Community Occupational Therapist Band 5 to Band 6 Development Post

Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust; Shaftesbury; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust is looking for an Occupational Therapist to join a multidisciplinary team across inpatient and community settings in Shaftesbury. This Band 5 to Band 6 development post offers a structured plan, supervision and the potential to progress to a permanent Band 6 role within 12 months, subject to successful completion of the plan.

You will provide OT-based rehabilitation, participate in a seven-day service and work with a supportive team to develop

Qualifications

• Registered practitioner to degree/diploma level with post-registration diploma or equivalent training
• Membership of the relevant Professional Body
• Experience in assessment and therapeutic interventions within the specialty
• Ability to prioritise and organise workload effectively
• Experience providing supervision/mentoring to junior staff or students
• Experience of devising and delivering training
• Experience with Excel/Word and standard IT for data and reports
• Ability to travel using own vehicle for Trust business

Responsibilities

• Provide OT-based rehab for a range of physical presentations (orthopaedics, frailty, falls, cognitive impairment)
• Deliver a seven-day service to support admission avoidance for patients in their own homes
• Cover rota across the week, including on-site ward duties and community assessments
• Demonstrate communication, organisation, caseload management and autonomous working

Job description

Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust

Community Occupational Therapist Band 5 to Band 6 Development Post

The closing date is 21 October 2026

Are you a passionate Occupational Therapist ready to take the next step in your career? Whether you're newly qualified or looking to progress into a Band 6 role, this is your opportunity to grow, thrive, and make a real impact - both in your career and in our community. Join our friendly, multidisciplinary team supporting both an inpatient rehabilitation ward, and the community setting delivering care in Shaftesbury and surrounding area.

This is a Band 5 to Band 6 developmental post, designed to support your progression. You will be offered a structured development plan with clear milestones, supportive supervision and mentorship from experienced clinicians and the potential to progress to a permanent Band 6 role within 12 months, subject to successful completion of the plan.

We foster a culture of learning, innovation, and mutual support, offering opportunities to work across a variety of settings and develop a broad range of skills and experiences. A full driving licence and access to a car are essential for this role.

Please note visa sponsorship for this role is unfortunately not available. Ensure you hold valid right to work in the UK and will not require sponsorship if successful.

Employment in this post requires an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, which the Trust will cover the cost of.

Main duties of the job

The post holder would be required to provide OT based rehab for a range of physical presentations such as orthopaedics, frailty, falls, cognitive impairment and many more. Skills required to fulfil this role include knowledge and experience in moving and handling, experience of using a range of equipment, experience of carrying out cognitive assessments, skills to holistically assess and formulate a patient centred rehab program, knowledge and experience of working with the older person, particularly with frailty.

The team also provide a 7 day service to support admission avoidance for patients in their own homes. Skills required to manage this cohort of patients include the ability to recognise and manage a deteriorating patient, problem solving and crisis management of an acute situation, skills in carrying out a basic physical assessment including basic observations and recognising when it is appropriate to elevate.

The post holder will be required to work with the rest of the team to provide cover across the 7 days on a rota basis. They will also be required to carry out rehab and assessment on the rehab ward or when in community to cover duty which involves working until 18.00 to cover any urgent referrals.

The successful candidate will be expected to demonstrate skills in communication, organisation, caseload management, autonomous working, supervision of junior colleagues, problem solving and innovative thing to inform service development.

About us

At Dorset HealthCare we're on a mission to empower people to make the most of their lives through our outstanding, joined-up healthcare services. We're a dynamic, forward-looking Trust, running 12 community hospitals, specialist inpatient facilities and a wide range of integrated community and mental health services for a population of almost 800,000 people.

We do things differently here - it's one of the reasons the CQC rated us 'Good' in 2026. It's also why 95% of patients across our services say they have a good or very good experience of our services and 89% of staff feel they can really make a difference. Whether you're looking to work with us in one of our bustling market towns, vibrant urban locations, thriving seaside spots, or among the rolling hills of Dorset, there are lots of ways you can make a difference in our communities.

Our 7,000-strong workforce is at the heart of what we do and our success is a testament to our brilliant people. We're all about building a workplace for the future, we believe in equal opportunities and we celebrate diversity. We're an inclusive workplace, where everyone is welcome, everyone can be authentic, and we are all encouraged to be the best version of ourselves.

Working with us you'll be part of a strong team, challenge yourself, build a career, and teach us what we don't know. And you'll be working towards our vision to be better every day through excellence, compassion and expertise in all we do.

Job responsibilities

For the main duties and responsibilities for this role please read the attached job description and person specification. When completing your application please ensure your supporting statement reflects the criteria set out in these documents by showing how your experience and skills apply to this post.

We understand that AI can be a useful tool when completing your application. However, we are seeing an increasing over-reliance of AI tools, which can negatively affect your application as it reduces a candidates individuality, and makes it difficult for us to gain a clear and authentic understanding of your experience, skills, and in turn your suitability for the role.All submissions must be truthful and if you do use AI, it should only be used to enhance your application and not create your supporting statement in its entirety. Your supporting statement should be in your own words and must accurately reflect your personal experience and achievements. Where we have concerns that AI has been used to generate content that misrepresents your experience and suitability for the role, we may withdraw your application.

As part of our vision to have a skilled, diverse and caring workforce, Dorset HealthCare offers support for people getting into work. We offer an employability service to support individuals with application writing, interview skills and other employment support. If you would like or know of anyone who would value this support, please do contact [e-mail]

Person Specification

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND TRAINING

• Registered practitioner to degree/diploma level supplemented by post registration diploma level specialist training and/or short courses or demonstrable extensive experience in the relevant specialty
• Membership of the relevant Professional Body
• Learning and Assessing in Practice Qualification or equivalent practice assessors training
• Evidence of recent professional development in an up to date portfolio
• Knowledge and understanding of Trust Strategy relevant to role

JOB SPECIFIC EXPERIENCE

• Experience at Practitioner Band 5 level
• Recent previous experience within a comparable role
• Demonstrable knowledge of assessment and therapeutic interventions in area of specialism
• Experience of developing specialist programmes of care for an individual or groups of patients/clients and of providing highly specialist advice
• Able to demonstrate specialist clinical reasoning skills to assimilate information in order to make a clinical judgement regarding diagnosis and intervention.
• Ability to prioritise and organise workload effectively

MANAGERIAL/SUPERVISORY EXPERIENCE

• Experience of providing clinical supervision and mentoring to junior staff or supervising a student
• Experience of devising and delivering training

FINANCE/RESOURCES

• Able to effectively manage available resources in the pursuit of quality service provision ensuring a safe environment

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY/RESOURCES

• Able to analyse data and produce reports using Microsoft Excel and Word
• Experience of using electronic patient / service user record systems

PERSONAL QUALITIES/ATTRIBUTES

• Evidence of demonstrating the Trust's values and behaviours.
• Able to overcome barriers to understanding where there are physical or mental disabilities.
• Able to analyse and assess situations and to interpret potentially conflicting situations and determine appropriate action, where there is a range of options and judgement is required.
• Demonstrable ability to analyse situations and provide a resolution
• Demonstrable leadership qualities and the ability to perform as a role model
• Willingness to advance own clinical knowledge, skill and competence based on current evidence

BUSINESS TRAVEL

• Subject to the provisions of the Equality Act, able to travel using own vehicle on Trust business.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Demonstrable skills in written and spoken English to a standard which enables the post holder to carry out the full range of duties and responsibilities of the role effectively.

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.

Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust