AR-214 – Senior Forensic Psychologist – Hawkes Bay – New Zealand

ORGANISATIONAL OVERVIEW

This employer’s goal is to reduce re-offending, and underlying this is a strong commitment to public safety.

Their people care about their communities and want to make New Zealand a safer place to be. They do this by helping people lead crime-free lives, which means fewer victims and safer communities.

Their core role is managing their clients and community-based sentences imposed by the courts gives them the opportunity to change lives and shape futures. Of the 8,000 people who work at for this employer, the majority work directly with offenders in a variety of roles including probation officers, Their officers, case managers, programme facilitators, nurses, community work supervisors, instructors and psychologists.

They manage 18 prisons located from Northland to Invercargill and 160 Community with sites in towns and cities across New Zealand where probation staff manages people serving non-custodial sentences and orders such as community work, home detention or parole.
The vast majority of the offenders they work with live in the community, and most of those sentenced to a term of imprisonment will be released at some stage. Therefore it is in all their interests to ensure that when people leave that they have the support and skills they need to live a crime-free life. They do this through targeted rehabilitation and reintegration, treatment, education and trade-training opportunities for offenders that will reduce the likelihood of re-offending.
You can help change lives and shape futures too.

Role Purpose

The Psychologist is a member of a professional team which provides effective service delivery. Clinical and forensic psychologists are based in specific office locations or Special Treatment Units (STU) throughout New Zealand. This position directly supports the effective and efficient delivery of psychological services by providing quality clinical and risk assessments, providing advice, education and training, and developing and delivering rehabilitative programmes Specifically, the functions this position is accountable for includes:

• Providing quality psychological services including clinical and risk assessment and treatment services to offenders and referral to appropriate agencies where necessary.
• Providing advice, education, supervision and training to Their staff and community agencies.
• Develop and deliver rehabilitative programmes.
• Developing working relationships with other services, agencies, groups and whanau.
• Undertaking research work where necessary.
• Take part in systems interventions such as are typically found in therapeutic communities.
• Senior Psychologists are also responsible for providing professional supervision and oversight of some psychologists.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Key Accountability Areas:

Clinical Services and Related Advisory Services

• Provide assessment and treatment services for offenders to required standard and based on best practice
• Administer and interpret psychometric tests
• Treat a range of offender types for specific psychological conditions
• Run group treatment programmes in STU’s and where required in Area Offices
• Provide training to correctional staff and community groups dealing with offenders
• Monitor and evaluate the scope and delivery of own services to ensure they are to required standards
• Theme IOMS, and other administration systems e.g. CARS, to required standard
• Contribute to the resolution of issues affecting the provision of RRS within the local area.
• Provide supervision services to other Their staff.
Report Writing, Research and Advice

• Write assessment, treatment, Court and Parole Board reports
• Complete psychological research projects and programmes in accordance with the priorities of the department
• Provide psychological case management and programme advice
• Participate in Service and Departmental working parties
EEO/Bicultural Awareness

• Incorporate bicultural awareness and EEO policies into own practices and processes.
Training and Education

• Develop and conduct training programmes/seminars for Their staff and community groups
Key Accountability Areas:

Supervision and Administration

• Provide clinical supervision to Psychologists within RRS (Senior Psychologist only)
• Participate in own clinical supervision
• Provide supervision to Their staff as required
• Fully theme all offender and administration information systems
• Manage referral system (Senior Psychologist only)
• Conduct internal control checks (Senior Psychologist only)
Team Work and Participation

• Contribute to team development and foster co-operation
• Provide timely, open and honest communication
• Participate in regular performance feedback, both formal and informal
• Identify development opportunities for staff under direct supervision and ensure performance is maximised through regular feedback, both formal and informal
• Support high professional standards within the psychological service team
Relationship Management

• Develop and maintain sound working relationships with other services, groups and agencies
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with other staff within the Psychological Service

Health and Safety

Help maintain a safe working environment within Their by:
• reporting any hazards, and any accidents or near misses that occur
• adhering to departmental safety standards and processes
• participating in health and safety programmes as required, including own rehabilitation if a work injury is sustained.

RELATIONSHIPS

Direct Reports:
Nil

Key working relationships:
The Psychologist/Senior Psychologist requires strong working relationships with the Regional Managers of Their Services and Service Development Groups, Special Treatment Units, Programme Facilitators as well as other managers and staff across the Department.

The following external relationships are critical to the Department and success of this role.

• Offenders
• New Zealand Parole Board
• Community groups and agencies
• Court staff
• Lawyers
• Iwi groups
• Service providers and suppliers
• Members of the public

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Knowledge, Skills and Experience
• Ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with a wide range of people including external stakeholders to facilitate the accomplishment of work goals.
• Ability to be flexible and adapt behaviour to reflect diverse situations and people, and deal positively with difficult situations and people.
• Exhibit well-developed communication skills that enable clear, relevant and appropriate presentation of ideas, opinions, views and recommendations.
• Produce written communication that is clear, concise and logical, and of a high standard that is easily understood by the reader.
• Theme verbal communication that is respectful, non-threatening, delivered in a manner appropriate for the audience and appropriate for a learning context.
• Effectively theme technology to improve communication.
• Recognise the need for and is able to make appropriate recommendations to improve systems and processes based on sound logic, analysis and reasoned argument.
• Apply knowledge of policies and procedures and practical experience when developing solutions to field problems.
• Know when to seek guidance from others on matters of operational policy and procedure.
• Recognise and appropriately escalates issues for wider consideration and national implementation.
• Ability to provide psychological assessment and treatment services based upon evidence of what constitutes best practice in a Their setting.
• An understanding and awareness of recent psychological literature.
• Psychological report writing skills, in particular risk assessment.
• Self-Management/ Planning Skills
• Able to identify opportunities and take responsibility for making things happen.
• Able to plan and organise at a detailed level to ensure the most effective utilisation of available resources.
• Effectively manage time and workload, taking responsibility for learning and development, while maintaining a balance between work and personal life.
• Open to the assessment of own skill levels and seeks opportunities for skill development and enhancement.
• Demonstrate an awareness of own limits.

Qualifications
• Registration as a Psychologist and hold a current practicing certificate
• Minimum of Doctorate in Psychology.

Other requirements
• Travel nationally as required to fulfil the requirements of the position.
• A current clean driver licence (desirable).