Principal Occupational Psychologist

Job summary

Would you like to make a difference to UK Defence by applying your Occupational Psychology skills and experience? Would you like to be at the cutting edge of performance prediction? Would you like to work flexibly, have a generous holiday entitlement and contributory pension, and support for at least five days of professional and personal development each year? If so, this could be the role for you. This is a rare and exciting opportunity for an Occupational Psychologist to lead RAF specific aptitude testing for Air & Space Command. The role of the Air & Space HQ Occupational Psychology Team is to apply professional skills and knowledge to deliver outputs relevant to stakeholders in order that they can make evidence-based policy decisions. Whilst the RAF purpose is to deliver Air and Space Power for the UK this cannot be achieved without a focus on people and harnessing their potential. Our work focuses on designing and delivering RAF specific aptitude testing, understanding the attitudes of RAF People and how these might shape their behaviours and decision making, and providing consultancy-based services for bespoke people requirements. Our work encompasses the Whole Force (Regulars, Reserves and Civil Servants) as well as families of serving personnel. The post holder will have responsibility for design, validation and technical monitoring of the Computer Based Aptitude Testing for critical RAF roles such as Pilots and Air Traffic Controllers. You will also be responsible for management and technical oversight of a wider Occupational psychology Team working across multiple areas of Occupational Psychology.

You will join the MOD Occupational Psychology profession which is part of the wider Government Occupational Psychology Profession (a recognised government specialist profession). The profession comprises over 250 members across all the major government departments and many agencies and arms-length bodies – which makes us the largest Occupational Psychology community in the U.K. We are a vibrant community with a long history in government going as far back as, at least, World War II, as shown in the Fifty Years of Occupational Psychology in Britain.

Job description

Key Duties

As a Principal Occupational Psychologist within the team you will be responsible for:

Test and assessment design and development

• Lead and manage the design, development, monitoring and validation of aptitude tests and test batteries for RAF led personnel selection and provide SME in this area.
• Refine, design and develop Computer Based Aptitude Tests, working closely with programmers to ensure they are effective, suitable to the candidate population and are unbiassed.
• Validate the tests’ predictive effectiveness.
• Evaluate their psychometric characteristics and update norm groups annually.
• Lead on design and application of psychological assessment to meet the requirements of HQ Air & Space.

Research and development

• Identify, initiate, plan, conduct and report on research studies to appraise and improve the effectiveness, efficiency and fairness of the RAF led recruitment and selection processes / methods / approaches to meet current and future RAF operational/training requirements and business needs.
• Work closely with training units to conduct needs analysis (including cognitive task analysis for aptitude testing) to establish training and operational requirements.
• Deliver bespoke research in support of the People research agenda on a variety of Occupational Psychology areas.

Stakeholder engagement and advice

• Provide professional advice to the RAF on the use of selection tests, e.g. selection criteria, strategies and approach.
• Provide support where appropriate to the Armed Forces Recruitment Service on Psychometric Testing matters.
• Provide evidence based up to date advice on occupational psychology to the RAF to meet priorities.
• Support the British Defence Diplomacy mission and brief foreign Air Force delegations on aptitude testing and other selection methods.
• Support British Defence sales of the RAF’s computer-based aptitude tests.

Team management and objectives

• Oversee the work of Senior and Higher Psychologists to ensure appropriate research techniques are applied, and outputs meet stakeholder requirements and enhance decision making and policy development.
• Set work objectives to meet strategic aims of the occupational psychology capability.
• Quality assurance of the Occupational Psychology Team’s outputs.

Person specification

Key Criteria

The following criteria will be assessed during the sifting process:

Experience

Extensive post MSc experience in the following:

• Use of aptitude tests for selection
• Design of selection processes
• Conduct of psychometric analyses
• Conduct of cognitive task analysis
• Used cognitive psychology in test development and selection
• Development and trialling of psychometric tests
• Validation of aptitude tests
• Qualified in Psychometric Test Use
• Experience of designing and developing aptitude tests for selection and assessment.
• Subject matter expertise in cognitive psychology and its application in selection and test development.
• Experience of conducting cognitive and hierarchical task analysis to inform test and test battery development and the use of tests.
• Advanced statistical skills (using statistical software such as SPSS) in the area of test validation and evaluation (e.g. psychometrics, retest effect, trend analysis, item analysis and bias analysis).
• Experience in the use of aptitude tests for selection and setting policies/strategies, e.g. selection criteria.
• Experience of presenting technical information to a non-specialist audience.
• Experience of designing and delivering research.
• Collaborating and leading multi-disciplinary teams and developing and supporting Occupational Psychology practitioners.
• Overseeing and quality assuring the work of others and promoting rigour, ethics and evaluation.
• Setting and monitoring team priorities.
• Experience of survey design and analysis.

Desirable:

Membership of the Register of Qualifications in Test Use (RQTU) or willing to join; Member of the Register of Applied Psychology Practice Supervisors to be able to supervise psychologists undertaking a BPS approved qualification, or be eligible and willing to undertake the training. If not already registered on the Register of Applied Practice Psychology Supervisors (RAPPS), working towards RAPPS eligibility within a reasonable timescale will be required.

Licences

Registered Occupational Psychologist with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Qualifications

BSc in Occupational Psychology that confers Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership with the BPS.
MSc Occupational Psychology (or equivalent titled course) approved as Stage 1 by the BPS.
Chartered Member of the BPS (or immediately eligible to join). (Membership)
Full Member of the Division of Occupational Psychology (or immediately eligible to join). (Membership).
Essential – British Psychological Soc