Specialist Occupational Therapist

Cheshire And Wirral Partnership Nhs Foundation Trust; Macclesfield; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in Macclesfield is recruiting an experienced Senior Occupational Therapist to join the Mental Health Intensive Support Team (MHIST) in Cheshire East. You will deliver specialist OT assessment and intervention for people with complex mental health needs, work within an MDT, and support recovery and independence while attending home visits.

The role emphasizes risk management, care planning and confident communication to coordinate care across

Qualifications

• Diploma, BSc or MSc in Occupational Therapy.
• Registration with Health Professions Council (HCPC).
• Accreditation as Practice Placement Educator or working towards accreditation.
• Experience in mental health is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist OT assessment and intervention for complex mental health needs.
• Work within the MDT to support recovery and independence and promote meaningful activities.
• Demonstrate risk management and adaptive care planning with patients and carers.
• Conduct assessments and deliver home-based interventions for patients in their own homes.

Skills

Occupational Therapy

Risk assessment

Communication skills

Home visits

Team working

Education

BSc/MSc in Occupational Therapy

HCPC registration

Practice Placement Educator accreditation or in progress

Job description

Job summary

We are recruiting an experienced Occupational Therapists to join the Mental Health Intensive Support Team (MHIST) in Cheshire East (Macclesfield).

MhIST is a Trustwide community rehabilitation service that provides specialist assessment, treatment, interventions & support to help people recover from complex mental health problems & to regain the skills & confidence to live in the community.

Main duties of the job

As a Senior Occupational Therapist, you will work intensively with a small cohort of patients with a range of complex needs offering specialist occupational therapy assessment and intervention, providing high quality levels of care in order to assist these patients to live a meaningful and purposeful life. The Occupational Therapists will work alongside the MDT to ensure effective and needs-led patient care with a strong focus on recovery, goal setting, identifying relapse indicators and promoting independence.

The MHIST team are proactive in pre-empting crisis and preventing admission into hospital, and therefore you must be able to demonstrate excellent skills in risk management, adaptive care planning and communication skills with a genuine attitude of care and dedication to this type of cohort of patients.

As the role involves the assessment and treatment of patient's within their own home, access to transport for work purposes is essential.

About us

Cheshire and Wirral Partnership (CWP) provides health and care services for a population of over one million people, including mental health, learning disability, community physical health and all-age disability care, as well as the provision of three GP surgeries in Cheshire.

We employ around 4,500 staff across 73 sites and have services across Wirral and Cheshire, as well as Trafford, Warrington, Bolton, Halton, Liverpool and Stockport.

Our aim is to help improve the lives of everyone in our communities, adopting a compassionate, person-centred approach to everything we do. We are rated as Outstanding for Caring by the Care Quality Commission, with a Good rating overall.

As a Disability Confident Employer, Rainbow Badge Scheme member, Veteran Aware organisation and proud holder of the Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award, CWP is committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible and developing a culture that values differences, and welcome applications from people who have direct experience of accessing our services.

All new starters will commence in post on one fixed start date each month, in line with our Prepare to Care (P2C) induction programme date. P2C offers up to 3 weeks training to support you to meet the induction / initial training requirements of the role.

Whether you are just starting out in your career or looking to use your existing skills and experience in a new role, you'll find something to suit you at CWP.

Details

Date posted: 16 October 2026

Pay scheme: Agenda for change

Band: Band 6

Salary: £39,959 to £48,117 a year per annum

Contract: Permanent

Working pattern: Full-time

Reference number: 373-SMH2777

Closing date: 30 October 2026

Job responsibilities

At CWP, our recruitment selection processes are based on both competence (see person specification for details) and values.

CWP recruits people that can demonstrate the Trusts Values in their everyday life and we use a values-based approach in our interviews, which explores not only what you do but how and why you do it.

Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trusts Values and think about how these align with your own personal values. The supporting information section in your application should reflect your understanding of the Trusts Values and associated behaviours and you should provide examples from your work experience and/or personal life which demonstrate these values through your behaviours.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential:

• Diploma, BSc or MSc in Occupational Therapy
• Registration with Health Professions Council
• Accreditation as Practice Placement Educator or working towards accreditation

Desirable:

• Postgraduate clinical training relevant to the post
• Leadership or management training
• CLAIT/ECDL or equivalent

Knowledge and Expertise

Essential:

• Specialist clinical skills relevant to the role
• Current disability equipment training or be willing to gain as appropriate for the post
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Good knowledge and awareness of current legislation and guidance pertaining to Mental Health services and implications for Occupational Therapy
• Ability to work under pressure and set priorities
• Good knowledge of effective care co-ordination and planning of treatment packages
• Ability to manage own caseload and work as part of a team
• Group leadership skills
• Excellent negotiation and organisational skills, with individuals and groups
• Working knowledge of clinical governance principles
• Computer literacy
• Skills in moving and handling

Desirable:

• Training, presentation and facilitation skills
• Ability to resolve complex professional and ethical issues
• Research experience

Experience

Essential:

• At least 18 months experience in mental health
• Experience of working in a multidisciplinary environment
• Experience of supervising and supporting junior staff and students
• Experience of using Staff Performance and Development Process
• Documented evidence of Continued Professional Development
• Working knowledge of clinical audit
• Experience of introducing new and innovative interventions

Desirable:

• Minimum of 3 years post registration experience
• Experience of care co-ordination

Trust Values

Essential:

• Demonstrate alignment with Trust Values (6 C's: Commitment, Communication, Care, Courage, Compassion, Competency)

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.

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

Employer details

Employer name: Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Address: Jocelyn Solly Resource Centre, Victoria Road, Macclesfield, SK10 3JE, United Kingdom

Employer's website: https://www.cwp.nhs.uk/about-us/working-for-us/