Specialist Occupational Therapist

Transformationunitgm; Brighton; On-site; GBP 37,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading trust is seeking a Specialist Occupational Therapist to join their dedicated Children's Occupational Therapy service in Brighton. This role requires a passionate clinician with extensive experience in paediatrics, particularly in managing complex needs. The ideal candidate will demonstrate strong organisational skills and a commitment to high standards of care, working collaboratively with children, families, and multidisciplinary teams.

Benefits

Flexible working options

Excellent training and development opportunities

Cost-effective workplace nurseries

Supportive work environment with team networks

Beautiful location near South Downs and coast

Qualifications

• Degree in Occupational Therapy required.
• Registered with HCPC and post-graduate training in a specialist area.
• Substantial experience in paediatrics, especially with complex needs.

Responsibilities

• Manage a caseload of patients with a variety of conditions.
• Formulate and deliver treatment programmes based on assessments.
• Support and supervise Band 3 to 5 staff.
• Conduct holistic assessments and manage clinical risks.

Skills

Knowledge of paediatric conditions

Organisational skills

Clinical reasoning

Communication skills

Problem-solving

Education

Degree in Occupational Therapy

Registered with HCPC

Post Graduate training in a relevant specialist area

Masters Degree or equivalent

Job description

Main area Paediatric Community Occupational Therapy Grade Band 6 Contract Permanent: Band 6 Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Monday to Friday.) Job ref 150-MM1754-PC

Employer Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Seaside View Child Development Centre, Brighton General Hospital Town Brighton Salary £37,338 - £44,962 £37,338 - £44,962 per annum pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 29/06/2025 23:59

Specialist Occupational Therapist

Band 6

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a dedicated and passionate clinician to join the Children's Occupational Therapy service within Brighton and Hove Child Development Services.

This role is ideally suited to an Occupational Therapist with a strong background in paediatrics. Applicants must demonstrate clinical expertise gained through previous OT experience, particularly in supporting children with complex physical needs, including those requiring specialist equipment.

The successful candidate will have the ability to work independently in the community, possess excellent organisational and time management skills, and be committed to upholding high standards of clinical governance.

Main duties of the job

The team are very committed to Sussex Community Trust’s values of “Working Together, Achieving Ambitions, Delivering Excellence and Compassionate Care”, and aspire to deliver a service of ‘compassionate patient centred care, promoting independence and empowering families’.

We offer excellent in-service training, supervision and clinical support from the Countywide Paediatric Professional Lead.

The ability to travel is essential as you will need to visit nurseries, schools and children’s homes.

To work as a band 6 registered professional within a Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust service, you will need:

• To manage a caseload of patients with a variety of conditions.
• To formulate and deliver generic and specialised treatment programmes based on a sound knowledge of evidence-based practice and treatment options using clinical assessment and reasoning skills.
• To treat all patients with respect and courtesy, maintaining dignity and respecting individual needs and differences, both physical and cultural.
• To be involved in the support and supervision of staff at Band 3 to 5 level.
• To act as a clinical educator for undergraduate students within own professional area.
• To receive and deliver internal training and keep your own Personal Development plans up to date.
• To take on an audit and evaluation role of the service in which you work.
• To assist the team with service development initiatives, including implementation of competency frameworks.

Working for our organisation

We are the main provider of NHS community services across East and West Sussex, with 6,000 staff serving 1.3 million people. We deliver essential care to adults and children, helping them manage their health, avoid hospital admissions, and reduce hospital stays.

Our Trust vision is to provide excellent care at the heart of the community. We offer opportunities across medical, clinical, support, and corporate services.

