Specialist Lead Occupational Therapist - Acute

NHS; London; On-site; GBP 54,000 - 61,000; Full time

Job summary

An exciting opportunity for an experienced Occupational Therapist to assume a leadership role in an Acute Adult health setting. This position involves managing a team of therapists and activity coordinators across multiple wards, with a strong focus on developing OT services and leadership skills.

Benefits

Excellent training and development opportunities

Full induction including shadowing

Access to internal and external training

Qualifications

• Significant post qualification experience in mental health including mental health acute services.
• Experience in leading/developing service or part of service.
• Experience in using standardized OT assessments.

Responsibilities

• Provide professional leadership and operational management to Occupational Therapists.
• Lead and contribute in the planning, development, and evaluation of OT service.
• Ensure a 7-day activity program is in place.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Risk Assessment

Patient Care

Education

Degree/diploma/MSc in Occupational Therapy

HCPC registration

Job description

Job summary

Are you an experienced Occupational Therapist looking to develop your leadership skills within an Acute Adult health setting?

Following new investment we are excited to offer the opportunity to work as aSpecialist Lead Occupational Therapist - Acute, band 7,across two acute wards and one PICU ward. The successful candidate will work as part of an Acute OT Leadership team working alongside the current Band 7, who leads the other two acute wards and PICU within the unit and both roles are supported by the Borough Head OT.

The post will be responsible for the OTs and activity coordinators across the three wards: 2.0wte band 6, 1.0wte band 5 and 4.0wte activity co-ordinators. The post manages the 7 day activity rota across the three wards staffed y the activity co-ordinators.

The post is part of the OT leadership team for K&C and has the opportunity to develop new ways of working within the acute services. This is a great opportunity to develop OT services within an acute setting. and build on your own leadership and managerial skills.

The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.

Main duties of the job

Please see the job description for full details. An outline is below:

• To provide professional leadership and operational management to Occupational Therapists working in two Adult Acute wards and one PICU.
• The post holder is responsible for OT, Students and activity co-ordinators for their allocated wards and will work jointly with the other band 7 as required.
• As part of the Acute OT Leadership team to lead and contribute in the planning, development and evaluation of the OT service within Acute Adult Mental Health Services in K&C
• To ensure a 7 days activity program is in place, working with other members of the MDT and voluntary and community sector.

About us

St Charles Mental health unit has 4 acute wards and 2 PICU wards, one male and one female. The unit is also home to the Mental health A&E service. The unit is based walking distance from Ladbroke Grove station.

The Acute team will provide you will a friendly welcome and full induction which includes shadowing opportunities and visits to local services.

There are excellent training and development opportunities available within CNWL in addition to local in house CPD opportunities including a fortnightly staff development session.

CNWL is very fortunate in having a long-established professional structure and this includes a Head of Therapies, an AHP associate director, Trust wide Professional Leads for all professional groups and borough and specialist professional leadership.

Personal and professional development is a high priority for the profession this enables us to invest in the development of our staff by providing excellent internal training as well as commissioning specialised external training and providing quality supervision. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion are a priority for us in CNWL we expect staff to be culturally competent, reflective and open to culturally diverse CPD opportunities.

Details Date posted

02 June 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£54,320 to £60,981 a year pa inc HCAS

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

333-J-KC-0868

Job locations

St Charles Mental Health Unit

Exmoor Street

London

W10 6DZ

Job description Job responsibilities

Please see attached job description for full details and don't hesitate to get in touch to find out more about the role. We are excited to offer this new post and opportunity to work alongside an established and supportive acute occupational therapy service.

Please watch our OT recruitment video to find out more about working as an OT in CNWL-

CNWL Occupational Therapy Recruitment (FINAL) on Vimeo

Job description Job responsibilities

Please see attached job description for full details and don't hesitate to get in touch to find out more about the role. We are excited to offer this new post and opportunity to work alongside an established and supportive acute occupational therapy service.

Please watch our OT recruitment video to find out more about working as an OT in CNWL-

CNWL Occupational Therapy Recruitment (FINAL) on Vimeo

Person Specification Education and Qualifications Essential

• Degree/diploma/Msc in Occupational Therapy
• HCPC registered OT
• practice placement educator course/experience of taking students.
• Mental health specific workshops and short courses

Desirable

• Post graduate training relevant to job area

Previous experience Essential

• Significant post qualification experieince in mental health including mental health acute services
• Experience in leading/developing service or part of service
• Experience in using a range of standardised OT assessments
• Experience of supervising and appraising staff
• Experience of working within an MDT
• Experience in participating in audit / research projects.
• Experience in managing resources e.g. financial, stock, equipment etc
• Experience of effective partnership working, with external providers, in promoting socially inclusive opportunities for service users
• Experience in completing Risk Assessment Tools.
• Experience of working collaboratively with MDT to support bed management.
• Experience in partnership working with external agencies.

