Job summary
- Main area
- Paediatric Physiotherapy
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 7
- Contract
- Fixed term: 9 months (Postholder will be on weekend, twilight and on call rotas)
- Hours
- Part time - 32 hours per week
- Job ref
- 153-SP05809
- Employer
- University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Poole
- Town
- Longfleet Road, Poole
- Salary
- £49,387 - £56,515 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 28/04/2026 23:59
- Interview date
- 06/05/2026
Employer heading
Clinical Specialist Paediatric Physiotherapist
NHS AfC: Band 7
As University Hospitals Dorset we are a three site acute trust with ‘university hospital’ status through our partnership with Bournemouth University, working with an annual budget of £730m.
We offer highly regarded health services, employing some 10,000 staff. Our ambitious £500m transformation programme is well on the way to delivering state-of-the-art facilities over the next two years to meet the current and future healthcare needs of the populations we serve.
In an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with over seven miles of sandy beaches you’ll find inspirational opportunities to achieve your perfect work/life balance. With the New Forest and the Purbecks on our doorstep, we’re also less than three hours from London by road or train. The thriving towns of Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch give way to idyllic villages and unspoilt landscapes just minutes from our hospitals.
We believe that having a diverse workforce, and allowing people to be themselves, is essential in ensuring we offer an inclusive, welcoming and productive place to work.
We especially welcome applications from minority groups in the community who may be underrepresented in our workforce.
At UHD our active staff network groups are the Women's Network, Black Asian Minority Ethnic Group (BAME), Pride Network, European (EU), Pro Ability Staff Network, and the Armed Forces Support Group.
As a Trust we are proudly signed up to the Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant guaranteed interview schemes.
We are aware that some candidates may choose to use AI tools to support the preparation of their application. While this is not discouraged, we kindly remind applicants that submissions should remain an honest and accurate representation of your own experience and suitability. Personal integrity is an important part of the recruitment process.
Job overview
We are seeking an initiative-taking, highly skilled Physiotherapist with relevant post-graduate experience to join our dynamic team. This fixed-term post (maternity cover) offers an excellent opportunity to work within a specialised, integrated paediatric therapy service, delivering both in-patient and out-patient care.
Interview date: 6th May 2026
Main duties of the job
As part of this role, you will assess and provide intervention for children aged 0–16 years with a wide range of needs, including medical, musculoskeletal, neurodevelopmental, orthopaedic, and other paediatric conditions. You will work with children and families living across Poole, Bournemouth, and East Dorset.
Our services are delivered in a variety of settings, including paediatric wards and out-patient clinics across all University Hospitals Dorset sites.
You will collaborate closely with a highly supportive multi-disciplinary paediatric team, as well as colleagues in social care, health, and education. We are committed to delivering high-quality, child-centred care that makes a meaningful difference to the children and families we support.
Applicants must have access to a car to enable community visits and cross-site working. All physiotherapy staff participate in the weekend and on-call rotas.
Working for our organisation
UHD are investing, developing and transforming Trust services in line with the New Hospital Programme. As part of this, some services may move site this year or next, either temporarily or permanently. Recruiting Managers will be happy to answer any service-specific questions at interview.
This service has a planned move for in patient wards from Poole site to Bournemouth site during July 26.
If a role or service relocates as part of a planned move, excess mileage will not be reimbursed. Travel from home to the new work base will be classed as a normal commute. Any other changes will be managed under Trust or national terms and conditions.
UHD has active networks including Women’s, BAME, Pride, EU, Pro Ability, and Armed Forces. We support Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant interview schemes.
AI tools may be used, but applications must honestly reflect your own skills and experience. Integrity is key to our recruitment process.
For UHD employees, this fixed-term post will be offered as a secondment in line with the Trust’s Secondment Policy. Please speak with your line manager before applying.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
· To lead and be responsible for a caseload of paediatric patients for the catchment population using an advanced level of professional accountability, autonomy, and judgement for highly complex decision-making holistically on behalf of the patient and the family.
· To work autonomously, using advanced knowledge and skills, underpinned by theory and experience, holistically assessing a defined patient caseload, using a range of methods across a broad range of often complex medical and developmental paediatric conditions.
· To plan and manage episodes of care, working in partnership with Paediatric consultant and other specialists, delegating, and referring as appropriate, to optimise health outcomes and resource use, as well as providing direct support to patients and carers.
· To lead on developing, implementing, monitoring service / policy development and redesign, impacting beyond own area / disciplines, informed by current best practice and evidence-base, in accordance with values-based care and Patient First Approach, ensuring patients receive sustainable, high quality, safe, effective care.
· To work across all UHD sites.
· To be on the weekend, twilight and on call rotas.
· To support the team lead in all aspects of their service delivery plans and objectives, always supporting and deputising when required and requested by the team lead and their line management.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Physiotherapist BSC (Hons) or MSc in Physiotherapy
- Relevant post-graduate physiotherapy clinical education (e.g. validated and accredited course modules)
- HCPC Registration
Desirable criteria
- Courses/study related to paediatrics.
- HAPE
Experience
Essential criteria
- relevant experience as senior MSK physiotherapist (band 6)
- Experience of working with children with respiratory, MSK, neurology, oncology, and other conditions
- Working in NHS settings
Desirable criteria
- Leading on service improvement and practice development
- Working with a range of ages of children
- Leading on managing change
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
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.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Tori McGregor/Caroline Morris
- Job title
- Acute Paediatric Physiotherapy Team Leads
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 0300 019 8251
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