Job summary
- Main area
- Community Occupational Therapy
- Grade
- Band 7
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (37.5 hours per week)
- Job ref
- 150-KB1813-CC
- Employer
- Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Hayworthe Villa
- Town
- Haywards Heath
- Salary
- £46,148 - £52,809 per annum pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 29/06/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Clinical Lead - Occupational Therapist
Band 7
Job overview
At Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust (SCFT) we believe in excellent care at the heart of the community.
Are you a dynamic, resourceful leader who would like to contribute to a fast moving and dynamic service?
We are looking to recruit an Occupational Therapy Clinical Lead within the Community Therapy Team North to provide clinical and professional leadership for the Occupational Therapy staff.
This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a dynamic forward thinking AHP team, passionate about providing therapy rehabilitation to our patients in the community . You will be well supported in the team and encouraged to expand and develop your leadership skills through supervision and internal training opportunities, to meet the needs of yourself and the service to promote clinical excellence.
The service area covered includes Crawley, Horsham and Mid Sussex so being a car driver is essential.
Flexible working will be required as the service covers 8am to 6pm.
Main duties of the job
Occupational Therapy Clinical Lead:
• Provide professional Leadership to the Occupational Therapists in the team.
• To support the Leadership team in service development and ensuring clinical excellence.
• To be part of the Leadership teams daily responsibility for work allocation and triage.
• To support and implement service change and development.
• To provide regular supervision and complete PDR's for staff.
• To ensure all staff are up to date in their competencies.
• To hold an active caseload of complex patients.
Working for our organisation
We are the main provider of NHS community services across East and West Sussex, with 6,000 staff serving 1.3 million people. We deliver essential care to adults and children, helping them manage their health, avoid hospital admissions, and reduce hospital stays.
Our Trust vision is to provide excellent care at the heart of the community. We offer opportunities across medical, clinical, support, and corporate services.
Why work for us?
• Positive 2024 NHS Staff Survey results, highlighting compassionate leadership and wellbeing
• Varied environments: community hospitals, patients’ homes, and bases across Sussex
• Flexible working options: part-time, flexi-time, annualised hours, and flexi-retirement
• Excellent training, development, and research opportunities
• Cost-effective workplace nurseries in Crawley, Hove, and Brighton
• Active EMBRACE, Disability & Wellbeing, LGBTQIA+, and Religion & Belief networks
• Level 3 Disability Confident Leader and Veteran Aware Trust
• Beautiful Sussex location near the South Downs and coast
Our values—Compassionate Care, Working Together, Achieving Ambitions, Delivering Excellence—guide everything we do.
We embrace diversity and encourage applications from all backgrounds, particularly from ethnically diverse, disabled, and LGBTQIA+ individuals. We aim to create an inclusive environment and support reasonable adjustments during recruitment.
This post may close early if sufficient applications are received.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The successful applicant will deliver complex clinical care to patients in the community and support other staff with their own caseloads. You will need an excellent and wide-ranging knowledge of a variety of conditions.
You will support colleagues with mentoring, coaching and teaching. The emphasis will be on providing clinical leadership in order to support community patients to maximise their independence and achieve their goals.
You will also provide specialist support to therapy colleagues and work closely with the other clinical and operational leads for therapy services and members of the wider multidisciplinary team, ensuring seamless care for patients going in and out of hospital.
We are looking for someone with excellent interpersonal skills, a demonstrable dedication to personal development and a commitment to providing high quality care to a range of patients with differing needs.
Person specification
Qualification
Essential criteria
- Professional qualification such as a degree or equivalent in Physiotherapy or Occupational Therapy
- Currently registered with the Health and Care Professions Council
- Post registration qualification or training to Masters level or equivalent, or be willing to undertake
Desirable criteria
- Advanced Physical assessment course or Masters level module
- Mentoring course or equivalent or Qualified Practice Assessor
- Recognised Leadership Qualification
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience within clinical case management
- Experience working within a multi-disciplinary team
- Evidence of a consistent pattern of learning from education and training
- Experience working across the boundaries of primary, community and secondary care
Desirable criteria
- Experience of clinical leadership within a service
- Experience of leading service development and change
- Experience of active participation in research
Skills
Essential criteria
- Up to date knowledge and skills within clinical area (Physiotherapy or Occupational Therapy)
- Up to date knowledge of health and social care policy
- Able to use advanced reasoning and assessment skills in a wide range of approaches to treatments and management of conditions
- Able to analyse complex situations and problem solve as necessary
- Able to direct and co-ordinate programmes of care working autonomously and collaboratively
- Able to mentor, supervise and develop other professionals
- Able to communicate effectively where barriers or obstacles exist and able to deploy strategies to overcome these
- Able to work in a fast-paced and dynamic health service
- Able to use recognised IT packages e.g. Microsoft Office including Excel and able to use IT systems and keyboard skills including accurate data recording skills
- Able to identify the training needs of self and others and to provide relevant and appropriate learning
- Able to work in partnership and collaboration with other professionals in other services and challenge and negotiate with them as needed
- Able to meet conflicting deadlines, prioritise effectively and manage own and others workload
- Able to teach patients and carers to participate and manage their own care as appropriate
- Able to monitor, maintain and improve standards of care
Other requirements
Essential criteria
- Car driver (Valid Driving License for use in the UK)
- An understanding of the principles of equal opportunities in relation to staff and patients
- Willingness to undertake training to develop within the role
Desirable criteria
- Access to a vehicle for work purposes
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
- Debbie Pirkis
- Job title
- Team Lead Community Therapy Team North
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07484 403616
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