CAMHS Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist (N&S Orchids)

Maudsley Learning; London; On-site; GBP 61,000 - 69,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a leading NHS Trust as a Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist in the innovative Orchids Team. You'll provide essential therapy for children with neurodevelopmental disorders, working closely with multidisciplinary teams across London. This role offers excellent support, career development opportunities, and the chance to make a real difference in young lives.

Benefits

Flexible working arrangements

Career development opportunities

Qualifications

• Substantial post registration experience as an occupational therapist.
• Experience working with mental health service users.
• Experience in assessing and treating clients with complex occupational needs.

Responsibilities

• Lead on occupational therapy input within the Orchids Team.
• Conduct MDT assessments and provide consultation, training, and support.
• Manage a highly complex caseload using evidence-based/client-centred principles.

Skills

Knowledge of psychopathology

Occupational therapy assessments

Communication skills

Education

Qualified and registered Occupational Therapist with HCPC

Job description

CAMHS Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist (N&S Orchids)

NHS AfC: Band 8a

Main area Occupational Therapy Grade NHS AfC: Band 8a Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 334-CLI-7217207

Site Michael Rutter Centre Town London Salary £61,927 - £68,676 per annum inclusive of HCAs Salary period Yearly Closing 30/06/2025 23:59

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We deliver specialist services in the London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Wandsworth and Richmond.

We are committed to provide a high quality and specialist care to our service users and we are recognised for our care and treatment we provide. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’.

We launched our five-year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives in 2021 together with Our Care Improvement System as our quality management system methodology to make a positive impact on patient care, outcomes and staff experience. By joining SLaM, all staff will get the opportunity to be part of this exciting improvement journey supported with learning and development to harness everyone’s potential as change makers.

The trust recognises the unique and valuable contribution that people with lived experience of mental illness can bring to a role.We therefore welcome applications from people with lived experience and consider them as an asset to the Trust.

Our Values

We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values and our promise to be caring, kind, polite, prompt, honest, listen and do what I say I’m going to do is at the heart of everything we do. When you join us, you’ll be part of something special.

As a Trust we are happy to talk flexible working.

Job overview

The new Orchids Team, working in collaboration with the Autism and Intellectual Disabilities Intensive Intervention Team (AID-IIT) are seeking a Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist. The Orchids Team is a new and innovative multi-disciplinary team covering the whole of London and working in partnership with the AID-IIT. The team offer specialist multi-disciplinary outpatient support to children and young people up to the age of 13 years old with neurodevelopmental disorders or intellectual disabilities who are at high risk of inpatient admission or already admitted to one of the CAMHS under 13s inpatient units. The Orchids Team co-work with inpatient and local CAMHS teams across London to improve care and support for young people with a diagnosis of autism or intellectual disability and high-risk presentations. Staff working in the Orchids Team benefit from excellent team support and development opportunities. The Orchids Team work in close partnership with the AID-IIT and have links with the rest of the Service for Complex Autism and Associated Neurodevelopmental Disorders (SCAAND) and with other N&S CAMHS teams. As a new N&S CAMHS team we are at the forefront of the development of support, practice and interventions for children and young people with neurodevelopmental disorders or intellectual disabilities with high risk presentations. Clinical work in the team is diverse – including working into both inpatient and outpatient/community settings.

Main duties of the job

The postholder will work as a Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist in the Orchids Team to lead on occupational therapy input within the team, including offering highly specialist input into MDT assessments, occupational therapy assessment and interventions to young people and parents/carers and consultation, training and support to multi-agency local networks including staff from local and inpatient CAMHS settings, and supervision, line management and support to other occupational therapy staff within the Orchids Team. The role includes work across a range of settings - offering work in community settings, inpatient settings, working from home, and working from our clinic base, depending on the needs of the young person, family and network. The role will also involve contributing to service developments within the Orchids Team and across wider AID-IIT and SCAAND where appropriate. As Orchids is a new team funded by NHSE, the postholder will work closely with the Consultant Clinical Psychologist and the Consultant Psychiatrist from AID-IIT and other senior clinicians recruited to the Orchids Team to develop the new Orchids Team. This will include developing and evaluating the model of the Orchids Team, and presenting and disseminating this information to key stakeholders.

Working for our organisation

About our locations:
The Michael Rutter Centre is located on the Maudsley hospital sit and is located at Denmark Hill less than 5 minutes from the train station (zone 2). (Due to move to the Pears Maudsley Children and Young People (PMCYP) at the Maudsley Hospital in late 2025/early 2026)
Maudsley Hospital (headquarters)
Our Trust headquarters is located at Denmark Hill, 5 minutes from the train station (zone 2) and is within walking distance from the beautiful green spaces of Ruskin Park and the vibrant high-street that offers great shopping opportunities and with a wide range of restaurants.

