Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

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

Job summary

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust in Eccles is seeking a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist (Band 7) for a 22.5 hour per week post, working Wednesday and Thursday plus one other weekday as a job share. The role covers Greater Manchester Specialist Support Team with complex learning disability and autism presentations, offering leadership and specialist assessments.

You will be integrated in the therapy team, provide supervision, training and service development, and contribute to

Qualifications

• Completion of a recognised training course awarding degree/diploma approved by the RCSLT and HPC.
• Registration with the HPC – License to practice.
• Evidence of management training.

Responsibilities

• Provide high quality consultation, specialist assessment and intervention for speech, language and communication needs.
• Lead on clinical and strategic leadership within the service.
• Provide supervision to junior staff and students.
• Develop training and information resources for partner agencies.
• Contribute to research, audits and service evaluation.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Analytical skills

Leadership

Complex communication

Research appraisal

Adaptability

Education

Completion of recognised degree/diploma (RCSLT/HPC)

HPC Registration – Licence to practice

Management training

Job description

Main area Speech & Language Therapy Grade Band 7 Contract Permanent Hours 22.5 hours per week (Required to work Wednesday, Thursday plus 1 other weekday as job share) Job ref 350-SC8318341

Employer Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site 2 City Approach, Eccles Town Eccles Salary £49,387 - £56,515 Pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 02/11/2026 23:59

Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Band 7

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust celebrates diversity and promotes equal opportunities; we are committed to challenging and eliminating racism and other forms of discrimination and advancing and promoting equality of opportunity in the provision of services and creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.

We take positive action to support disadvantaged groups and also particularly encourage applications from ethnically diverse, disabled and LGBTQIA+ people that are under-represented in our workforce. Furthermore we welcome applications from reservists and ex-armed forces personnel as we recognise the benefits of the values, skills, training and experience that they bring to their work with us. We encourage all applicants to share their equality information with us.

Using AI to support your application

AI can be a useful tool to support the preparation of your application. However, all information submitted must be accurate, truthful and reflect your own skills, experience and achievements. Applications should include personal examples demonstrating how you meet the person specification. Applications that appear mostly or fully generated by AI, without clear personal examples linked to the person specification, may be rejected.For tips and guidance, please refer to our applicant guidance.

Identity verification

Candidates attending interview will be required to provide original photographic identification where available. Where suitable photographic identification is not available, a photograph will be taken at interview for identity verification purposes. Successful candidates will also be required to complete digital identity and right to work checks via TrustID, including facial recognition and image matching technology, to verify their identity throughout the recruitment and onboarding process. Identity verification will also be undertaken on the first day of employment in line with NHS employment check requirements.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Job overview

An exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic and experienced Speech and Language Therapist to join the Greater Manchester Specialist Support Team as a job share, up to 22.5 hours per week to cover Wednesday, Thursday and one other weekday.

The Greater Manchester Specialist Support Team (GMSST) is a multi-disciplinary team providing a service across Greater Manchester to service users with a learning disability and/or autism who present with risk of hospital admission, placement breakdown or forensic risk.

You will be expected to work in all areas of Greater Manchester and liaise with the local Learning Disability, Mental Health and Autism services to develop proactive and preventative risk mitigation support, informed by specialist assessment. We also offer advice and consultation and training to external agencies.

Main duties of the job

To provide high quality consultation, specialist assessment and intervention of speech, language and communication needs. To support the development of the Speech and Language Therapy service and strive for continuous improvement. To take a lead on and provide evidence-based Speech and Language Therapy assessment, treatment and intervention to service users who have complex needs.

This role will be integrated in the therapy team and will work with the team to develop person centred care.

Supervision will be provided within the trust as applicable.

Working for our organisation

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to ‘perfect care’ – care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We’re currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Line Management responsibility for team.

Full management responsibility for managing and prioritising caseload including delegation to other speech and language therapists in the team.

Supervise other speech and language therapists and support workers in the team.

Contribute to the pre and post qualification teaching of speech and language therapy.

To provide clinical leadership and training to the wider staff team with regards to speech, language and communication.

To provide strategic leadership within the Service in the development of areas such as the clinical model.

To provide advice, consultation and training to staff working with the client group across a range of agencies and settings where appropriate.

To provide in-depth specialist speech and language therapy assessments for the more complex service users referred to the team.

To formulate and implement support plans as part of the MDT.

Evaluate the impact of a support plan/intervention and use outcome measures to inform future practice.

Develop effective outcome measures both for SLT and the wider team to build on the existing evidence base.

o provide clinical and strategic leadership across the health and social care network for the geographical area.

Represent the service both nationally and locally as appropriate.

Research: To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support practice and to contribute to the evidence base by leading and participating in research and audit.

Advising the Team Manager about capacity, gaps in service delivery and operational issues.

Being involved in the recruitment of other speech and language therapists or other staff within the teams.

To provide clinical and managerial supervision to junior members of staff.

To act as supervisor, assessor and mentor for students, Speech and Language Therapists and junior staff.

To facilitate the education of service users, relatives and other agencies concerned with the provision of learning disability services in the community.

To be involved in the development of training and information resources for partner agencies.To ensure safeguarding requirements are upheld.

To provide statistical information as required by the Trust.To undertake duties as may be delegated by the Team Manager or the Clinical Lead.

To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support practice.

To contribute to the evidence base by leading and participating in research and audits whenever possible.

Promote health and reduce inequalities for all patients accessing the speech and language therapy service, so that they may maximise their potential in terms of health education and social well-being.

To lead on training and development programmes as appropriate to the knowledge and skills of the individual, delivering to other professionals and service users.

Participate in the Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust (MCFT) PACE review process, ensuring business priority objectives are met and a personal development plan is maintained and evaluated.

Cascade the PACE process to departmental staff as appropriate.

Be responsible for own continuing professional development, maintaining professional registration and meeting HPC registration requirements; maintain a professional portfolio and demonstrate evidence of reflective practice.

Use highly developed skills to convey complex and sensitive clinical information, using a high level of persuasive and motivational skill to enable others to follow swallowing/therapy plans.

Communicate clinical formulations and interventions to service users and carers in an understandable manner based on a person-centred approach, which inspires hope to the service user and carer.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Completion of a recognised training course awarding relevant degree/diploma approved by the RCSLT and HPC
• Registered with the HPC – License to practice
• Evidence of management training

Experience

• Experience of carrying out specialist assessments and interventions
• Evidence of experience of: Multi disciplinary team working
• Proven ability to work independently, prioritise and manage own complex caseload.

Knowledge

• Advanced knowledge of a range of appropriate therapeutic interventions relevant to the client group and an ability to compare and contrast relative benefits
• Understands the roles of other professionals relevant to the client group
• In depth knowledge of national policies and procedures relevant to the client group

Skills

• Excellent interpersonal skills – including, listening and empathy skills
• Excellent analytical and reflection skills
• Able to be a good team member and assume leadership responsibilities
• Ability to communicate highly complex or sensitive advice and information to others
• Able to critically appraise research
• Flexible and able to cope with change

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 Jo Hearne Job title Clinical Lead Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 01613834460 Additional information

Contact can also be made with the job share partner, Kirsty Meehan, Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist (same contact number).