Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist

Transformationunitgm; Radlett; On-site; GBP 47,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS Foundation Trust in Radlett is seeking a Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist to join their dedicated team. The successful candidate will provide expert clinical support in a multidisciplinary environment focusing on adults with learning disabilities. You will lead a team and directly influence therapy services to enhance patient care. This role includes managing complicated caseloads, ensuring compliance with clinical standards, and fostering professional development amongst junior staff. Competitive salary package and support for career growth offered.

Benefits

Career development opportunities

Clinical supervision and support

Supportive working environment

Qualifications

• Able to manage a caseload of clients with complex Occupational Therapy needs.
• Detailed knowledge of evidence-based practice.
• Extensive clinical experience with advanced clinical skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage a caseload using evidence-based principles.
• Provide leadership for junior staff and supervise students.
• Develop and evaluate Occupational Therapy services.

Skills

Leadership

Clinical knowledge of adult learning disabilities

Communication skills

Analytical skills

Education

Degree in Occupational Therapy

Registration with HCPC

Postgraduate training in learning disabilities

Job description

Employer Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Kingsley Green Town Radlett Salary £47,810 - £54,710 per annum, pro rata (inclusive of 5% HCAS) Salary period Yearly Closing 05/02/2026 23:59

Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist

Band 7

Values Based Screener

At Hertfordshire Partnership Foundation Trust we are looking for people to join us who share our values and those of the NHS. Before your application can be considered please take part on our online values questionnaire, which you can find below. When you have finished you will be sent a "completion code" by email, which will be valid for 6 months and required to submit your application form.

A rare and exciting opportunity has arisen for a highly motivated and innovative Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist (OT) to join the Specialist Learning Disability in-patient services based at Kingsley Green in Hertfordshire.

The successful candidate will work as an influential and integral member of a diverse multi-disciplinary specialist learning disability health team working to support adults with a learning disability admitted to hospital to support their mental health needs.

You will be forward thinking and able to demonstrate clinical knowledge in the area of adult learning disabilities based on current evidence. You will autonomously undertake specialist assessments and interventions with individuals with barriers that may be affecting their Occupational Performance.

You receive regular clinical supervision and support from the Occupational Therapy Professional lead and peers. You will be actively encouraged to participate in continuing professional development activities.

Main duties of the job

Elm Ward, an Assessment and Treatment Unit is a short stay, mixed sex 8 bedded unit for individuals with a Learning Disability from Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire, who present with needs that would benefit an admission to this specialist Service.

The role of the Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist will involve oversight, delivery and coordination of occupation focused therapy for individuals who are admitted to HPFT’s Learning Disability Assessment and Treatment Unit. There will be opportunity to influence and continue to shape the Occupational Therapy service in response to the changing needs of service users and in line with national drivers.

The post holder will lead a team of Occupational therapy staff, providing leadership to qualified Occupational Therapists, Assistant Therapy Practitioners and Occupational Therapy Assistants, and will be a key member of the wider multi-disciplinary team.

The service is currently working towards accreditation through the Quality Network for Inpatient Learning Disability Services (QNLD), which the successful post holder will be involved in and a key player alongside colleagues.

The role will involve developing and strengthening links with local, regional and national services, to advance the evidence base for OT and deepen understanding of its value in your area of

Working for our organisation

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) is an outstanding organisation with ambitions to match. We are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of ‘Outstanding’ from the Care Quality Commission, and our aim is to be the leading provider of mental health and specialist learning disability services in the country.

Our family of over 4000 members of staff provide health and social care for over 400,000 people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. We also deliver a range of nationally commissioned specialist services including Tier 4 services for children and young people, perinatal services, plus medium and low secure learning disabilities services.

The care we provide makes a fantastic difference to the lives of our service users, their families and carers - everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout:

Our Trust values are:

Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.

These values are at the core of who we are, everything we do, and how we do it!

Would you like to be part of the HPFT family? Would you like work with us to ensure our service users live the fullest lives possible they can? Would you like to be supported in your career to be the best that you can be?

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Key Relationships:

• To work with service users and carers
• To work with Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy team members both within the service and the wider Trust network
• To work Interdisciplinary with Multi-Disciplinary Team members
• To work and liaise with other statutory and non-statutory service providers involved in service user care and Treatment.
• To maintain links with wider regional and national professional groups and networks.
• To work with team and divisional managers.
• To liaise with corporate departments.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• To manage a caseload of clients with highly complex Occupational Therapy needs, using evidence based/client-centred principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions in clinic and community settings and on home visits.
• To provide leadership for junior staff, through supervision and appraisal.
• To lead in the planning, development and evaluation of Occupational Therapy services, holding responsibility for defined projects where appropriate.
• To regularly supervise Occupational Therapy students on practice placement, following attendance at an approved Practise Educator’s course.
• To support and act as a mentor to staff enrolled on the Occupational Therapy apprenticeship.
• To proactively engage in supervision both 1:1 and peer, including Sensory Integration supervision.
• To apply in depth knowledge of the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) and other standardised assessment approaches relevant to the clinical setting.
• Following specialist assessment, to undertake case formulation in order to highlight occupational strengths and limitations and to inform the intervention plan moving forward.
• To work collaboratively with service users to identify OT goals as part of the overall recovery plan.
• To provide interventions in the manner that is consistent with Trust standards and values.
• To routinely provide detailed feedback to the MDT regarding observed occupational performance throughout contact, which inform ongoing assessment and therapeutic intervention.
• To provide highly specialist support and education to service users and carers regarding aspects of occupational therapy e.g. equipment fitting, rehabilitation programmes, sensory issues, management of symptoms through activity.
• To maintain clinical records using the electronic patient record system.
• To liaise with carers and other professionals as relevant.
• To exercise good personal time management, punctuality and consistent reliable attendance.
• To attend mandatory training.
• To comply with the RCOT Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and national and Trust policies
• To review and reflect on your own practice and performance through effective use of professional and operational supervision and appraisal.
• To maintain a professional portfolio for CPD, recording learning outcomes through participation in internal/external development opportunities.
• To actively participate in the Trust Occupational Therapy Continued Professional Development and training programmes and opportunities, both as a learner and a facilitator.
• To actively promote Occupational Therapy through the sharing of clinical expertise and experience through presenting of posters, writing of articles for professional publications, attendance at special interest groups, conferences etc.
• Be responsible for recruitment and retention of staff.
• To work flexibly in line with the needs of the service, including evenings and weekends if required.

Clinical Responsibility

• To lead on identifying individuals Occupational Therapy goals and work with colleagues to support them to work towards these.
• To provide highly specialist Occupational Therapy advice, intervention and support given to service users and their carers.
• To provide timely updates and feedback to the clinical team regarding the service users wellbeing and occupational performance.
• To provide detailed specialist occupational therapy reports when required, within designated clinical area.
• To seek out and use latest evidence-based practice to engage service users in meaningful and appropriate activities, to promote independence, recovery and well-being and demonstrating effectiveness of Occupational Therapy within these outcomes.
• To have a senior oversight of the occupational needs of the specific service user group and develop services accordingly.
• To demonstrate and apply a highly specialist level of understanding of the effect of disability and recommend adaptations to the client’s physical and social environment.
• To ensure that up to date written and electronic records and activity data are maintained in accordance with Professional and Trust standards.
• To undertake risk assessments within clinical area as guided by local/Trust policies.
• To report incidents, safeguarding concerns, complaints and compliments.
• To work effectively as a senior member of a team in providing a highly specialised occupational therapy service to the designated area.
• To actively participate in /lead safety huddles and de-brief sessions as appropriate.
• To support with purchasing of equipment and ensuring training needs around their use is identified to relevant persons and sought accordingly.

Leadership and Staff Management Responsibility

• To review and reflect on personal practice and performance through effective use of professional and operational supervision and appraisal.
• To exercise good personal time management, punctuality and consistently reliable attendance.
• To oversee the Occupational Therapy rota; managing leave and sickness.
• To oversee risk assessments and well-being plans for staff within the Occupational Therapy team.
• To lead the day-to-day delivery of Occupational Therapy services within your area of practice including delegation of tasks to staff.
• To demonstrate leadership skills through the management of designated projects.
• To lead in the coordination of induction, training and education of students and other staff in this setting as appropriate.
• To be responsible for ensuring the supervision of Occupational Therapy staff as appropriate.
• To deputise for the Band 8a OT or senior equivalent as required.
• To work effectively as a senior member of the wider LD Assessment and Treatment Unit team.

