Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist

Nhs-1; Nottingham; On-site; GBP 49,000 - 57,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent CPD opportunities

Some home working

Job summary

Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust seeks a Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist (Band 7) to lead the SLCN pathway for children. You will oversee clinical delivery, provide professional leadership, and drive service transformation while maintaining a clinical caseload of complex cases.

The role emphasizes team supervision, MDT collaboration, and strategic development across Nottinghamshire with opportunities for home working and ongoing CPD.

Qualifications

• Recognised Speech and Language Therapy degree and HCPC registration.
• Experience supervising SLT assistants and staff.
• Experience leading a team and managing projects.
• Ability to design and deliver learning and development opportunities.
• Experience in managing a complex caseload and MDT collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Oversee clinical delivery of the SLC pathway.
• Share expert clinical knowledge with the team and wider service.
• Drive transformation within the pathway and service boundaries.
• Supervise staff and conduct appraisals; contribute to leadership planning.
• Coordinate training needs for staff in the SLC pathway.

Skills

Clinical leadership

Supervision experience

Team leadership

Communication skills

Autonomy

Education

Recognised SLT degree

HCPC Licence to Practice

Teaching/Training qualification

Leadership qualification (Mary Seacole)

RCSLT member

Tools

Microsoft Teams

Job description

Employer Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Children's Development Centre Town Nottingham Salary £49,387 - £56,515 per annum (pro rata for part-time) Salary period Yearly Closing 01/11/2026 23:59

Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist

Band 7

We fully support the use of AI and other tools to assist in writing your application. However, it's essential that the content, especially your supporting statement, is personalised and factually accurate. Your application should reflect your genuine experiences and qualifications to ensure authenticity and credibility

Job overview

This post provides an exciting development opportunity for an experienced speech & Language Therapist to take on the clinical leadership of our SLCN pathway, including DLD.

You will be working closely with your Service Lead and the Service Manager to continue developing our SLCN pathway, and providing clinical support to the staff working on the pathway.

Alongside carrying a caseload of complex children with speech and language difficulties and suspected/diagnosed DLD you will have a day a week of protected non-clinical time for leadership duties. You will also oversee the day to day organisation and clinical leadership of our telephone advice line for families.

The SLT service supports a variety of speech, language & communication &/or dysphagia needs, covering community & specialist settings across the city & county for children & young people with developmental conditions/delay.

SLTs provide individual assessment, individual & group therapy and management, training, advice and liaison through consultative & coaching approaches, as appropriate.

SLTs work as part of the wider multi-disciplinary team providing high quality, effective, accessible, person & family-centred services through tailored packages of care, training & mentoring in the most appropriate setting.

Nottingham Children's Speech & Language Therapy service is a supportive, friendly place to work and we offer excellent CPD opportunities.

Main duties of the job

The post-holder will oversee the clinical delivery of the SLC pathway, one of three clinical pathways in the service.

As the clinical lead you will share your expert clinical knowledge with the team and wider service. You will design packages of care and have an excellent knowledge of the evidence base with regard to SLCN.

You will join our band 7 leadership team, driving forward transformation work within your pathway and the service as a whole.

You will be responsible for carrying out supervision and appraisals for staff working on the pathway and will contribute to Leadership and service planning for the wider SLT service.

You will identify and co‑ordinate the training required by staff working on the SLC pathway, in order for them to provide high quality therapeutic interventions.

You will also lead on strategic developments within your specialism/setting/district in liaison with the service manager and clinical/quality transformation lead.

The post-holder will be expected to maintain a clinical caseload, which will include some of the most complex children and families on the SLC pathway.

Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. The cost of the DBS application is £20.00 (standard) or £41.00 (enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first 2 months of employment.

You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. An annual fee of £16 per year applies.

Working for our organisation

#TeamNottsHC comprises over 11,000 dedicated colleagues who #MakeADifference every day. We deliver intellectual disability, mental health, community health, forensic, and offender healthcare services across Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, and South Yorkshire. Our care is provided from over 200 sites, spanning community locations, acute settings, and secure environments, including prisons.

We are one of the largest mental health and community Trusts in the East Midlands and one of Nottinghamshire's biggest employers. We also host national and regional services, such as the National High Secure Deaf Service and the Nottingham Centre for Transgender Health.

