Therapy Assistant Practitioner (Weight Management)

River Alliance of Wisconsin; Liverpool; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Liverpool is seeking an enthusiastic Assistant Practitioner to join their weight management team. The role involves supporting patients in managing obesity through personalized plans and group sessions. Candidates should possess a relevant foundation degree and a keen interest in health promotion. The position offers flexible working arrangements and opportunities for professional development.

Benefits

Flexible working

Compressed hours

Structured staff development programme

Qualifications

• Broad understanding of healthy/unhealthy lifestyles.
• Effective written/oral communication skills.
• Willingness to work towards specified competencies.

Responsibilities

• Support individuals in weight management through 1:1 and group settings.
• Use behaviour change techniques to assist patients.
• Participate in multi-disciplinary team meetings.

Skills

Communication

Problem Solving

Organizational Skills

Education

Health & Social Care Assistant Practitioner Foundation Degree

Job description

Full time

Flexible working

Compressed hours

Job ref287-DSS-50-25-AEmployerLiverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustEmployer typeNHSSiteAintree HospitalTownLiverpoolSalary£26,530 - £29,114 per annumSalary periodYearlyClosing12/05/2025 23:59

Employer heading

NHS AfC: Band 4

Job overview

Are you a graduate with a lifestyle related degree, looking for an opportunity to support people living with obesity?

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic and motivated Assistant Practitioner to join the Aintree LOSS specialist Tier 3 Weight Management team for Liverpool, based at Aintree Hospital. Applicants must have a Health & Social Care Assistant Practitioner Foundation Degree (or suitable equivalent qualification, NVQ level 4,5, HNC, HND). A keen interest in weight management, health promotion and behaviour change is essential.

The varied Assistant Practitioner role involves supporting individuals in both 1:1 and group settings, and will include face-to-face, telephone and virtual appointments.

You will be part of a wider multi-disciplinary team (MDT) and will work closely with and be supported by physiotherapists and dietitians in an effective and safe manner. You will attend monthly operational meetings and actively participate in MDT meetings.

The service has a strong commitment to providing a high standard of care and the post holder will work flexibly to meet the service needs. In return, we offer a flexible approach to working patterns and a structured staff development programme, which will enable you to gain relevant competencies for the role.

This is a great opportunity to gain new skills and work in a highly rewarding role alongside a committed multi-disciplinary team.

Main duties of the job

You will support the physiotherapists, dietitians and wider MDT in the delivery of the service to adults living with obesity , including the implementation of personalised plans for the service users.

You will use behaviour change techniques such as motivational interviewing skills to support patients to make positive lifestyle and dietary changes, and facilitate a positive and open dialogue to help them achieve their personal goals.

You will have the opportunity to work closely with service users in both group and 1:1 settings (telephone and face to face) to help them manage their weight.

You will be delivering educational topics and exercise circuits at the group sessions, as well as assisting other health professionals in the safe running of groups.

You will take an active role in MDT meetings, and be an open communicator with the wider team.

Working for our organisation

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust comprises Aintree University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital & Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

We are part of NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, formed on 1 Nov 2024 from the coming together of LUHFT and Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust. The Group was born from a shared aim to improve the care we provide our patients.

UHLG is one of the largest employers in the region, with over 16,800 colleagues dedicated to caring for our communities - from birth and beyond.

For the 630,000 people across Merseyside, we are their local NHS. We provide general and emergency hospital care, alongside highly specialised regional services for more than two million people in the North West.

Aintree University Hospitalis the single receiving site for adult major trauma patients in Cheshire and Merseyside and hosts a number of regional services including an award-winning stroke facility. Broadgreen Hospital is home to elective surgical, diagnostic and treatment services, together with specialist patient rehabilitation. Liverpool Women’s Hospital specialises in the health of women and babies, delivering over 7,200 babies in the UK’s largest single site maternity hospital each year. The Royal Liverpool University Hospital is the largest hospital in the country to provide inpatients with 100% single bedrooms and focuses on complex planned care and specialist services.

For roles at Liverpool Women’s, visit their careers page .