Why work for us?
• Positive 2023 NHS Staff Survey results, highlighting compassionate leadership and wellbeing
• Varied environments: community hospitals, patients’ homes, and bases across Sussex
• Flexible working options: part-time, flexi-time, annualised hours, and flexi-retirement
• Excellent training, development, and research opportunities
• Cost-effective workplace nurseries in Crawley, Hove, and Brighton
• Active EMBRACE, Disability & Wellbeing, LGBTQIA+, and Religion & Belief networks
• Level 3 Disability Confident Leader and Veteran Aware Trust
• Beautiful Sussex location near the South Downs and coast

Our values—Compassionate Care, Working Together, Achieving Ambitions, Delivering Excellence—guide everything we do.

We embrace diversity and encourage applications from all backgrounds, particularly from ethnically diverse, disabled, and LGBTQIA+ individuals. We aim to create an inclusive environment and support reasonable adjustments during recruitment.

This post may close early if sufficient applications are received.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The main tasks you will spend your time doing are:

• To work effectively as a team member in providing and facilitating a high standard of care, social and rehabilitative support across various settings.
• To plan therapy, social and rehabilitative pathways taking account of the fluctuating needs of the patient and assist in evaluating the outcomes.
• To report and document variances in a patient’s condition or planned pathway of care.
• To offer advice and support and education on healthcare to both patients and carers.
• To take referrals for all services using the criteria specified in their operational policies.
• To undertake a holistic assessment of all the patients’ needs and understand the routes for escalating issues that are not directly resolved by own professional practice.
• Formulate and deliver an individual treatment programme based on a sound knowledge of evidence-based practice and treatment options using specific clinical assessment, reasoning skills and knowledge of treatment skills.
• To evaluate patient progress, reassess and alter treatment programmes as required.
• Assess patient understanding of treatment proposals, gain valid informed consent and have the capacity to work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment.
• To manage clinical risk within own patient case load and recognise potential risks to others, complying at all times with the requirements of health and safety regulations.
• Work in line with the SCFT lone worker policy where lone working is integral to the role.
• To be responsible for maintaining personal accurate and comprehensive patient treatment records in accordance with SCFT Information Governance and professional bodies.
• To be responsible for maintaining and developing own competency to practice through CPD activities and maintain a portfolio which reflects personal development.
• To clinically supervise, support and teach other staff, including Band 5 therapists, assistants and students.
• To support the operational lead with annual appraisals for staff at Band 3 to 5 level and assist them with their career development.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Degree in Occupational Therapy
• Registered with HCPC
• Post Graduate training in a relevant specialist area
• Masters Degree or equivalent

Experience

• Substantial relevant post-qualification experience covering a broad range
• Experience of working within the specialist area of children with complex physical needs
• Experience of working with schools and educational settings, including report writing for SEN
• Experience of working in a multidisciplinary team and high-level understanding of team dynamics.
• Experience of providing training and presenting information to colleagues in a transdisciplinary team.
• Contributions to audit and evaluation within a clinical governance framework.
• Excellent knowledge of specialist equipment for use within paediatrics

Skills

• Excellent working knowledge of informing sciences such as anatomy, physiology and pathology of paediatric conditions applicable to specialism
• Excellent knowledge of assessment and treatment tools and specialist treatment approaches
• Demonstrates working knowledge of relevant legislation such as Manual Handling, Health and Safety
• Competency and ability to assess and treat wide range of complex conditions within paediatrics
• Advanced negotiation and problem-solving skills. Excellent conflict management skills.
• Critical appraisal and reflection skills
• Excellent organisational skills.

Other

• Ability to travel for home visits, school visits, etc

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 Anette Steenkamp Job title Deputy Operational Head of Services Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 07557582440 Additional information

A job plan will be created by your line manager in line with the service blueprint and discussed with you.

You will work closely with the child, family and other professionals involved in their care, across various settings, e.g. clinic, client's homes, schools and nurseries. We are committed to multi-disciplinary working and contribute to specialist clinics.

This is a community post, with a caseload of children and young people with neurological and developmental conditions. The post holder will be responsible for applying their expertise in assessing and providing interventions or strategies that can be administered by parents, education staff and technical instructors as well as yourself.

OT Team -01273 265806

Applicants are most welcome to arrange a visit to the CDC and meet the team.