We offer a variety of employee‑led staff networks, including Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) groups, the Green Champions network, the Freedom to Speak Up network, the Health and Wellbeing Champions network, and the Menopause Champions network. These networks play a vital role in supporting our diverse workforce and promoting a culture of inclusivity.

The health and wellbeing of our colleagues is a top priority. We invest significantly in this through our in‑house occupational health and staff counselling services, supported by a dedicated Health and Wellbeing team.

The Trust is committed to reducing its carbon emissions, with a specialised Energy and Environmental team working to ensure compliance with environmental legislation, enhance our environmental performance, and achieve our net‑zero commitment

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post holder will provide highly specialist clinical expertise and leadership within their specialism/setting/district, in order that children with speech, language and communication needs and their families benefit from a well‑coordinated pro‑active, specialist, efficient and effective speech and language therapy service.

They will also have experience of supervising SLT assistants and less experienced SLTs.

There is close support from other team members with a peer supervision programme also available. We are a large Nottinghamshire county wide service which provides opportunities to further develop specialist skills and knowledge.

You will be taking on a leadership role in the service at a really exciting time. We are currently transforming our SLT service. We are keen to innovate and develop to ensure that we are meeting the current and future needs of our children and families. We have already started the process of developing a clear vision and values for our service.

You must have a:

Recognised Speech and Language Therapy Degree Qualification
Health Professions Council – License to Practice

We work out of a number of bases across Nottinghamshire and can offer flexibility as to where the post‑holder is based. The post‑holder will be required, to travel out from the base to attend training events, meetings, community visits etc. However, there has been an increase in efficiency with the opportunity for some home working , when required, and the use of digital technology allows meetings and supervision to take place via Microsoft Teams. This platform has also been used to provide individual patient assessment and management, and group education.

Person specification

Knowledge

• Highly specialist applied knowledge of working with children with SLCN/DLD
• A broad knowledge of the evidence base relating to working with children with SLCN and DLD
• Applied leadership knowledge
• Knowledge of different learning styles
• A broad‑based knowledge of Speech, Language and Communication training approaches/ programmes
• Knowledge of National Policy and guidance and its impact on local practice e.g. Best Start, SEND white paper

Experience

• Working experience of managing a complex caseload of children and young people with speech, language and communication needs
• Experience of supporting students and other staff
• Experience of leading/managing project work
• Experience of designing and delivering different learning and development opportunities
• Experience of contributing to SLT service development
• Experience in developing evaluation/audit tools and resources as part of SLT team
• Experience of effective multi‑disciplinary working
• Experience of leading a team
• Experience of working with a variety of stakeholders and influencing service delivery

Qualifications

• Recognised Speech & Language Therapy Degree Qualification.
• Health Professions Council – Licence to Practice
• Teaching/training qualification
• Leadership qualification e.g. Mary Seacole
• Member of RCSLT

Skills

• Excellent written and oral communication Skills
• Well organised and able to prioritise a busy workload
• Team builder and team member
• Autonomous and able to work without direct supervision

Contractual Requirements

• A full UK driving licence and vehicle for business use is required for this post; however reasonable adjustments will be made for disabled individuals in line with the Equality Act 2010.

Values and Behaviours

• All staff should be able to demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion as identified within the Trust's Equality and Diversity Policy and associated Equality, Diversity and Human Rights legislation
• All colleagues are expected to demonstrate that they act in line with Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Values: Trust Honesty Respect Compassion Teamwork

Training

• Extensive portfolio of relevant post qualification CPD including highly specialist knowledge of Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN)

Additional Information

• We reserve the right to close the post early once we have received a sufficient number of applicants.
• The Trust believes in treating everyone with dignity and respect and encourages applications from all sectors of the community. We guarantee an interview to candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum essential criteria.
• In submitting an application form, you authorise Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to confirm from your previous or current NHS employer and other prior employers; previous NHS service details and personal data held about you. This data will be transferred using NHS Electronic Staff Record and third party systems via an automated process and only used for the purposes of obtaining and maintaining accurate employment records, should you be appointed to the post. Should you require any further information please refer our Privacy Policy shown on the Trust website.
• For eligible posts, DBS disclosures are mandatory before commencement of employment. If you are in a position that is deemed a regulated adult and/or child care role, you will not be able to start your employment until we have received a satisfactory DBS Disclosure. The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Convictions which would otherwise be considered as 'spent' will also be checked as part of an Enhanced DBS Disclosure.

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 Julie Belshaw Job title SLT Service Manager Email address [e-mail] Additional information