Senior Occupational Therapist

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; Portsmouth; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in Portsmouth is seeking a Senior Occupational Therapist to lead and deliver community- and crisis-focused OT services. You will work within Adult Mental Health Services, supporting CRHT and community teams with person-centred, recovery‑oriented interventions.

You will collaborate across multidisciplinary teams, assess complex cases, and guide junior staff while promoting independence and meaningful daily activities for adults

Qualifications

• Degree in Occupational Therapy and HCPC registration.
• Postgraduate experience in complex high-risk mental health settings.
• Experience applying OT process, including assessments and activity analysis.
• Experience supervising juniors and working in a multidisciplinary team.
• Ability to use standardised and non-standardised assessments and set goals.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Occupational Therapy service within the Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team.
• Attend weekly multidisciplinary meetings and provide specialist OT input.
• Complete comprehensive OT assessments and develop person-centred plans.
• Manage a caseload requiring specialist OT intervention during crisis and recovery.
• Deliver urgent OT assessments to support safe home treatment.

Skills

Communication skills

Autonomous working

Mental health risk assessment

Education

Degree level or higher in Occupational Therapy

Health and Care Professions Council registration

Tools

Microsoft Office

Video conferencing

Job description

Go back Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Senior Occupational Therapist

The closing date is 27 September 2026

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a motivated, innovative, and enthusiastic Occupational Therapist to join our award‑winning Allied Health Professional (AHP) Service as a Senior Occupational Therapist, supporting Adult Mental Health Services across Portsmouth.

This role offers a unique opportunity to work across community mental health services and the Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team (CRHT), delivering specialist occupational therapy interventions to adults experiencing significant mental health difficulties. You will play a key role in promoting recovery, independence, and meaningful participation in daily life through evidence‑based occupational therapy assessment and intervention.

As part of a friendly, supportive, and highly regarded Occupational Therapy‑led service, you will work alongside experienced Occupational Therapists and multidisciplinary colleagues who are passionate about delivering person‑centred, recovery‑focused care.

The Occupational Therapy service forms part of our award‑winning AHP Service, providing specialist mental health occupational therapy across Portsmouth. The team delivers a range of interventions, including individual therapeutic work, group programmes, and the evidence‑based and award‑winning Occupation Matters Programme.

Our service is recognised for its innovative approach to enabling people to engage in meaningful occupations, improve wellbeing, and develop the skills needed to live fulfilling and independent lives.

Main duties of the job

As the Occupational Therapy lead within the Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team, you will act as the primary point of contact for occupational therapy expertise and referrals.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Attending and contributing to weekly multidisciplinary team meetings, providing specialist occupational perspectives for individuals with complex presentations where traditional medical or psychological interventions have been less effective.
• Completing comprehensive occupational therapy assessments and developing person‑centred intervention plans.
• Managing a caseload of individuals requiring specialist occupational therapy intervention during periods of crisis and recovery.
• Delivering urgent occupational therapy assessments to support safe and effective home treatment.
• Supporting individuals to develop meaningful routines, improve occupational engagement, and reduce social isolation.
• Assessing functional abilities and independent living skills within home environments.

At present, the Trust is unable to offer Skilled Worker visa sponsorship for this post. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK at the time of application.

About us

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides joined‑up mental and physical healthcare for around two million people across our communities. With over 13,000 staff working in the community and local hospitals, we deliver care at every stage of life, helping people live their best and healthiest lives.

Our mental health services include community‑based support and early intervention in psychosis (EIP) for both adults and young people, alongside a network of specialist inpatient wards covering forensic, learning disability, eating disorder and older person's care.

We deliver extensive physical health services too, from urgent community response teams helping frail and older patients remain safely at home, to hospitals at home teams providing acute‑level care in familiar surroundings. Our neurological services offer rehabilitation and treatment for conditions including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Motor Neurone Disease, Head Injury, Cerebral Palsy and Stroke. Across Hampshire, our community hospitals provide inpatient rehabilitation as a step down from acute care, and our dedicated teams also staff Treetops Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Portsmouth, offering expert, compassionate support.

Everything we do is underpinned by our CARE values of compassion, accountability, respect and excellence

Job responsibilities

Further information about the Trust and this role can be found on the Job Description and Person Specification document attached. It is important to us that we ensure our recruitment processes are accessible and inclusive to everyone - if as a potential candidate you are concerned a person specification may prevent or restrict your application for employment as a result of unintentional barriers on the grounds of your sex, race, age, sexual orientation, religion/belief or disability please initially contact the Trust's Recruitment team - detailed in the advert. The Trust will seek to resolve this issue wherever possible.

We are happy to talk Flexible Working - all requests for flexible working options can be discussed as part of the interview process.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Degree level or higher in Occupational Therapy.
• Health and Care Professions Council registration.

Experience

• Post graduate experience working in complex and high‑risk mental health settings -- managing challenging behaviors.
• Experience of applying the Occupational Therapy process in mental health.
• Experience of using standardized and functional assessments and activity analysis in a mental health setting.
• Experience of supporting and supervising junior staff.
• Experience of working as part of a multidisciplinary team.

Additional Criteria

• To understand and apply of a range of Occupational Therapy functional non‑standardised and standardised assessments, goal setting methods, individual and group interventions, and evaluation methods to support best practice.
• Able to manage a complex caseload of clients throughout the service.
• Able to review and develop the occupational therapy service, using specialist training and knowledge to inform relevant changes to service delivery.
• Able to communicate effectively with stakeholders, colleagues, patients, and their families, both verbally and in writing.
• Able to deliver information / interventions where the situation can be emotive, challenging, or hostile -- managing this with sensitivity and tact
• Specialist skills in mental health related risk assessment.
• Able to take personal responsibility, work autonomously and manage time effectively.
• Able to promote the contribution of occupational therapy to a range of audiences.
• Able to motivate others, work independently and as part of a team.
• Able to critique research and practice and apply to area of work.
• Able to use computer efficiently; including email, internet, Microsoft office including word/excel and video consultation software and ability to learn service specific systems.
• Specialist, up to date knowledge of Occupational Therapy practice.
• Knowledge of current issues in OT practice and mental health service provision e.g. Government policy, drivers, and current best practice.
• Knowledge and experience in use of research and audit methods.
• Knowledge of OT Professional Standards and Codes of Conduct.
• Knowledge of health and safety and risk assessment in mental health.
• Knowledge and experience of Mental Health, Mental Capacity Act and Safeguarding.
• An understanding of the principles of equal opportunities as it relates to staff and patients and able to demonstrate personal commitment to challenging discrimination and promoting equalities An understanding of equality within the workforce and how it can impact on this post.

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.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

£39,959 to £48,117 a yearPlease note for part time hours the salary will be pro rata