Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist - Early Intervention Team

James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Gorleston-on-Sea; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider is looking for a Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist to join the Early Intervention Therapy Team. The role involves leading complex assessment and treatment plans for patients while providing guidance and support to junior therapists. A commitment to professional development and integration into multidisciplinary teams is essential. Candidates must possess relevant qualifications and experience in acute hospital settings. This is a full-time permanent position, offering opportunities for personal and professional growth.

Benefits

Continuous professional development

Supportive work environment

Opportunity to lead and mentor

Qualifications

• Experience as an autonomous practitioner at Band 6 level is essential.
• Strong knowledge of managing complex patients in acute settings.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and mentor junior staff.

Responsibilities

• Lead advanced assessment and treatment of complex patients.
• Support the multidisciplinary team in patient care.
• Educational role to support clinical staff and students.

Skills

Leadership skills

Ability to prioritize and organize workload

Strong communication skills

Problem-solving skills

Education

Diploma/Degree/MSc in Occupational Therapy

Current Health and Care Professions Council registration

Job description

Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist - Early Intervention Team

The closing date is 05 January 2026

BAND 7 CLINICAL SPECIALIST OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST - EARLY INTERVENTION THERAPY TEAM Permanent | Full Time (37.5 hours per week)

The Integrated Therapies Department at the James Paget University Hospital (JPUH) are seeking a dedicated and compassionate Occupational Therapist to join our Early Intervention Therapy Team. The successful candidate will support in the delivery of high-quality occupational therapy interventions across the specialty, support in the teaching and development of junior staff and students and take an active role in quality improvement projects to guide service development. The Early Intervention Therapy Team covers Accident and Emergency, the Emergency Assessment and Discharge Unit (to be renamed the Acute Medical Unit) and the new Same Day Emergency Care Unit. There will be the additional requirement to support other clinical areas including the Frailty Assessment Unit and Older Persons Medicine at times.

As a Band 7 Occupational Therapist you are integral to the leadership of the team, working alongside the Therapy Team Leader to provide direction, development and support to the Therapy Team. You will be specialist in your area and will be responsible for your own complex caseload consisting of patients with a variety of different conditions whilst supporting junior members of the team. Good prioritisation, organisational and time management skills will be needed to balance clinical and non‑clinical duties.

Main duties of the job

The post-holder will act as a Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist in the Early Intervention Therapy Team. You will be responsible for leading and supporting the advanced assessment and treatment of patients who may present with complex pathology and social issues to formulate an intervention plan based on expert analytical clinical reasoning skills. You will need advanced communication skills to ensure a successful multidisciplinary approach to patient care and will be in regular discussions with patients, carers, JPUH colleagues and community partners etc, as well as providing training to Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, and Therapy Assistant Practitioner colleagues and to other members of the multidisciplinary team.

The core hours for this post are 8.00 am – 4.00 pm, however, flexible working is supported; this will also include being rostered on a seven‑day service/five plus two shift pattern.

About us

The James Paget is a vibrant university hospital providing the best possible care to the people of east Norfolk and north Suffolk. Situated on the coast with beautiful beaches and the Broads National Park on the doorstep we are within commuting distance of Norwich City.

Service Improvement: The Integrated Therapies Department is positive and forward‑thinking, always striving to improve services. Our links with the Research Department are growing with joint projects being worked on. Our therapists represent the Trust at CSP, RCOT, BOA and BGS conferences.

Personal and professional development is key. We are developing our research and innovation strategy in line with the national AHP Strategy. We will support you in achieving your career goals through our well-structured supervision and appraisal system, actively encouraging utilisation of training courses (clinical, non‑clinical and leadership skills) with use of CPD funding.

Development of others: You will be supported to provide education to your team but also to our wider workforce. We also support development of our future workforce through our close links with the University of East Anglia, Suffolk College and City College Norwich.

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description for more details of the main duties and responsibilities of the role which include:

• The post-holder will act as a Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist in the Early Intervention Therapy Team at the James Paget University Hospital
• The post-holder will be required to work autonomously and carry a clinical caseload, taking a lead role in the advanced assessment and treatment of patients who may have complex pathology and social issues, to determine a clinical diagnosis and formulate an intervention plan
• To provide highly specialist advice and teaching to Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, and Therapy Assistant Practitioner colleagues and to other members of the multidisciplinary team
• To support the education of students in an educator role as required
• Ensure the team’s workload is appropriately prioritised and work is effectively distributed and coordinated across the team on a day‑by‑day basis
• To work closely with the multidisciplinary teams to receive referrals and use patient information to help prioritise the workload
• To be proactive in service development and individual development within the teams, implementing changes as and when appropriate including policy changes
• To provide clinical leadership to Registered and Unregistered members of the Therapy Team
• Clinical/professional supervision takes the form of direct observation of practice or formal training/clinical reasoning sessions (at least monthly). Advice and support are always available
• To work a rostered seven‑day service/five plus two shift pattern within the James Paget University Hospital

Please watch the following videos for an insight into our Integrated Therapies Department:

Person Specification

Education and Qualifications

• Diploma/Degree/MSc in Occupational Therapy
• Current Health and Care Professions Council registration
• CPD record should include evidence of up‑to‑date manual handling, in‑service training and reflections of learning

Knowledge and Experience

• Evidence of experience working as an autonomous practitioner at Band 6 level in an acute hospital, managing patients with conditions including respiratory, cardiac, surgical, frailty, falls, neurological, orthopaedic, general medicine, palliative and end‑of‑life care
• Experience of team working within integrated teams
• Demonstrates specialist clinical skills including complex caseload management
• Able to formulate complex discharge plans informed by strong problem‑solving skills
• Experience of planning and implementing service improvement projects and utilising research into practice
• Evidence of acting in a supervisory manner, providing specialist guidance, training and support to other staff or students
• Evidence of reflective learning, demonstrates self‑directed learning with a working knowledge of clinical governance and implications for own work
• Awareness of relevant professional practice, new research and guidelines and understanding of legal issues, safeguarding and mental capacity
• Experience working in a fast‑paced, high‑pressure environment including Accident and Emergency or Same Day Emergency Care Unit

Skills, Abilities and Competencies

• Leadership skills including team building and supporting others
• Ability to remain calm under pressure and prioritise accordingly
• Ability to prioritise and organise workload and support others with this whilst being able to work flexibly and proactively under pressure
• Ability to act as an autonomous practitioner with minimum supervision but recognise own limitations and know when to ask for support
• Communication skills including empathy, assertiveness and negotiation skills with the ability to build good rapport with a wide variety of people
• Evidence of forward thinking, using initiative, able to problem‑solve with a positive approach and ability to promote change
• Competent IT skills and both verbal and written presentation skills
• Evidence of motivation for Band 7 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.

James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust