical governance and best practice
- Experience of managing issues relating to consent and confidentiality in line with professional guidance and legislation.
Interview
Candidates who pass the sift process will then be invited to attend an interview assessing the following
Behaviours
- Making Effective Decisions
Technicals
- Experience of psychological assessment, formulation and risk mitigation management in accordance to the clinical governance and best practice
- Experience of managing issues relating to consent and confidentiality in line with professional guidance and legislation.
- Technical criteria 3 - Experience in a range of clinical skills and delivery in a variety of adult settings, including working with a range of stake holders who are not psychologists.
Candidates successful at sift will be asked to deliver a presentation, on this criteria, at their interview. Further details to be provided to successful candidates, prior to the interview.)
- Strengths - The interview will include strengths based questions.
Interview Outcome
In the event of a tie-break at interview, then the panel will use the lead criteria (behaviour/technical /experience) to determine merit order.
If the leading scores are still tied, the panel will then assess desirable criteria to determine merit order.
If scores are still tied following the review of desirable criteria, then the panel will revert to sift scores to determine merit order.
Candidates will be alerted of the outcome of their interview via the Agency's recruitment portal.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
If your application is successful and we are unable to offer you a post immediately, you will be invited to join our reserve list. If over the next 12 months we are able to offer you a position, we will contact you as soon as possible.
Once we make you an offer you will then go through our vetting and pre-employment checks processes.
Full advert details for this vacancy can found on the advert on the NCA Recruitment Portal. Please follow the link to apply at advertisers' site.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Medical
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Working for the Civil Service
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment undefined (opens in a new window).
Diversity and Inclusion
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : NCA Recruitment Team
- Email : central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk
- Telephone : central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk