Job description

The Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy) is a prestigious and highly competitive specialist three-year full-time professional training Programme, based in the Department of Psychology, School of Mental Health & Psychological Sciences (MHaPS), Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King s College London (KCL).

Successful completion of the Programme confers eligibility to apply for registration as an applied psychologist with the Health Care and Professions Council (the statutory regulator for practitioner psychologists in the UK known as HCPC) and become a practising Clinical Psychologist. The training delivered by KCL through this Programme is subject to strict professional standards set by the HCPC and to the standards required to ensure British Psychological Society (BPS) accreditation. This regulatory oversight involves detailed reporting and site visit management.

The Programme s training pathway is intensive and subject to a well-defined timetable. Trainees undertake 3 days a week on supervised clinical placements (six placements in total over the 3 years). First year trainees have two days a week of teaching, which switches to one day teaching and one day for doctoral research activities towards the last part of the first year and continues for the second and third year of training. Each element of the course assessed teaching, supervised clinical placements and doctoral research - is delivered concurrently according to a programme-specific schedule which is more intensive than the standard KCL academic calendar.

Training on the Programme for Home Fee students is commissioned by NHS England (previously Health Education England) and while undertaking their training, students are full-time employees of the National Health Service (NHS) requiring adherence to employment obligations. Within each cohort there is also a small international student intake, and these are awarded honorary contracts within the NHS to allow them to undertake the supervised placement component of the Programme in addition to the taught and research elements.

The new commissioning contract with HEE, beginning in October 2023, is associated with course developments which include new training pathways for cognitive behaviour therapy, accredited by the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies (BABCP) and for family therapy/ systemic practice, accredited by Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice (AFT) as well as the piloting of a part-time training route.

The combination of both taught and research elements in the Programme means it is subject to the university regulations applying to postgraduate taught as well as to postgraduate research programmes, in addition to detailed quality assurance processes, including through the HCPC, BPS, and HEE. New quality assurance processes are also now required for the Programme s new accreditations with the BABCP and AFT.

The Programme administration model is one of localised, specialist support to the Programme team. This ensures a high quality of student experience within the context of the DClinPsy as an accredited professional training programme and doctorate with exacting regulatory obligations and reliant on the input from a wide range of partners and stakeholders.

The Programme administration team therefore takes responsibility for delivering administrative support in many areas which for other postgraduate courses would be covered by the university s Central Administration Services. These include, amongst others, the admissions process, including screening and shortlisting as well as the monitoring and assessment of trainee doctoral theses, clinical placement coordination and localised student wellbeing support (e.g. personal support tutors). Specialist rather than centralised models are recommended by the British Psychological Society within their guidance for providers of accredited programmes.

At King s we are deeply committed to embedding good culture, equality and diversity practice into all of our activities so that the university is an inclusive, welcoming and inspiring place to work and study.

Link to programme profile: https://www.clearing-house.org.uk/courses/courses-z/ioppn-kings-college-london

The Programme Officer (Curriculum) for the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy) will work alongside the Academic Director, Academic Tutors, Programme Manager and Senior Programme Officer to coordinate the curriculum stream of the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology Training Programme, delivering all administration relating to the teaching activities of the Programme.

The role requires a significant degree of autonomous working, with the individual being responsible for planning and organising their own work. They will offer high-quality administrative support and guidance to the Programme Team and students, developing and maintaining systems to ensure the smooth running of administrative processes and an outstanding student experience throughout the student lifecycle.

This post will be offered on an indefinite contract

This is a full-time position

Key responsibilities

• Responsible for the delivery of all administration relating to teaching activities on the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology Programme including but not exclusively, curriculum updating, examinations, timetabling, communication, maintenance of KEATS (virtual learning environment) and collation of feedback per teaching session.
• Assisting the Programme Academic Director, Tutors, the Programme Manager and Senior Programme Officer as necessary for the delivery of teaching including working on specific projects in this area.
• Assisting programme team members in administration underpinning other programme activities such as Placements, Research and Selection, including specific projects required for any of these.
• Working as part of a team with other administrators and the Programme Manager to maintain accurate records, clear communication and updated online systems (KEATS/other) required by the programme.
• Developing links and liaising with all relevant King s College professional services departments necessary in relation to the running of the programme.
• Creating and maintaining accurate and transparent systems to underpin all aspects of the programme administration and updating these as required.
• Providing the Programme Director, Programme Core Team, Academic Director and Programme Manager with accurate information relating to programme activity in a clear and timely manner.
• Preparing and circulating in a timely manner all papers required for committee meetings relating to the post holder s area of responsibility and taking minutes as and when required.
• Ensuring that all work is undertaken in compliance with King s College regulations.
• Contributing to the maintenance and further development of KEATS and other online services introduced and/or used by the programme.
• Maintaining a professional standard of communication in all areas of programme administration and contributing to the upkeep of a professional office environment.
• Making all relevant room bookings/ hospitality arrangements for the purposes of all meetings/ arranged by the post holder.
• Managing all trainee and programme information with discretion and information in accordance with relevant King s College guidelines and national legislation.
• Support wider Programme workstreams and initiatives for long term planning including supporting accreditation pathways (BABCP & Association of Family Therapy); service user and carer involvement; culture, equality, diversity and inclusion.

Skills, knowledge, and experience

Essential Criteria

1. Excellent communication skills including ability to draft documents and correspondence.
2. Excellent organisational and time management skills, with the ability to prioritise effectively.
3. Strong numeracy skills and ability to analyse complex numerical data.
4. Excellent working knowledge of Microsoft Office packages, especially Excel, and the ability to work on new systems.
5. Methodical, detail oriented and flexible in approach to work, maintaining a high level of accuracy.
6. Ability to work with a broad range of stakeholders in a professional and assured manner.
7. Proactive with the ability to work independently as well as delivering within a team.
8. Curious, customer service oriented, with a commitment to personal accountability and continuous improvement
9. Comfortable with adapting to change, driving own professional development.
10. Commitment to equality and diversity in the workplace

Desirable

1. Degree level or equivalent qualification or experience
2. Experience of working within Higher Education and/or the Health sector, including servicing committees
3. Experience in the use of databases, student records systems (such as SITS) and website content management systems.
4. Prior experience of working in a customer facing environment

Further information

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible