Specialist Occupational Therapist - Intensive Support Team (E&N)

Hpft; Stevenage; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Band 6 Specialist Occupational Therapist for the Intensive Support Team in Stevenage. The post involves leading OT assessments, delivering high-quality interventions for adults with learning disabilities, and working across community and inpatient settings.

You will join a multidisciplinary team, develop risk and behaviour support plans, and contribute to training and supervision of OT staff.

Qualifications

• BSc/MSc/PG Dip Occupational Therapy required.
• HCPC registration required.
• Proficient use of Microsoft Office and associated packages.
• Completion of preceptorship and/or meeting KS F Gateway for Band 5 OT’s.
• Evidence of relevant post grad training.
• Membership of RCOT.
• SI/BBAT training.
• Broad base of clinical experience.

Responsibilities

• Provide high-quality Occupational Therapy service and consultation to people within the Intensive Support Team.
• Undertake assessments and interventions requiring intense/frequent contact.
• Provide advice and modelling on OT interventions in the person’s setting.
• Offer hands-on support to staff teams to improve confidence and skill base.
• Contribute to risk assessment and management plans.
• Input into Positive Behaviour Support Plans and Staying Well Plans.
• Support out-of-hours coverage to reduce hospital admissions.
• Manage a caseload using evidence-based principles in clinic and community settings.
• Provide specialist OT advice and consultation to other professionals.
• Plan and implement individual/group interventions using graded activities.
• Evaluate and modify treatment to measure progress and effectiveness.
• Ensure clients are consulted and involved in care decisions.
• Maintain clinical records and develop skills/knowledge.
• Provide supervision to OT staff per Trust policy.

Skills

Communication skills

Multidisciplinary teamwork

Clinical reasoning

Leadership

Patient‑centered care

Training delivery

Car driver

Education

BSc/MSc/PG Dip Occupational Therapy

HCPC registration

Microsoft Office proficiency

Preceptorship/KSF Gateway (Band 5 OT)

Postgraduate training

RCOT membership

SI/BBAT training

Broad clinical experience

Tools

AMPS

Pool Activity Levels

Microsoft Office

Job description

Specialist Occupational Therapist - Intensive Support Team (E&N)

Band 6

Main area OT Grade Band 6 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 367-LD&F-101342-D

Site Saffron Ground Town Stevenage Salary £39,959 - £48,117 per annum pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 19/10/2026 23:59

Values Based Screener

At Hertfordshire Partnership Foundation Trust we are looking for people to join us who share our values and those of the NHS. Before your application can be considered please take part on our online values questionnaire, which you can find below. When you have finished you will be sent a 'completion code' by email, which will be valid for 6 months and required to submit your application form.

Are you an innovative and highly motivated Occupational Therapist who wants to improve the lives and wellbeing of individuals with a Learning Disability? Then we could be the team for you!

Due to an expansion of the Specialist Learning Disability provision, we are looking for an Intensive Support Occupational Therapist to work alongside community and inpatient colleagues to best meet the needs of individuals known to the intensive support team.

This specialist Occupational Therapist post will enable you to use your core OT skills by promoting participation and independence in Activities of Daily living, whilst having the opportunity to strengthen and develop these in specialist areas such as Sensory Integration, Positive Behaviour Support, Trauma Informed approaches alongside supporting the impact of physical health needs.

The role sits within the Intensive Support Function of the East & North Specialist Learning Disability Service. You will be joining a highly dedicated and creative Occupational Therapy service and will be encouraged and supported to undertake learning and development opportunities both in clinical and leadership fields

We are a supportive and forward-thinking team, with great peer networks; we actively promote learning and professional development with opportunities in both clinical and leadership fields of work.

Due to this being a community post access to a vehicle is essential.

We invite and welcome further discussions from anyone keen to apply.

Main duties of the job

The Intensive Support Team (IST) work intensively with adults (18+) with learning disabilities who are experiencing significant mental health difficulties or whose behaviours pose a challenge.

The Occupational Therapist will provide high quality, comprehensive Occupational Therapy assessment and intervention for specified service user group with complex needs

They will work in an interdisciplinary way to assess service user’s needs, devise care plans and evaluate outcomes and to carry a caseload as a member of a multi-disciplinary team.

Provide clinical advice and support for service users that present with behaviour that challenges and require support with their mental health.

Work directly with service users, carers, colleagues and other service providers.

Deliver training and education to other professionals/carers/family.

To continue to develop Occupational Therapy provision within the service and drive innovation with support from the Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist and Professional Lead Occupational Therapist.

Working for our organisation

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) is an outstanding organisation with ambitions to match. We are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of ‘Outstanding’ from the Care Quality Commission, and our aim is to be the leading provider of mental health and specialist learning disability services in the country.

Our family of over 4000 members of staff provide health and social care for over 400,000 people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. We also deliver a range of nationally commissioned specialist services including Tier 4 services for children and young people, perinatal services, plus medium and low secure learning disabilities services.

The care we provide makes a fantastic difference to the lives of our service users, their families and carers - everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout:

Our Trust values are:

Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.

These values are at the core of who we are, everything we do, and how we do it!

Would you like to be part of the HPFT family? Would you like work with us to ensure our service users live the fullest lives possible they can? Would you like to be supported in your career to be the best that you can be?

Then please read on…

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Occupational Therapist will lead on:

Providing a high-quality Occupational Therapy Service and consultation to people within the Hertfordshire Community intensive Support team.

Undertaking assessments and interventions where intense and/or frequent contact is required

Providing advice and modelling on the implementation of Occupational Therapy interventions in the person's current setting

Offering hands‑on support to staff teams to improve their confidence and skill base.

Contribute to risk assessment and management plans

Input into positive Behaviour Support Plans for those displaying challenging behaviour and Staying Well Plans for those with mental health needs

Scaffold and support colleagues who offer flexible out‑of‑hours support to reduce the need for hospital admission

Manage a caseload, using evidence based/client principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate Occupational Therapy interventions in clinic and community settings .

Providing specialist Occupational Therapy advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to a client’s formulation, diagnosis and case management plan.

Planning and implement individual and/or group interventions using selected and graded activity to achieve therapeutic goals.

Helping to evaluate and modify treatment in order to measure progress and ensure effectiveness of intervention.

Ensure that clients are consulted and involved in decision about their care.

Maintain clinical records.

Develop skills and knowledge.

Providing an effective supervision framework for Occupational Therapy staff and provide regular supervision to allocated OT staff as per Trust policy.

Person specification

QUALIFICATIONS EDUCATION TRAINING

• BSc/MSc/PG Dip Occupational Therapy
• HCPC registration
• Proficient use of Microsoft Office and associated packages.
• Completion of preceptorship and/or evidence of having met the full KSF Gateway for Band 5 OT’s
• Evidence of relevant post grad training.
• Membership of RCOT
• SI/BBAT training
• Broad base of clinical experience

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

• Post registration experience in relevant clinical setting
• Applied experience of providing both individual and group work interventions.
• Specialist knowledge and experience of using the Model of Human Occupation assessment tools, or others appropriate to area.
• Experience of other specialist Occupational Therapy assessment tools, e.g. AMPS, Pool Activity Levels
• Highly developed case formulation skills to guide own OT intervention plan and those of others
• Experience of audits/evaluations of interventions and direct involvement of implementation of any subsequent changes to practice.
• Experience of working with people with mental health problems and/or learning disability in a variety of health and social care settings

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

• Strong communication skills, written and verbal and the ability to persuade and negotiate with peers and senior colleagues
• Proven track record of working within a multidisciplinary team and an understanding of team dynamics
• Knowledge and application of key policy, health legislation and guidelines which impact on OT and mental health/LD practice.
• Ability to provide and receive sensitive and difficult information regarding service users care and social situation
• Knowledge of and effective use of appropriate professional relationships and boundaries
• High level of ability to grade and adapt practical skills
• Evidence of delivery of training and professional development sessions
• Car driver (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010 which prevents you from driving)

ANALYTICAL SKILLS

• Ability to apply broad knowledge of current best practice in OT and mental health
• A high level of problem solving/clinical judgement skills and the ability to analyse professional and ethical issues
• Ability to respond and adjust appropriately to the changing needs of service users
• Highly developed Observational skills
• Highly developed ability to evaluate group interventions and outcomes
• Highly developed case formulation skills to guide own OT intervention plan and those of others

Please note, we do not charge fees for job applications, recruitment processes, sponsorship arrangements, or employment offers. Please see the Trust careers vacancy webpage and Trac as the only authorised routes for recruitment communications, applications and verification of job offers.

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 Amanda Drake Job title Professional Lead for LD Occupational Therapy Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 07813348421

Sandi O'neill - E&N SLDS OT Team lead

Telephone: [phone]