Specialist Physiotherapist – Paediatrics rotational

University Hospital Southampton NHS FT; Southampton; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS Trust in Southampton is looking for an enthusiastic B6 Physiotherapist to join their Paediatrics team. This role involves rotating through various clinical specialties, gaining valuable experience while working alongside specialist Paediatric therapists. Candidates must have a strong background in Physiotherapy and excellent communication skills, with the opportunity to develop leadership abilities in a supportive environment.

Qualifications

• A broad range of post-qualification Physiotherapy experience, including a specific paediatric caseload.
• Proven experience in acute respiratory on-call service for both adults and children.
• Excellent communication skills to adapt to the child's, family's, and MDT needs.

Responsibilities

• Perform assessments and formulate treatment plans for diverse paediatric patients.
• Work closely with multidisciplinary teams for seamless care.
• Participate in training and development within the team and externally.

Skills

Communication skills

Team working

Flexibility

Resilience

Job description

A Vacancy at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity to work with us.

Are you a B5 Physiotherapist, or current B6, looking to further your Physiotherapy career working with children? Then this may be the perfect opportunity for you!

We have an exciting B6 Physiotherapy opportunity working in Paediatrics for an enthusiastic, and motivated physio who wants to consolidate their clinical skills by rotating through different clinical areas, whilst growing and developing their leadership and management skills. The post holder will gain experience in multiple Paediatric Therapy specialities during 9‑month rotations including in‑patients, outpatients and regional clinics within Southampton Children's Hospital plus within Naomi House and Jacks place Hospice.

The successful applicant will be supported within the specialities by specialist Paediatric therapists; OTs and Physios, allowing excellent opportunity for further developing clinical and theoretical skills, in addition to participation in service development, audits and teaching. They will work in a friendly, dynamic and proactive paediatric Therapy team over 40 staff in conjunction with the wider Therapy services department of over 300 physio, OT and therapy support staff.

We provide a 7‑day therapy service for our Trust and therefore you need to be able to work weekends and bank holiday, on a rota basis including participating in our respiratory out of hours service (On‑call) working across adults and paediatrics.

University Hospital Southampton is one of England's largest acute teaching Trusts, offering a wide range of learning and development opportunities to support your career aspirations.

Located on the south coast with an international airport and direct rail links to London, Southampton offers an ideal setting to live and work, with the New Forest, South Downs and Jurassic Coast.

We believe that using technology wisely shows strong time management and commitment to innovation. However, personalising your recruitment application to highlight your unique skills and experiences is crucial. Relying too heavily on generic, AI‑generated content instead of drawing from your own strengths and accomplishments may lead to your application being rejected if multiple candidates present identical or similar information.

At UHS we’re committed to providing a flexible working environment where possible. Whether you are balancing family, study, or your wellbeing with your career, we want to support you so you can help our patients.

At UHS, we proudly champion individuality, recognising that outstanding care is only possible with a diverse, inclusive team. We’re committed to creating an anti‑racist, anti‑discriminatory environment where everyone feels valued, safe, and empowered to make a meaningful impact in our communities. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences to join us in building a healthcare community where everyone can belong, thrive, and contribute.

Specialist B6 Physiotherapy role rotations

• Respiratory care: Intensive care, high dependency, medicine and surgery
• Neurology: Acute inpatient rehabilitation, Bursledon House rehabilitation unit, neuro‑oncology and neurology
• Orthopaedics: Inpatient – trauma, elective, neuro‑orthopaedics; Outpatients
• MSK: Largely outpatient, groups, hydrotherapy caseloads
• Neonatology: Inclusive of neonatal unit, high care, inpatients and outpatients
• Neuromuscular: Regional clinics and outpatients
• Naomi House and Jacks place Hospice: Inpatients, outpatients, hydrotherapy

Main responsibilities of this B6 Specialist Physiotherapist in Paediatrics

• Working across a number of clinical areas to perform assessments; formulate treatment plans and goal setting, with a highly diverse range of paediatric patients
• Working closely with specialised MDT to allow for the seamless care of patients
• Involvement in training and development, with both the therapy team, members of the MDT, patients/families and externally within the region
• The development of professional leadership and management skills, through on‑the‑job learning, supervision, in‑service training and service development supporting clinical pathways

What we are looking for

• An enthusiastic, dynamic, flexible, forward‑thinking, fun individual with excellent communication and team working skills and a desire to specialise within paediatrics.
• Flexibility to work at weekends within all fields of paediatrics and be rostered on the whole hospital Physiotherapy Respiratory On‑call (adult and paeds) working across the intensive, high care and acute wards

Essential skills and experience needed for this post

• A broad range of post‑qualification Physiotherapy experience, including a specific paediatric caseload.
• Proven, documented experience in doing shifts within an acute respiratory on‑call service including intensive care, in both adults and children.
• Clear expressed desire on your application to work within paediatrics and as part of UHS Therapies.
• Excellent communication skills: to enable close working relationships, being able to adapt communication to meet the child’s, family, and MDT needs considering their age and development.
• Be physically fit and able to work with children with complex needs using different equipment and working in different positions and environments. This includes working on the floor, being water‑confident in the hydrotherapy pool and therapeutically handling patients.
• Experience working in challenging and emotive situations with active coping strategies and resilience, evidenced on application form.
• Car driver, for working between hospital sites, and NH/JP Hospice.
• Ability to attend interview in person for assessment of practical application of your skills.

Desirable skills needed

• Experience as a Physiotherapy student supervisor

Please note

• Interviews will be held, in person only, on 2nd Dec 2025
• We do not accept CV applications.
• Interviews will be held face to face to enable practical clinical skills assessments, therefore you need to be able to attend in person and wear clothes suitable for moving in.
• Please note, if other suitable and comparable posts are available after the interview we may be able to offer these to anyone held in reserve.

If this post is not for you and you are interested in other therapy opportunities, please e‑mail: [e-mail]

We welcome enquiries and are happy to answer any questions you may have.

This advert closes on Wednesday 19 Nov 2025.