Band 7 Senior Occupational Therapist (Team Lead) Cardio-Thoracics

NHS; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A major trauma hospital in Birmingham is seeking a Senior Occupational Therapist to lead the cardiothoracic team. You will manage a diverse caseload, providing leadership and rehabilitation support. The ideal candidate must have strong leadership skills and significant experience in an acute setting. You'll work collaboratively with specialists and contribute to patient rehabilitation in an inclusive and supportive environment. This role offers opportunities for professional development.

Benefits

Opportunities for career growth

Supportive environment

Qualifications

• Comprehensive clinical experience managing complex caseloads.
• Significant experience in an acute hospital setting at Band 6 or above.
• Experience in supporting and supervising student therapists.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of Occupational Therapists and support workers.
• Manage a caseload of patients with complex needs.
• Provide supervision and leadership to therapists and students.

Skills

Leadership skills

Excellent communication skills

Organizational skills

Team collaboration

Patient assessment skills

Education

BSc in Occupational Therapy or Diploma in Occupational Therapy

HCPC registration

Evidence of CPD and recent postgraduate training

Evidence of leadership training

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft PowerPoint

Job description

Go back University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

Band 7 Senior Occupational Therapist (Team Lead) Cardio-Thoracics

The closing date is 26 October 2025

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a 12-month fixed term contract, for a Senior Occupational Therapist (OT) Team Lead in the cardiothoracic team; working within a large major trauma hospital, a nationally recognised thoracic and cardiac surgery centre. The role is ideally suited to an experienced Team Lead OT looking for a new challenge or a Senior OT eager to develop leadership skills in a supportive environment. If you are a kind and compassionate individual with experience and skills relevant to the post, we would love to hear from you.

We are seeking someone with appropriate skills in the management of thoracic surgeries, cardiac surgeries, cardiology conditions, in-patient rehabilitation and discharge planning.

You will be required to support the team in managing a caseload of varying conditions. An understanding of the physical impact of thoracic and cardiac surgeries is required. You will work closely with Specialist Rehabilitation teams, with access to a wheelchair clinic for more complex patients. The caseload may include patients who have been on critical care, a knowledge of delirium management would be beneficial.

The post comes with support from our School of Nursing, AHP's and Midwifery. The school offers opportunities for career growth and development, and our focus is on providing a supportive environment as part of continuing professional development. We want you to feel a sense of belonging, community, commitment and support whilst working at UHB.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will work alongside an existing team lead, to support a team of Occupational Therapists and support workers across several wards.

Excellent organisational and time management skills are required. As well as excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Autonomous practitioner with the ability to prioritise and organise own workload.

Strong leadership skills, collaborative working with peers and a personal desire to develop is required.

The successful applicant will be required to provide leadership, along with regular supervision of staff, and support with Occupational Therapy students.

Ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team.

The successful individual will take a lead role in the assessment and treatment of a variety of complex patients and be proactive in developing and expanding clinical practice within this specialty area. Support is available from Clinical Specialist OT as well as an opportunity to work closely with the SHARP team (Specialist Hyper Acute Rehabilitation pathway) in the management of cardiology and cardiac surgery patients with complex presentations.

Experience of working within an Acute NHS setting is required with transferrable skills to the clinical area.

Experience of supervising staff.

About us

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust strives to have an inclusive culture where everyone feels like they belong, can thrive, knows that they add value and feels valued. We do this by developing compassionate and culturally competent leaders, being values driven in all that we do and by creating a welcoming and inclusive workplace that thrives on the diversity of our people. As such we want to attract and recruit talented individuals from all backgrounds, and for each of you to feel supported for the diversity you bring, to achieve your full potential. For those staff with a disability, including physical disability, long term health condition, mental health or neurodiverse condition, this also means being committed to making reasonable adjustments needed for you to carry out your role.

Job responsibilities

*Please Note : For a detailed job description for this vacancy, please see attached Job Description*

Person Specification

Qualifications

• *BSc in OT/ Dip COT
• *HCPC registration
• *Evidence of CPD including recent post graduate training relevant to clinical speciality.
• *Evidence of leadership training.
• *Attendance at Clinical Educators Course.

Experience

• *Demonstrates comprehensive clinical experience enabling the post holder to manage a caseload of patients with complex needs in this speciality.
• *Significant experience of working in an acute hospital setting at band 6 or above within the relevant clinical area.
• *Experience of team/service development.
• *Experience of supporting and supervision of therapists, student therapists and assistants.
• *A specialist knowledge across a range of therapy practices, routine and non-routine, requiring expertise within the field of therapy.
• *Good understanding of working in an acute Trust.
• *Understanding of current legislation and application to Occupational Therapy.
• *Experience of producing reports / data analysis

Additional Criteria

• *Experience of producing reports / data analysis
• *Highly developed physical skills including dexterity, co-ordination & sensory skills for assessment and manual treatment of patients.
• *Excellent written and verbal communication skills including an ability to provide and receive complex, sensitive and contentious information.
• *An ability to prioritise and organise own workload, demonstrating ability to prioritise clinical and managerial duties.
• *An ability to cope with a range of complex options, finds solutions, analyse, compare and decide on appropriate course of action.
• *Ability to work weekends as part of a 7 day working pattern (when appropriate service delivery allows and commences).
• *An ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
• *IT skills -- computer literate in email, Word & PowerPoint.
• *Experience of leadership and supervision of staff.
• *Demonstrate enthusiasm for the area of cardio-thoracics.
• *Demonstrate a professional attitude.
• *An ability to cope with moving/manoeuvring patients/equipment on a daily basis.
• *An ability to frequently concentrate on patient assessments and treatments.
• *An ability to cope with occasional exposure to distressing/emotional situations.
• *Demonstrate an interest in developing expertise within the clinical areas.

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.

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust