Principal Educational Psychologist

West Northamptonshire Council are delighted to offer an exciting opportunity to join us as the Principal Educational Psychologist to lead and develop our growing and dynamic Educational Psychology Service ensuring the highest quality service to support positive outcomes for children and young people in West Northamptonshire. 

The Educational Psychology Service plays an important part in driving forward our SEND Strategy, making improvements to the experiences of children and young people with SEND across West Northamptonshire.  

The successful candidate will be part of the SEND leadership team and work collaboratively across Education services to enable WNC to provide the highest quality, and evidence-based support across a range of systems and with a range of stakeholders and partners. 

This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore subject to an enhanced DBS certificate. It is also a regulated activity and will be subject to a Children and Adults Barred List check. West Northamptonshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our employees, these include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement starting at 28 days annual leave per year, 29 days for senior managers (pro rata, depending on how many hours per week you work), plus bank holidays. An additional 5 days, linked to continuous service, and ability to purchase up to 6 weeks additional leave per year.
• Cycle to Work scheme. 
• Local Government Pension Scheme plus immediate life cover (3 times your annual salary from day one) and ill-health protection.
• Employee discounts with local and national retailers, days out, finance, health and beauty, travel and eating out plus lots more.
• Car Lease scheme
• Payment of professional subscription / membership - If your job description requires that you are registered with or are a member of a professional body, WNC will pay for your professional subscription or membership fees.
• Employee Assistance Programme - We have an employee support programme run by Health Assured, an independent, external organisation. Health Assured is available for you and your immediate family members, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and includes telephone counselling, legal advice, bereavement support and medical information.
• Commsave- Free membership to Commsave Credit Union who provide a variety of savings accounts, loans, a monthly lottery draw and more!
• Ongoing training and development opportunities.
• A variety of flexible working options to support your work/life balance, including full or part time, term time, 9-day fortnight, etc. (subject to business needs).
• Our West Ways of Working – We want our workforce to thrive, and we equip our employees with the right technology to support hybrid and collaborative working, on or off site, depending on the role.
• Making a difference - If you want to use your skills and experience with an organisation that are genuinely invested in making a difference, are committed to improving people's lives, and whose success has a direct impact on the wellbeing of your family, friends and people in your local area, then West Northamptonshire Council is the place for you.

As Principal Educational Psychologist you will play a crucial role in providing strategic, operational leadership and management support to the West Northamptonshire Educational Psychology Service to deliver a range of psychological services for children, young people, their families and schools. as part of the wider Education Directorate.   

You will work sensitively and pro-actively with schools, families, children and young people to maximise levels of education attainment, achievement and personal development, supporting the most vulnerable learners to thrive.  

This role is full of exciting opportunities beyond the realm of statutory obligations. 

As an integral part of the role you will have the chance to delve into innovative projects and collaboration with multi-disciplinary teams and pioneer new evidence informed approaches to enhance educational experiences.

If you are passionate about applying psychology to make a meaningful difference in education and eager to explore fresh avenues of professional growth, this role is tailor made for you. 

We are seeking candidates with a commitment  to ensuring children and young people in West Northamptonshire achieve their best outcomes and develop into independent adults. 

The successful candidate will have excellent communication skills and be able to work collaboratively with a range of stakeholders.

We are looking for psychologists, with leadership experience, who have a passion for improving the life chances of others, and particularly those from vulnerable and/or marginalised groups

Appointment to this post will be subject to the outcome of an Enhanced Disclosure with Adult and Child Barred List checks obtained through the Disclosure and Barring Service.

West Northamptonshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and candidates expressing an interest in this opportunity must understand and demonstrate this commitment. 

If you would like an informal discussion about the role, and the new directions which the Service is taking, please email  Dr Louisa Jones, Head of SEND at louisa.jones@westnorthants.gov.uk.

At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.

Our vision is ‘to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services. 

Hear more from our Chief Executive, Anna Earnshaw, about what it's like to work at West Northants Council https://youtu.be/lV0EfeUF4aU  

We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential.  We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner

The following film was created by us to communicate our intentions - watch WNC colleagues explain what DEI means to us.

If you need additional support or reasonable adjustments during the application process, including needing the job description in another format or language, please email careers@westnorthants.gov.uk for support.

West Northants Council, where careers thrive.