Occupational Therapist

Belmont Recruitment; Walsall; Hybrid; GBP 44,000 - 47,000; Full time

Job summary

Walsall Council is seeking an All-Age Occupational Therapist to lead a borough-wide review of OT provision. The role involves mapping current services across social care, health and education, analyzing demand and capacity, and developing integrated options for a sustainable OT model aligned to neighbourhood working.

You will collaborate with partners, residents and carers to translate findings into practical options, governance, and implementation priorities, supporting senior decision-makers.

Responsibilities

• Lead a 12-month borough-wide review of Occupational Therapy provision across Walsall.
• Map current OT provision across Adult Social Care, Children's Services, health, education, SEND, housing and voluntary sectors.
• Analyze demand, capacity, workforce, activity and timeliness in OT pathways.
• Review end-to-end equipment and adaptations pathway, including funding and interfaces.
• Engage with Occupational Therapists, managers, residents, families and carers to identify improvements.
• Develop recommendations for governance, quality assurance, supervision and escalation arrangements.
• Produce high-quality reports and presentations for senior leaders and partnership forums.

Job description

Hybrid - Occupational Therapist - Walsall Council

Salary: £32.24 Per Hour
Hours: 37 Hours
Working Schedule: Monday to Friday
Contract Length: 12 Months
Location: Walsall, WS1 1TP

Job Details

All-Age OT Provision Scoping Lead Provision Scoping Lead
Must Have Driving Licence and Basic DBS

To lead a 12-month borough-wide review of Occupational Therapy provision across Walsall and develop evidence-based options and recommendations for a sustainable, integrated all-age Occupational Therapy model aligned to integrated neighbourhood working.

You will build a comprehensive understanding of how Occupational Therapy is currently provided across Adult Social Care, Children's Services, health, education, SEND, housing, equipment and adaptations, and wider community and voluntary sector interfaces.

The role will examine the whole OT pathway across the life course, including access and referral routes, demand and capacity, workforce, transitions, equipment and adaptations, professional leadership, governance, quality assurance, performance and outcomes.

Working collaboratively with partners, practitioners, residents, people with lived experience, families and carers, the postholder will identify strengths, gaps, duplication, inequalities, interface issues and opportunities for greater integration.

You will translate this evidence into practical options for the future, including recommendations regarding service scope, pathways, workforce, professional governance, system accountability, high-level resource implications and implementation priorities.

The role will provide senior leaders and partners with a robust evidence base to support decisions about the future configuration of Occupational Therapy provision across Walsall.

Working across organisational and professional boundaries, you will:

• Map current Occupational Therapy provision across Walsall, including Adult Social Care, Children's Services, community health, acute and intermediate care, mental health, education, SEND, housing and voluntary and community sector interfaces.
• Review how people access OT support, including referral routes, eligibility and thresholds, pathways, hand-offs between organizations and transition from children's to adult services.
• Analyze demand, capacity, workforce, activity, access and timeliness, service standards, inequalities and available outcome information.
• Review the end-to-end equipment and adaptations pathway, including the interfaces between assessment, equipment provision, adaptations, funding and wider integrated equipment arrangements.
• Engage meaningfully with Occupational Therapists, practitioners, managers, partners, residents, families and carers to understand what works well and where services could work differently.
• Consider how OT can make a stronger contribution to prevention, early intervention, rehabilitation, reablement, independent living, neighborhood working, SEND, transitions and support for people with complex needs.
• Explore opportunities to improve integration, reduce duplication, strengthen interfaces and provide a more consistent experience across the life course.
• Assess future workforce requirements, professional leadership, supervision, skills and workforce resilience.
• Develop recommendations for robust professional governance and quality assurance, including supervision, professional standards, audit, risk management and appropriate escalation arrangements.
• Work with relevant colleagues to identify the workforce, financial and resource implications of different future service options.
• Develop recommendations for a consistent performance and outcomes framework covering areas such as access, demand, capacity, timeliness, quality, resident outcomes and inequalities.
• Consider future system governance, accountability, professional leadership and funding responsibilities across partner organizations.
• Consider opportunities of partnership working across the ICB footprint.
• Benchmark Walsall's arrangements against relevant professional guidance, national policy and emerging integrated and neighborhood models.
• Develop, test and appraise evidence-based options, recommend a preferred future all-age Occupational Therapy model and identify the key priorities and dependencies for implementation.
• Produce high-quality reports, presentations and recommendations for senior leaders and partnership governance forums