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Band 4 Research Assistant Psychologist - Bristol

Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust

Bristol, BS162EW £28,392 – £31,157 a year Fixed-Term Posted 7 September 2026 Apply by 10 September 2026

Home Office register entry: Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health NHS Partnership, Bath

Visa sponsorship

This role is listed by an employer that holds a live Home Office sponsor licence on the Skilled Worker route.

Closest occupation match: SOC 2225, Clinical psychologists. Pay for this occupation is set by national pay scales (NHS bands), so no single Home Office going rate applies.

This occupation falls under the Health and Care Worker route. Public reference figures for that route: the general salary minimum is £25,000 a year, and salaries set by national pay scales (NHS bands) at or above the relevant band rate typically meet the occupation's requirement. Individual eligibility depends on personal circumstances. These figures are public reference information, not advice or a verdict on this job.

Role description

Job summary

We are looking for a committed research Assistant Psychologist to support the development of an evidence base for two key areas of our Integrated Non-Custodial Service (IN-CS). You will be supporting the planning and delivery of service evaluations of our Peer Wellbeing Service and the Women's Criminal Justice Pathway, across Avon and Somerset and Wiltshire. Due to the nature of the project you will need to commit to working on the project for 12 months. This role will provide valuable research and evaluation skills and clinical contact will be limited to data collection with both service users and peers. There may also be opportunities for training and other continuing professional development activities relating to your role. You will receive regular clinical supervision to support you in your role.

Please see Key Local Information document for further information about these roles.

Right to Work in the UK This position is not eligible for Skilled Worker visa sponsorship. Applicants must already hold the legal right to work in the UK at the time of application, as the organisation is unable to support sponsorship for this post.

Main duties of the job

You will be supporting the planning, implementation and evaluation of two service evaluation projects across the AWP footprint. Under the supervision of a qualified Forensic Psychologist, your role will include:

Researching and understanding the current service specification for the Peer Wellbeing Service and the Women's Criminal Justice Pathway.

In conjunction with the wider research team, you will explore the options to use both quantitative and qualitative data in meeting the aims of the service evaluations.

You will take a lead role in data collection, which will include some clinical contact with service users and peers, through interviews and potentially focus groups.

You will support data analysis under supervision.

You will contribute to the writing up and dissemination of research reports.

You will have the opportunity to engage in regular clinical supervision with a qualified Forensic Psychologist, as well as other members of the team.

You will have opportunities for continuing professional development, via training, shadowing and connections with other criminal justice services within IN-CS.

About us

We are the lead provider of healthcare for people with serious mental illness, learning disabilities and autism across Bath and North East Somerset (BaNES), Swindon and Wiltshire, and Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

We aim to provide High Quality, Compassionate Care everywhere, every day. This means our services will be safe, clinically effective and provide a positive all round experience for our patients, families and carers. We believe passionately in treating everyone with kindness, respect and empathy.

Key to this is providing a supportive and safe environment for our 4,000 staff where we all feel welcome and able to do the best we can for those we support. Our staff and teams work incredibly hard delivering services across more than 90 locations, covering 2,200miles, to more than 1.8million people.At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.

Date posted

07 September 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£28,392 to £31,157 a year per annum

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working

Reference number

342-SS101-0926

Job locations

Bybrook Lodge, Blackberry Hill Hospital

Manor Road, Fishponds

Bristol

BS162EW

United Kingdom

Job description

Job responsibilities

We are keen to encourage creativity and staff development and regular, supportive clinical supervision and line-management will be provided.

Please read the Job Description and Key Local Information for further details on the role and projects. Please note that the JD / PS are related to generic Assistant Psychologist roles. The roles advertised here are more specialised and relate to service evaluation projects. As such, there is limited opportunity for clinical work with service users beyond the data collection / interviews required for evaluation. The Key Local Information document provides more detail about these specialised roles.

If you have any questions about this post or the service, please do contact us via the contact details provided below.

We look forward to receiving your application.

Person Specification

Education

Essential

Honours Degree in Psychology
Eligibility for graduate membership of the BPS

Desirable

Additional training in a psychological area of interest

Experience

Essential

Experience of or interest in conducting research and service evaluations
Experience in conducting interviews with staff and or patients
Audit & research experience
Experience of working with statistical packages

Desirable

Interest in working within complex mental health care
Experience of working face to face with people presenting with mental health difficulties

Skills

Essential

Good communication (IT, verbal, written)
Ability to work independently and with others
Self awareness, emotional resilience, empathy

Desirable

Ability to travel to different locations

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.