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Qualifications:

Knowledge, Training & Experience:

Broad understanding of what constitutes healthy/unhealthy lifestyles; general understanding of clinical conditions relevant to team specialty; effective written/oral communication skills; awareness of external agencies within the local community; practical working knowledge of health/ social care environments; willingness to work towards specified competencies; basic administrative skills, including use of Information Technology (including Internet, e-mail and word processing packages); commitment to personal development/willingness to learn;

Skills and aptitude:

Ability to work independently and as part of a team; demonstrate diplomacy, tact and empathy; ability to be reliable and responsible and to demonstrate initiative; ability to demonstrate problem solving approach; good organisational skills and ability to plan and manage own time, demonstrate good interpersonal skills and ability to communicate with others

The attached job description and person specification will go into further detail on the key responsibilities of the Assistant Practitioner role.

Person specification

Qualifications

Foundation degree/equivalent qualification

Knowledge

Knowledge of care agencies and how to access them

Desirable criteria

Able to demonstrate awareness of current NHS issues

Experience

Experience of therapy work in a health care setting

Desirable criteria

Experience of issuing and retrieving patient equipment

Experience of carrying out mobility and exercise programmes

Skills

Capable of working on own initiative

Able to communicate written information clearly - Excellent communication skills

Ability to work flexibly and prioritise workload

Good level of admin/clerical skills

Able to work as a team member

Evidence of organisational abilities

Other

Willingness to work flexibly

Please ensure you check the email account (including junk/spam boxes) from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application.

Posts advertised to ‘internal staff’ are open to employees of hospitals within University Hospitals of Liverpool Groupand you should confirm your employment within your application form.

Note: Under current Home Office Immigration Rules we are currently unable to offer right to work visa sponsorship for Band 2 and 3 roles with a salary of less than £25,000 pa as they do not meet the UK Visas & Immigration criteria.

Only those applicants who demonstrate clearly how they meet our person specification will be shortlisted for interview. We reserve the right to close any vacancies from further applications when we have received a minimum number of applications from which to make a shortlist. Please ensure you apply without delay if you wish to be considered for this role.

Candidates applying for the role of Healthcare Assistant on the staff bank should note that due to the nature of the role, workers must be aged 18 or above when commencing in post. Applicants are therefore welcome from those aged over 18 or within 3 months’ of their 18 birthday.th

The Trust is committed to promoting a healthy work-life balance and achieve fair, equitable and consistent practice. We welcome flexible working requests and will consider a variety of flexible working arrangements from day one of your employment. Not all roles are suitable for every flexible working opportunity all of the time. Flexible working options may include reduced hours, compressed hours, fixed shifts, time back in lieu and home working.

The Trust is committed to promoting equality and diversity; we value the contribution of individual talent, skills, knowledge and experience and aim for a workforce demography representative of the local community. We encourage applicants from the following groups that are currently under-represented in our workforce black, Asian and minority ethnic, lesbian, gay, bisexual and Transgender (LGBTQ+), disabled, male and age 16-24.

Trust policy requires that the cost of submitting & processing the successful applicant/s DBS application be recovered via salary deduction following start in post. The amount of £23 (standard disclosure) or £43 (enhanced disclosure) will be deducted from salary, in manageable monthly instalments for up to 3 months following commencement of employment. Bank posts require upfront payment. DBS applications submitted from 2nd December will be subject to the new DBS fee of £26.50 (standard) and £54.50 (Enhanced).

From April 2017, Skilled visa applicants and their adult dependant(s) will be required to provide a criminal record certificate from each country they have lived in consecutively for 12 months or more in the past ten years.

Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.

This organisation has a zero-tolerance approach to the abuse of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All staff must ensure they adhere to the organisations safeguarding children and adults’ policy and comply with the Local Safeguarding Children and Adult Board procedures.

Staff should be mindful of their responsibility to safeguard children and adults in any activity performed on behalf of the organisation in line with the requirements of statutory guidance and legislation.

All employees (and volunteers)are expected maintain their safeguarding knowledge and skills by completing mandatory safeguarding training which includes understanding and recognising the signs of abuse and neglect and taking appropriate action.

As an organisation, we have adopted the Merseyside Domestic abuse workplace scheme which supports our staff who are experiencing Domestic Abuse /any forms of sexual violence.

If you have any personal requirements that will enable you to participate in our recruitment process please contact a member of the Recruitment Services by phone on 0151 706 4666 at the earliest opportunity to ensure that measures can be put in place to enable your application for this post.

Please note: new entrants to the NHS will commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

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.