Flexible working:
As one of the few Trusts in London we are proud to offer flexible working as part of our new ways of working, and we are happy to talk flexible working at the interview stage. In this role you will be able to work Monday to Friday in the time frames from 9am to 5pm, giving you the very best of good work life balance. (This may include working early mornings, later evenings or Saturdays as part of the core working hours/working pattern for this post)

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The postholder will work within the Orchids Team and in close partnership with AID-IIT to provide highly specialist occupational therapy assessments, interventions and support within the multi-disciplinary team including:

• To lead a highly specialised Occupational Therapy service within the Orchids team, with close liaison with the AID-IIT team and SCAAND service. This would include the development of occupational therapy policy and practice within the Orchids team that reflects the needs of service users, implementing evidence-based practice, and contributing further to the knowledge base by evaluation of practice, and implementation of innovation.
• To contribute to the leadership of the team including service development/planning, having management responsibilities within the team and the supervision and recruitment of more junior staff within the Orchids team.
• To provide highly specialised occupational therapy advice/leadership on specialist occupational therapy and other CAMHS environmental/estate issues that concern the care of the young person at a Directorate/ departmental level, including specialist supervision and consultation to other areas of the directorate.
• To provide clinical and professional leadership for the Orchids Occupational Therapy team, occupational therapy students and other professions where needed through supervision and training.
• To lead on supervising and appraisal process for the occupational therapy team and occupational therapy students on practice placement.
• To contribute to the provision of strategic professional advice to senior leadership team by taking a leadership role within service development for the Orchids team, with close liaison with the AID-IIT team and SCAAND service.
• To lead on the planning, development and evaluation of occupational therapy services within the Orchids team using advanced clinical skills, clinical audit and research activities.
• To manage a highly complex caseload, using evidence based / client centred principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions.
• To provide highly specialist advice on the assessment and intervention of occupational needs for children/young people with a neurodevelopmental profile.
• To develop highly specialised occupational therapy interventions in this specialty undertaking regular audit and R&D activities.
• To provide training and consultancy for occupational therapy within the specialty.
• To work flexibly as needed across settings offering outreach work when needed – for example seeing young people in inpatient settings, family homes, community settings across London as required.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Qualified and registered Occupational Therapist with HCPC (A)

Experience

• Substantial post registration experience as an occupational therapist (A/I)
• Significant post registration experience working with Mental Health service users (A/I)
• Experience assessment and treatment of clients with a range of occupational needs of a complex nature in children with autism spectrum disorders and associated neurodevelopmental conditions, intellectual disabilities and comorbid mental health difficulties (A/I)
• Experience of supervising junior staff and students (A/I)

Knowledge/skills

• Theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatment of children with autism spectrum disorders and associated neurodevelopmental conditions intellectual disabilities and comorbid mental health difficulties (A/I)
• Specialist knowledge and application of occupational therapy assessments, interventions, and outcome measures for children and young people with autism and other neurodevelopmental difficulties (A/I)
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health issues, child and adult protection, and equalities (I) and lead on implementation in relation to occupational therapy agendas
• Extensive knowledge of the principles of risk management and risk assessment (I)
• To communicate skilfully, accessibly and sensitively complex and sensitive information with clients, carers and colleagues overcoming barriers to communication including, sensory and emotional difficulties, cultural differences and hostility to or rejection of information.(A/I)

Leadership

• Ability to contribute fully to the work of the executive team.
• Successful at building (selecting, training and developing) effective teams as well as leading them.
• Develops the potential of teams to do their best and to access opportunities for career development.
• Ability to make and implement autonomous decisions

Analytical and Judgemental Skills

• Strategic comprehension: ability to recognise key and underlying issues in complex situations, the immediate long term implications of decisions to make the interconnections.
• Analytical ability: capacity to process detailed information rapidly.
• Ability to translate complex issues into meaningful actions and to develop others to do so.
• Cultural flexibility: ability to develop an in-depth understanding of a wide range of organisational and community cultures, developing plans and strategies with all stakeholders.

Policy and Service Development

• Implements and suggests changes to policies and protocols relating to delivery of occupational therapy; develops policies and protocols related to neurodevelopmental specialist area

Result orientated and motivation

• Focused on improvement: acts to improve performance and establish high standards of quality.
• Strives for success and achievement of targets.
• Experience of setting objective measurements and developing and monitoring systems for performance management and improvement
• Displays initiative to improve performance and implement beneficial change.
• Has high capacity for concentration and activity, and is outcome-orientated.

Other

• Ability to work creatively as a leader or a member of a team with internal and external colleagues and stakeholders.
• Ability to relate to other people and bring the best out of them.
• Willingness to work flexibly (I)

The Trust is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and that promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Confident Employer, we welcome applicants from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We provide reasonable adjustments for candidates with a disability and are committed to treating people fairly with compassion, respect and dignity and in promoting equality and human rights. We aim to put this commitment into practice by:

• Embedding our commitment to tackling inequality, eliminating discrimination and harassment; promoting equality of opportunity and fostering good relations in our everyday practice
• Ensuring that all our services and all staff understand and support our commitment
• We believe that people who use our services, their carers and our staff, should be treated with compassion, respect and dignity

Please note:

• That all applications for this post will need to be made online
• That you read and understand the Job Description and Personal Specification attached to the role. Your Statement in Support should reflect the requirements specified as your application will be judged against these criteria
• That the closing date listed is a guide only and that the vacancy may close earlier should sufficient number of applicants have been received. We advise that you submit your application as early as possible
• That once you have submitted your application you agree to your application being transferred to a 3rd party e-recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs
• That should you not have heard from us within three weeks from the closing date your application has not successful
• That priority consideration for applications may be given to at-risk NHS employees
• That should you be successful and appointed, you authorise South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust to confirm your previous NHS service via an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process
• That we are a smoke-free Trust

SLaM is a Stonewall Diversity Champion , Stonewall is the largest Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans (LGBT) rights charity in Europe’

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.