Band 7 Advanced Occupational Therapist - Community

Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust; Gateshead; On-site; GBP 49,000 - 57,000; Full time

Job summary

Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust in Gateshead is seeking an experienced Band 7 Occupational Therapist to lead our Community Occupational Therapy Team, delivering high-quality clinical care across rapid response and community settings.

The post requires extensive post-qualification experience, leadership skills, and a UK Driving Licence with access to a vehicle for work, enabling work across Gateshead sites to meet service demands.

Qualifications

• HCPC registration as an Occupational Therapist (OT)
• Masters level study or equivalent

Responsibilities

• Lead the clinical delivery and leadership of the aligned Occupational Therapy service.
• Manage a clinical caseload with advanced assessment and treatment of complex cases.
• Work as a key MDT member and provide supervision, teaching and appraisal of staff and students.

Skills

Leadership

Teamwork

Clinical delivery

People management

Education

OT degree and HCPC registration

Masters level study or equivalent

Job description

Main area Band 7 Occupational Therapist - Community Grade NHS AfC: Band 7 Contract Permanent: Requirement to contribute to weekend, bank holiday and late shift rota. Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (The post holder may be required to support bank holiday, late shift and weekend working) Job ref 297-8338667

Employer Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Gateshead NHS Trust - various sites Town Gateshead Salary £49,387 - £56,515 Per Annum Salary period Yearly Closing 29/10/2026 23:59

Band 7 Advanced Occupational Therapist - Community

NHS AfC: Band 7

In the event of excessive applications being received this vacancy may close earlier than the stated closing date, you are encouraged to submit your application as soon as possible
IMPORTANT NOTE ON COMPLETION OF REFERENCE SECTION OF APPLICATION FORM
All references from current and previous employers will be sought and MUST cover a minimum of 3 years employment. Therefore, when completing the reference section of your application form, please give the address, telephone number and work email address of each of your current/previous line managers that cover 3 years employment. Where possible this should be from two separate employers. Failure to complete this section may result in your application not being processed.
PLEASE NOTEit is a requirement of this Trust that all successful applicants pay for their DBS certificate if a check is required for the post. This will be done through deduction from your monthly pay over a maximum of three months. It is also a requirement that all successful applicants register or are registered with the DBS update service where a DBS is required.

All new entrants to the NHS will be appointed on the minimum of the pay scale in line with Terms & Conditions.

Job overview

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced and skilled Occupational Therapist to lead our Community Occupational Therapy Team. We are seeking a motivated and flexible clinician with a skill set in people management, team leadership and a proven record of clinical delivery to work across Rapid Response and Sister Winifred Laver Centre.

The post is fortunate to operate within a well-established and supportive MDT and benefits from clinical leadership/governance from the Occupational Therapy Department; where robust supervision and appraisal processes are in place and CPD is encouraged.

A UK Driving License and access to a vehicle for work purposes will be required for this post; the post holder will be required to work across sites within Gateshead NHS Trust to meet various service demands.

Enquiries are welcomed.

Main duties of the job

To take the lead role in the clinical delivery and leadership of the aligned Occupational Therapy service.

To manage a clinical caseload undertaking advanced assessment and appropriate treatment, dealing with clinically complex cases.

To work as a key member of the MDT and acting in accordance with best practice standards.

Take a lead in service development based on data and evolving national and local guidance.

To lead in supervision, support, teaching and appraisal of Occupational Therapy staff and students, within the specialty.

Working for our organisation

Based in the North East of England we provide a range of hospital and community health services from our leading facilities, including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Blaydon urgent care centre and Bensham Hospital, all within Gateshead.

Established in 2005, we were one of the first foundation trusts in the country and since then have consistently achieved the highest levels of care for patients.

We now employ around 4,800 staff and currently provide 444 hospital beds across the Gateshead region.

Our values should be the ‘golden thread’ which runs through everything we do – they are the core of who we are. Our five values can easily be remembered by the simple acronymICORE; Innovation, Care, Openness, Respect, Engagement.

We have a number of staff networks including the Global Ethnic Majority (GEM) network, D-Ability network, LGBTQ+ Network and the Women’s Network, to challenge us and help us to constantly improve. Our Armed Forces network is one of our emerging networks.

The health and wellbeing of our staff is one of our highest priorities, and we offer a range of support and initiatives as part of our ‘Balance’ programme balancegateshead.com to cater for our diverse workforce, so that your individual needs can be supported, allowing you a happy and healthy working experience with us.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Delivery of the specialty Occupational Therapy Service this will include service review, development and alignment to national best practice standards.
• To be professionally responsible and accountable for all aspects of your own work including the management of patients in your care.
• To ensure a high standard of clinical care for the patients under your management and support all staff (registered and unregistered) to do likewise on a daily basis.
• Provide supervision to registered staff, non-registered staff and students as required.
• To provide a key focus for therapeutic clinical expertise, high quality advice and support to the multi-disciplinary team.
• Data collection and provide key communication between key stakeholders.
• Service development and innovation activities.

Person specification

Qualifactions

• OT Degree and HCPC registration
• Masters Level study or equivalent

Experience

• Extensive post registration experience in relevant field to advertised specialism
• Expert knowledge in assessment, treatment and management of complex patients, demonstrating clinical reasoning skills
• Advanced Manual handling/ risk assessment skills, application of policy and procedures
• Interpersonal and communication skills
• Team working and OT advocacy
• Management of staff and awareness of policies and procedures
• Change Management/ Service Development/ Data review experience
• NHS experience linked to area of expertise

Applicants who have not been contacted within 4 weeks of the closing date are to assume that their application has been unsuccessful.

Applications from job seekers who require Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications where the post is eligible. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab) .

Candidates who require sponsorship are strongly advised to visit the UK Border Agency website and familiarise themselves with what is required. There is a facility on this site to access the points based calculator and work through an example which should assist candidates in their understanding of the process.

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.