Job summary
- Main area
- Speech and Language Therapy - Community learning disability services
- Grade
- Band 7
- Contract
- Permanent: 30 hours per week
- Hours
- Part time - 30 hours per week (Monday - Friday - office hours)
- Job ref
- 350-SC7802727-A
- Employer
- Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Willis House
- Town
- Prescot
- Salary
- £47,810 - £54,710 pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 23/04/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist
Band 7
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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.
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Job overview
We are seeking a Band 7 Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist to join our Community Learning Disability Team in St Helens. The post holder will deliver specialist support to adults with learning disabilities across the St Helens and Knowsley areas, with a primary base at Willis House in Prescot.
This senior role involves providing high‑quality clinical supervision to junior members of the speech and language therapy team, contributing to effective management of waiting lists, and ensuring robust clinical governance. The post holder will independently manage a caseload that includes the most complex dysphagia and communication needs referred into the service. As part of a well‑established multidisciplinary team, you will contribute to person‑centred, holistic assessment and intervention, supporting service users with a broad range of needs and promoting safe, evidence‑based practice.
Main duties of the job
Full management responsibility for managing and prioritising the SaLT caseload.
Provide high quality clinical supervision for other speech and language therapists and support workers in the team.
Provide clinical leadership and training to the wider staff team with regards to speech, language and communication.
Provide in depth specialist speech and language therapy assessments for the more complex service users referred to the team.
Formulate and implement support plans as part of the MDT.
Advise team manager about capacity / gaps in service delivery / operational issues.
Facilitate the education of service users, relatives and other agencies concerned with provision of learning disability services in the community.
To ensure Safeguarding requirements are upheld.
Promote health and reduce inequalities for all patients accessing the speech and language therapy service.
Use highly developed skills to convey complex and sensitive clinical information, using a high level of persuasive and motivational skill to enable others to follow swallowing/therapy plans.
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
To provide high quality consultation, specialist assessment and intervention of speech, language and communication needs.
To support the development of the Speech and Language Therapy service and strive for continuous improvement.
To take a lead on and provide evidence-based Speech and Language interventions.
Therapy assessment, treatment and intervention to service users who have complex needs.
This role will be integrated in the therapy team and will work with the team to develop person centred care.
Supervision will be provided within the trust as applicable.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Completion of a recognised training course awarding relevant degree/diploma approved by the RCSLT and HPC
- Registered with the HPC – License to practice
- Evidence of successful completion of specialist short courses up to Master’s level or equivalent
- Experiential training which demonstrates highly specialist skills in specialist area
- Evidence of leadership / management training
- Membership of relevant special interest groups
Desirable criteria
- Post graduate certificate in speciality
- Postgraduate Dysphagia qualification / competencies
- Member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT)
Knowledge and Experience
Essential criteria
- Relevant experience at undergraduate/post graduate level
- Experience of carrying out specialist assessments and intervention
- Proven ability to work independently, prioritise and manage own complex caseload.
- Experience of working with highly complex cases, such as progressive illness and rare conditions
- Evidence of experience of: Multi disciplinary team working
- Leading in service projects
- Developing and leading training of others and Language Therapists
- Advanced knowledge of a range of appropriate therapeutic interventions relevant to the client group and an ability to compare and contrast relative benefits
- In depth knowledge of the principles of clinical governance/audit
- Understands the roles of other professionals relevant to the client group
- Understands the standards of record keeping
- Understands confidentiality as relating to the NHS
Desirable criteria
- Student training
- Experience of delivering/developing training to staff/carers
- Experience of facilitating groups
- Experience of providing supervision to staff members
- Experience of being a Clinical Educator
- Experience of using iPads and other forms of technology
Values
Essential criteria
- Continuous Improvement
- Accountability
- Respectfulness
- Enthusiasm
- Support
- High professional standards
- Responsive to service users
- Engaging leadership style
- Strong customer service belief
- Transparency and honesty
- Discreet
- Change oriented
Skills
Essential criteria
- Excellent interpersonal skills – including, listening and empathy skills
- Highly developed negotiation and problem solving skills
- Excellent analytical and reflection skills
- Well-developed concentration skills
- Excellent presentation skills written and verbal
- Excellent organizational skills
- Prioritisation and time management Skills
- Good Auditory discrimination skills and ability to transcribe phonetically
- Able to be a good team member and assume leadership responsibilities
- Able to work independently recognising own limits
- Flexible and able to cope with change
- Learns from experience and willing to adapt accordingly, including learning new skills
- Able to critically appraise research Articles
- Ability to communicate highly complex or sensitive advice and information to others
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
- Rayna Morgan
- Job title
- Clinical Team Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01514265885
- Additional information
Emma Dixon - Speech and Language Therapy Lead
Sarah McGing - Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist
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