Highly Specialist Head and Neck Speech and Language Therapist

Transformation Unit; Liverpool; Hybrid; GBP 49,000 - 57,000; Full time

Job summary

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Highly Specialist Head and Neck Speech and Language Therapist for a 7‑month fixed term to cover maternity leave. The role is based in Liverpool and involves collaboration across the Liverpool Head and Neck Centre.

You will work within a multidisciplinary HANIT team at Aintree University Hospital and Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, with travel between sites and a commitment to innovative, evidence‑based practice and patient‑centred

Qualifications

• Recognised Speech and Language Therapy degree qualification or equivalent.
• HCPC – Licence to Practice.
• Registered with Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.
• Evidence of specialist short courses up to Master’s degree equivalence.
• Membership of relevant Special Interest Groups.

Responsibilities

• Work with both inpatients and out-patients as part of the Head and Neck Team.
• Join a multidisciplinary, cross‑organisational team to deliver patient care across Surgery, Oncology and community settings.
• Travel between sites (Aintree University Hospital LUHFT and Clatterbridge Cancer Centre) as required.
• Provide high‑quality, evidence‑based assessment and intervention, with opportunities for research in Liverpool Head and Neck Centre.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Communication skills

Negotiation

Problem solving

Organisational skills

Education

Speech and Language Therapy degree qualification or equivalent

HCPC – Licence to Practice

Registered Member of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists

Evidence of specialist short courses up to Master’s degree equivalence

Membership of relevant Special Interest Groups

Job description

Main area Speech and Language Therapist- Head and Neck Cancer Grade NHS AfC: Band 7 Contract Fixed term: 7 months (Probable end July 2027) Hours

• Full time
• Part time
• Flexible working

37.5 hours per week (Monday to Friday 8am-4pm) Job ref 287-AMED-400-26

Employer Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Aintree University Hospital Foundation Trust Town Liverpool Salary £49,387 - £56,515 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 17/11/2026 23:59

Highly Specialist Head and Neck Speech and Language Therapist

NHS AfC: Band 7

Job overview

The Speech & Language Therapy (SLT) team at Aintree Hospital (Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust ) and Clatterbridge Cancer Centre work together as an integrated team ( HANIT) to support patients who are being treated for Head & Neck Cancer within the Liverpool Head and Neck Centre.

Although the SLT team is employed by different organisations, there is a commitment to work across boundaries in acute surgical, oncology and community to ensure that patients are seen for the right support at the right time. We are a supportive and friendly team. We are looking for an experienced and motivated SLT with highly specialist skills in Head and Neck Cancer for a 7 month fixed term post, to cover a maternity leave to gain further experience with a pioneering and innovative team.

Main duties of the job

This role will be part of a well-established Head and Neck Team working with both inpatients and out-patients.

We are a proactive and dynamic team who are passionate about delivering the highest level of care to all of our patients. You will be joining a friendly supportive team working in a multidisciplinary setting, with access to research opportunities within Liverpool Head and

Neck Centre.

You will be part of the integrated Head and Neck Cancer team working across all aspects of the patient pathway, Surgery, Oncology and community in both regional centres- Aintree University Hospital (LUHFT) and Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, within the Liverpool Head & Neck Centre.

Travel between sites is essential to all posts. The successful applicant will be motivated with a flexible approach to their work. In addition you will have excellent communication skills. We are looking for enthusiasm, excellent interpersonal and organisational skills and a commitment to innovative working. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of the Liverpool Head and Neck Centre delivering world class research and patient care.

Working for our organisation

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust comprises Aintree University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital & Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

We are part of NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, formed on 1 Nov 2024 from the coming together of LUHFT and Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust. The Group was born from a shared aim to improve the care we provide our patients.

UHLG is one of the largest employers in the region, with over 16,800 colleagues dedicated to caring for our communities - from birth and beyond.

For the 630,000 people across Merseyside, we are their local NHS. We provide general and emergency hospital care, alongside highly specialised regional services for more than two million people in the North West.

Aintree University Hospital is the single receiving site for adult major trauma patients in Cheshire and Merseyside and hosts a number of regional services including an award-winning stroke facility. Broadgreen Hospital is home to elective surgical, diagnostic and treatment services, together with specialist patient rehabilitation. Liverpool Women’s Hospital specialises in the health of women and babies, delivering over 7,200 babies in the UK’s largest single site maternity hospital each year. The Royal Liverpool University Hospital is the largest hospital in the country to provide inpatients with 100% single bedrooms and focuses on complex planned care and specialist services.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Speech & Language Therapy (SLT) team at Aintree Hospital (Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust ) and Clatterbridge Cancer Centre work together as an integrated team ( HANIT) to support patients who are being treated for Head & Neck Cancer within the Liverpool Head and Neck Centre.

Although the SLT team is employed by different organisations, there is a commitment to work across boundaries in acute surgical, oncology and community to ensure that patients are seen for the right support at the right time. We are a supportive and friendly team. We are looking for an experienced and motivated SLT with highly specialist skills in Head and Neck Cancer for a 7 month fixed term post, to cover a maternity leave to gain further experience with a pioneering and innovative team.

Please see job description for full list of duties and role requirements.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Recognised Speech and Language Therapy degree qualification or equivalent
• HCPC – Licence to Practice
• Registered Member of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists
• Evidence of successful completion of specialist short courses up to Master’s degree equivalent.
• Membership of relevant Special Interest Groups

Experience

• Relevant experience at undergraduate/post graduate level
• Demonstrable relevant experience post qualification, evidence of working as a Specialist Speech & Language Therapist
• In-depth experience within specialist area

Knowledge

• Good auditory discrimination skills and ability to transcribe speech phonetically
• Demonstrates ability to be a good team member and develop leadership responsibilities
• Well established knowledge of a broad range of assessment tools relevant to the specialist client group
• In depth knowledge of national policies and procedures (relevant to the specialist client group)
• In depth knowledge of a range of appropriate therapeutic interventions (relevant to the client group) and an ability to compare and contrast relative benefits
• In depth knowledge of the principles of clinical governance/audit
• Understanding of the roles of other professionals (relevant to the client group)
• Knowledge of standards of record keeping

Skills

• Excellent interpersonal skills – including observation, listening and empathy skills
• Highly developed Negotiation and Problem solving skills
• Demonstrates excellent analytical and reflection skills
• Excellent presentation skills, both written and verbal.
• Excellent organisational skills

Note: Under current Home Office Immigration Rules we are currently unable to offer right to work visa sponsorship for Band 2 and 3 roles with a salary of less than £25,000 pa as they do not meet the UK Visas & Immigration criteria.

Candidatesapplying for the role of Healthcare Assistant on the staff bank should note that due to the nature of the role, workers must be aged 18 or above when commencing in post. Applicants are therefore welcome from those aged over 18 or within 3 months’ of their 18 th birthday.

The Trust is committed to promoting a healthy work-life balance and achieve fair, equitable and consistent practice. We welcome flexible working requests and will consider a variety of flexible working arrangements from day one of your employment. Not all roles are suitable for every flexible working opportunity all of the time. Flexible working options may include reduced hours, compressed hours, fixed shifts, time back in lieu and home working.

The Trust is committed to promoting equality and diversity; we value the contribution of individual talent, skills, knowledge and experience and aim for a workforce demography representative of the local community. We encourage applicants from the following groups that are currently under-represented in our workforce black, Asian and minority ethnic, lesbian, gay, bisexual and Transgender (LGBTQ+), disabled, male and age 16-24.

Trust policy requires that the cost of submitting & processing the successful applicant/s DBS application be recovered via salary deduction following start in post. The amount of £25.70 (standard disclosure) or £46.70 (enhanced disclosure) will be deducted from salary, in manageable monthly instalments for up to 3 months following commencement of employment. Bank posts require upfront payment.

From April 2017, Skilled visa applicants and their adult dependant(s) will be required to provide a criminal record certificate from each country they have lived in consecutively for 12 months or more in the past ten years.

Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.

This organisation has a zero-tolerance approach to the abuse of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All staff must ensure they adhere to the organisations safeguarding children and adults’ policy and comply with the Local Safeguarding Children and Adult Board procedures.

Staff should be mindful of their responsibility to safeguard children and adults in any activity performed on behalf of the organisation in line with the requirements of statutory guidance and legislation.

All employees (and volunteers)are expected maintain their safeguarding knowledge and skills by completing mandatory safeguarding training which includes understanding and recognising the signs of abuse and neglect and taking appropriate action.

As an organisation, we have adopted the Merseyside Domestic abuse workplace scheme which supports our staff who are experiencing Domestic Abuse /any forms of sexual violence.

If you have any personal requirements that will enable you to participate in our recruitment process please contact a member of the Recruitment Services by phone on 0151 706 4666 at the earliest opportunity to ensure that measures can be put in place to enable your application for this post.

Our statement on modern slavery

We have zero tolerance of slavery and human trafficking and are committed to maintaining and improving systems, processes and policies to avoid complicity in human rights violation and to prevent slavery and human trafficking in our supply chain.

The Trust policies, procedures, governance and legal arrangements are robust, ensuring that proper checks and due diligence are applied in employment procedures to ensure compliance with this legislation. We also conform to the NHS employment check standards within our workforce recruitment and selection practices. This strategic approach incorporates analysis of the Trust’s supply chains and its partners to assess risk exposure and management on modern slavery.

Please note: new entrants to the NHS will commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.

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.

Name Lisa Houghton Job title Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist HNC Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 0151 529 4986