Desirable

• Experience in managing complex HR issues with staff
• Experience in budget management
• Experience with MOHO or other evidence based assessment tools.

Skills, Knowledge & abilities Essential

• Individual and group work assessments
• Ability to deal with sensitivities and complexities, using interpersonal skills
• Effective leadership skills through the management of designated projects, audits and research.
• Skills in producing timely, accurate and informative reports and notes.
• Presentation skills
• Excellent communication skills i.e. written, verbal, listening and proficient use of up to date systems of communication.
• Knowledge of personal recovery principles and their application to service delivery
• Clear concept of Occupational Therapy and models of practice.
• Ability to work autonomously, on own initiative and under pressure in a quickly moving service. To meet deadlines; & to make and action decisions independently within agreed time frames
• Ability to deputise in the absence of the Head OT.
• Ability to prioritise workload, delegate effectively and to support junior staff to do so.
• Ability to regularly identify and undertake appropriate learning and development opportunities as part of ongoing CPD.
• Ability to ensure the application of risk assessment and risk management strategies which facilitates a service user's recovery.
• Ability to identify and effectively manage performance of self and others.
• Ability to maintain effective partnership working with resources both internal and external to the Trust
• Ability to promote a culture of sound OT practice amongst staff.
• Ability to reflect and critically appraise own performance.
• Ability to determine the impact of mental and physical conditions on a service user's functional ability and undertake assessment/make recommendations with regards to the provision of equipment/aids and adaptations.
• Ability to recognise and articulate own values and principles , understanding how these may different from those of others

Desirable

• Experience of delivering formal presentations
• Experience and ability to chair meetings
• R&D experience at post graduate level.

Person Specification Education and Qualifications Essential

• Degree/diploma/Msc in Occupational Therapy
• HCPC registered OT
• practice placement educator course/experience of taking students.
• Mental health specific workshops and short courses

Desirable

• Post graduate training relevant to job area

Previous experience Essential

• Significant post qualification experieince in mental health including mental health acute services
• Experience in leading/developing service or part of service
• Experience in using a range of standardised OT assessments
• Experience of supervising and appraising staff
• Experience of working within an MDT
• Experience in participating in audit / research projects.
• Experience in managing resources e.g. financial, stock, equipment etc
• Experience of effective partnership working, with external providers, in promoting socially inclusive opportunities for service users
• Experience in completing Risk Assessment Tools.
• Experience of working collaboratively with MDT to support bed management.
• Experience in partnership working with external agencies.

Desirable

• Experience in managing complex HR issues with staff
• Experience in budget management
• Experience with MOHO or other evidence based assessment tools.

Skills, Knowledge & abilities Essential

• Individual and group work assessments
• Ability to deal with sensitivities and complexities, using interpersonal skills
• Effective leadership skills through the management of designated projects, audits and research.
• Skills in producing timely, accurate and informative reports and notes.
• Presentation skills
• Excellent communication skills i.e. written, verbal, listening and proficient use of up to date systems of communication.
• Knowledge of personal recovery principles and their application to service delivery
• Clear concept of Occupational Therapy and models of practice.
• Ability to work autonomously, on own initiative and under pressure in a quickly moving service. To meet deadlines; & to make and action decisions independently within agreed time frames
• Ability to deputise in the absence of the Head OT.
• Ability to prioritise workload, delegate effectively and to support junior staff to do so.
• Ability to regularly identify and undertake appropriate learning and development opportunities as part of ongoing CPD.
• Ability to ensure the application of risk assessment and risk management strategies which facilitates a service user's recovery.
• Ability to identify and effectively manage performance of self and others.
• Ability to maintain effective partnership working with resources both internal and external to the Trust
• Ability to promote a culture of sound OT practice amongst staff.
• Ability to reflect and critically appraise own performance.
• Ability to determine the impact of mental and physical conditions on a service user's functional ability and undertake assessment/make recommendations with regards to the provision of equipment/aids and adaptations.
• Ability to recognise and articulate own values and principles , understanding how these may different from those of others

Desirable

• Experience of delivering formal presentations
• Experience and ability to chair meetings
• R&D experience at post graduate level.

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Additional information 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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details Employer name

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

Address

St Charles Mental Health Unit

Exmoor Street

London

W10 6DZ

Employer's website

https://www.cnwl.nhs.uk/work (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details Employer name

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

Address

St Charles Mental Health Unit

Exmoor Street

London

W10 6DZ

Employer's website

https://www.cnwl.nhs.uk/work (Opens in a new tab)