Band 7 Occupational Therapist - DICE

Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 47,000 - 55,000; Part time

Job summary

A mental health healthcare provider in Birmingham is seeking a part-time Occupational Therapist to join their DICE team, focusing on providing intensive support for children and young people with autism and/or learning disabilities. This role involves delivering specialist assessments and interventions while collaborating with families and multi-agency teams. The position offers a salary of £47,810 to £54,710 per annum, pro rata, on a fixed-term contract lasting 18 months.

Qualifications

• Highly specialist expertise in occupational therapy skills.
• Experience with learning disabilities and autism.
• Ability to develop care plans collaboratively.

Responsibilities

• Deliver specialist occupational therapy assessment and intervention.
• Contribute to crisis stabilisation and preventive measures.
• Maintain effective relationships with colleagues and external agencies.

Skills

Occupational engagement

Environmental adaptation

Sensory integration

Multi-agency collaboration

Crisis intervention

Education

Degree (or equivalent) in Occupational Therapy

HCPC registration

Training in sensory integration or advanced clinical skills

Job description

Go back Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust

Band 7 Occupational Therapist - DICE

The closing date is 19 October 2025

Due to newly acquired funding, we are looking to expand our provision of enhanced support for children and young people with autism and / or learning disabilities who are at risk of psychiatric admission.

The DICE team provides intensive support for children and young people with learning disabilities and/or autism during times of crisis. Our aim is to prevent avoidable hospital admissions, stabilise crises, and support recovery in the community.

The team provides intensive support at times of crisis, working collaboratively with families, carers, and local services to stabilise and enable people to live safely and meaningfully in their community.

Occupational therapy is central to this approach, enabling people to achieve participation, independence, and recovery even in the most challenging circumstances.

We are seeking a dynamic and skilled Occupational Therapist (Band 7) to join our team. You will play a pivotal role in delivering specialist occupational therapy assessment and intervention, contributing to crisis stabilisation, and supporting people to live well in their communities.

Main duties of the job

• Demonstrate highly specialist expertise and specialist occupational therapy skills in areas such as occupational engagement, environmental adaptation, development and maintenance of skills needed for living an ordinary life as well as sensory integration.
• Actively involve people in developing and agreeing their own care plan, to act as an advocate and ensure that there is proper regard for their dignity, choice, self-esteem, racial, cultural, sexual and religious needs and preferences.
• Practice where appropriate within the Positive Behaviour Support framework.
• Contribute to comprehensive risk assessments and develop effective risk management plans.
• Establish and maintain effective relationships with colleagues, other agencies, people who use services and their families.
• Work collaboratively with multi-agency team and wider networks to develop provide/ oversee occupation-focused assessments and interventions for children and young people.

About us

Welcome to Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. Our 4000 clinical and support staff help us to improve mental health wellbeing and meet the needs of the 70,000 people we serve each year. We provide a range of mental healthcare services across Birmingham and Solihull, as well as specialised services nationally. We also offer medical, nursing and psychology training and are proud of our international reputation for both research and innovation.

Our population is culturally diverse, characterised in places by high levels of deprivation which create an increasing demand for our services and a necessity for us to make sure everyone can access the help they need. We are a team of compassionate, inclusive and committed people working together to provide excellent care to support our community. If you are looking for a place to belong, where you can make a real difference to people's lives, join our team where our warm welcome is waiting for you.

Job responsibilities

For further information about the main responsibilities please view the attached job description and person specification.

Person Specification

Training and Qualification

• Degree (or equivalent in Occupational Therapy.
• HCPC registration.
• Training in sensory integration or advanced clinical skills related to LD/autism.

Experience

• Significant post-qualification OT experience in learning disabilities, autism, and mental health.
• Experience of crisis intervention or intensive support work.
• Experience of delivering interventions for sensory needs, functional skills, and meaningful occupation.
• Experience of supervising junior staff or students.
• Experience of working in crisis or intensive support services.
• Experience of contributing to service development and evaluation.
• Membership of relevant special interest groups

Skills and Knowledge

• Expertise in OT assessments and interventions relevant to LD/autism.
• Extensive post-graduate experience of CAMHS and/or paediatric experience including learning disability and challenging behaviour
• Knowledge of sensory processing, PBS, and trauma-informed practice.
• Ability to work collaboratively in MDTs.
• Strong organisational and leadership skills.
• Commitment to person-centred, rights-based practice.
• Enthusiasm for innovation and continuous learning.
• Experience of audit and understanding of research principles
• Experience of contributing to planning and evaluation of services
• Experience of using specialist mental health approaches including working with neurodiversity, complex trauma and learning disabilities and autism
• Knowledge of NHS policy in relation to Learning Disability and Autism (Transforming Care/Long Term Plan).
• Experience of using Occupational Case Formulation

Personal Qualities

• Able to work as a member of a team
• Awareness of personal strengths and limitations
• Able to meet the travel requirements of the role

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust

Address

City Wide - Home base Finch Road Primary Care Centre

£47,810 to £54,710 a yearper annum, pro rata

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

18 months

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

436-7483839

Job locations

City Wide - Home base Finch Road Primary Care Centre