Person specification

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

• Able to manage a caseload of clients with highly complex Occupational Therapy needs, using evidence based/client-centred principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions in clinic and community settings and on home visits.
• Detailed knowledge of evidence-based practice and its contribution to practice governance
• Extensive clinical experience and ability to demonstrate application of advanced clinical skills
• Evidence of facilitating therapist, assistants and student development through effective supervision
• Experience of working within a Learning Disability setting
• Planning and coordination of treatment packages
• Experience of working in a relevant in-patient setting
• Participation in research projects and audit

QUALIFICATIONS/EDUCATION/TRAINING

• Degree or equivalent in Occupational Therapy
• Registration with HCPC
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Post graduate training/experience in learning disabilities, mental health/challenging behaviour and physical/sensory disabilities
• An in depth knowledge of the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) and other standardised assessment approaches relevant to the clinical setting and post qualifications linked to this.
• Evidence of providing highly specialist support and education to service users and carers regarding aspects of occupational therapy e.g. equipment fitting, rehabilitation programmes, sensory issues, management of symptoms through activity
• Sensory Integration training - SI Practitioner
• Membership of RCOT
• Experience of assessing risk of physical health needs - falls, epilepsy etc

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

• Clear and effective communication through written, verbal and non-verbal modes
• Broad knowledge of current best practice in OT, Learning Disabilities and mental health
• Understanding of team dynamics
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with relevant stakeholders
• Experience of AMBIT

ANALYTICAL SKILLS

• Contributing to formulations and care planning formally and informally
• Broad knowledge of current best practice in OT and mental health
• Planning and co-ordination of treatment packages
• Ability to identify and analyse problems and be proactive in their solution
• Ability to analyse professional and ethical issues
• Applied knowledge of mental health legislation
• Applied knowledge and risk assessment and management
• Understanding of OT outcome measures
• Project Management/CQI

About us

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) is rated by the Care Quality Commission as an Outstanding provider of mental health and learning disability services. In 2021, we won the prestigious Health Service Journal award for Mental Health Trust of the Year, with the judges saying they were “blown away” by our people’s achievements and that everything they saw “sings and hums”. This year, our staff rated us the 4th best mental health and learning disability trust to work for out of all 52 trusts in the country. Our staff tell us that they are proud to be part of the HPFT team, proud of the standard of care we provide and proud that service users are our top priority. Our people tell us they feel supported through a great development, wellbeing and work-life balance offer and a highly compassionate, values-driven culture. We are equally proud of our staff, who live our values of being welcoming, kind, positive, respectful and professional so that together we provide great care and great outcomes for our service users and carers.

If you would like to join a team to be proud of and you share our values and passion for great care and outcomes for our service users and carers, we would love to hear from you.

Additional Information

HPFT is committed to being an equal opportunities employer and in order to reflect the diversity of its population, positively encourages applications from all areas of the community. We aim to be a representative organisation with regards to age, disability, ethnicity, gender, beliefs and sexual orientation and are fully committed to equality, diversity and human rights and encourage applications from all sections of the community including users of mental health services.

The Trust is committed to helping staff balance work and home life and welcomes applications from candidates wishing to work part-time or under flexible working arrangements.

Infection Control

All our staff will need to comply with current Infection Prevention and Control measures which could include wearing a mask on all our Trust sites and in all roles

AI Usage Guidance

While Artificial Intelligence (AI) can aid you in completing your application, these tools cannot fully grasp the context of requirements of the job you’re applying for, nor can they accurately reflect your skills, knowledge and experience. Please ensure you have tailored your application before submitting it.

For further information, please refer to the Trust’s guidance on AI usage document which can be found below.

Visa, Immigration and Sponsorship

As a Trust we will offer sponsorship to roles which require professional registration, unfortunately, if you apply for a role that is outside of that your application will not be considered for the role. If you hold a different visa type, you must have a minimum of 2 years on your current visa to be considered for a role.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name Amanda Drake Job title Professional Lead for LD Occupational Therapy Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 07813348421 Additional information Stephen Burrows - Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist Telephone: [phone]