Job summary
- Main area
- Learning Disability / Autism
- Grade
- Band 6
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (office hours)
- Job ref
- 350-SC7040767-B
- Employer
- Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Greater Manchester Specialist Support Team: Floor 7, 2 City Approach
- Town
- Eccles, Manchester
- Salary
- £37,338 - £44,962 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 26/05/2025 23:59
Employer heading

Specialist Occupational Therapist
Band 6
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust celebrates diversity and promotes equal opportunities; we are committed to challenging and eliminating racism and other forms of discrimination and advancing and promoting equality of opportunity in the provision of services and creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.
We take positive action to support disadvantaged groups and also particularly encourage applications from ethnically diverse, disabled and LGBTQIA+ people that are under-represented in our workforce. Furthermore we welcome applications from reservists and ex-armed forces personnel as we recognise the benefits of the values, skills, training and experience that they bring to their work with us. We encourage all applicants to share their equality information with us.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen to recruit a Band 6 (1.0 WTE) Specialist Occupational Therapists (OT) to our established Occupational Therapy Team which provides a service across Greater Manchester to service users with a learning disability and/or autism who present with forensic risk or risk of hospital admission.
The post will be as part of the Greater Manchester Specialist Support Team (SST) based in Eccles. The GM SST is a multidisciplinary team consisting of Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Psychology, Speech and Language Therapy, and Support Workers. You will be expected to work in all areas of Greater Manchester and liaise with the local Learning Disability, Mental Health and Autism services to develop proactive and preventative risk mitigation support.
You will have the opportunity to work within a team of skilled experienced Occupational Therapists who have developed a core and specialized role within the wider team. You will have the opportunity to develop your own skills by working alongside existing therapists who have developed an Occupational Therapy service centered around Model of Human Occupational Framework, in addition to drawing on other frameworks such as Sensory Integration, good lives model and Zones of Regulation.
Main duties of the job
We deliver a variety of OT assessments and interventions to enable a shared understanding of an individual’s volition, personal skills set, occupational and environmental needs across a range of community setting and support models with the aim to address barriers to participation and balance, occupational associated risk and reducing restrictive practice where possible. We also offer advice and consultation and training to external agencies.
The service is very supportive of training opportunities to ensure that we continue to be aware of new developments which can be adapted and developed to support our service users. There are frequent opportunities to input into GM SST service development initiatives and represent the team in GM-wide projects.
You will receive regular clinical supervision from the Lead Occupational Therapist in the Specialist Support team and will also have access to direct and peer supervision from Sensory Integration Practitioners. We also have strong links with Occupational Therapists within Mersey care Community Learning Disabilities Team and secure services.
Working for our organisation
Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.
We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.
At the heart of all we do is our commitment to ‘perfect care’ – care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We’re currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.
Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
See job detailed job description and person specification.
Amendments from JD/PS attached as below:
Post is accountable and responsible to Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist and Operational Team Manager, GMSST.
The post does not involved care co-ordination as this is not a role within GMSST. However, the post holder will be required to manage their own caseload and be clinically accountable for their work.
Supervision responsibilities will be to provide student placement, alongside OT colleagues and to provide support and supervision around casework for support workers within GMSST.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Relevant professional OT qualification
- Current HCPC registration
Desirable criteria
- Fieldwork Educators certificate.
- Post graduate accredited study e.g. PSI, CBT, MSc in relevant health studies.
KNOWLEDGE/ EXPERIENCE:
Essential criteria
- Previous experience in relevant health settings.
- Supervision of staff.
- Effective team working within a multi-agency framework.
- Experience of service development.
- Experience using both group and individual treatment skills.
- Demonstrate experience of problem solving approaches.
- Audit and research practices relevant to clinical area.
- Assisting with effective budgetary management.
- Evidence based and experience of reflective practice.
- Recovery Model of Care.
- Model of Human Occupation.
- Safe Guarding Children.
- Mental Health Act 1983.
- Mental Capacity Act.
- Effective Care Coordination.
- Relevant national policies and guidance.
- Up to date clinical knowledge relevant to the care environment.
- Audit and research methods.
- Vulnerable adults guidelines.
- Able to discuss/explain specialist OT role.
- Awareness of own.
- strengths and limitations.
Desirable criteria
- Post graduate clinical experience, within mental health services.
- Wider range of statutory and non-statutory services.
- Risk management training.
Skills
Essential criteria
- Ability to utilise assessment skills and tools effectively.
- Ability to communicate in a variety of settings.
- Ability to formulate relevant reports.
- Delegation and coordination.
- Ability to prioritise and work to deadlines.
- Mentorship skills.
- Accurate Record keeping .
- Flexible approach/ creative thinking.
- Able to move and handle clients.
- IT skills.
Desirable criteria
- Effective leadership qualities.
- Presentation skills.
- Ability to network and influence decision making.
- Team Building skills.
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
- Lucy McKay
- Job title
- Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01613834460
List jobs with Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust in Allied Health Professions or all sectors