Principal Education Psychologist

What will you be doing?

Manage the Educational Psychology (EP) Service including management and supervision of staff

• Have oversight of the strategic projects the EP Service lead on.
• Take responsibility for developing and monitoring service planning.
• Represent the EP Service within the local area partnership
• Work with senior colleagues to drive forward the SEND Strategy and improve the  outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

About you

• A qualified Educational Psychologist with significant leadership experience
• Able to work as part of a team, taking responsibility for areas they lead on.
• A full UK driving license and who can access face to face meetings locally.
• High quality verbal and written communication skills.
• A commitment  to ensuring children and young people in West Northamptonshire achieve their best outcomes and develop into independent adults.

If you would like an informal discussion about the role, and the new directions which the Service is taking, please email  Ben Pearson Assistant Director Education ben.pearson@westnorthants.gov.uk or Gavin Morgan, Senior Educational Psychologist and Tutor at University College London – gavin.morgan@westnorthants.gov.uk. 

The Service is very well regarded and supported within the council. We are ready to embark on a journey of development and growth and we are looking for enthusiastic and creative people to join a Senior Leadership Team which supports an ethos of distributed leadership across the Service, and who will help our EP colleagues to be the best they can be. 

About you We look forward to hearing from applicants who have:

• A commitment to initiative and innovation
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• A passion for improving the life chances of others, and particularly those from vulnerable and/or marginalised groups
• An ability to work collaboratively with different professionals Applicants will need to be professionally qualified and registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). 

Our benefits

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.
• 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.

About us

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.