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Job summary

Main area
Adult Mental Health
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 6
Contract
Permanent
Hours
  • Full time
  • Flexible working
  • Compressed hours
37.5 hours per week (Standard hours 9:00-17:00 but flexi working and condensed hours will be considered.)
Job ref
346-DDA-124-25-A
Employer
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
West Park Hospital
Town
Darlington
Salary
£38,682 - £46,580 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
29/09/2025 23:59

Employer heading

Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust logo

Senior Occupational Therapist

NHS AfC: Band 6

We are the Mental Health & Learning Disability NHS Trust for County Durham and Darlington, Teesside, North Yorkshire, York and Selby.

From education and prevention, to crisis and specialist care —our talented and compassionate teams work in partnership with our patients, communities and partners to help the people of our region feel safe, understood, believed in and cared for.

We nurture the recovery journey of anyone in need of our help. In Our Trust, everyone has a say in how they are supported and treated because we listen to every person in our care until they feel understood. Our patients, their families and carers work together with us towards better mental health.

We’re committed to new thinking that improves the wellbeing of our region. We connect with our communities and partners to get mental health care right, in areas that really need it.

We won’t rest until everyone in our region has the mental health care they need, to lead their best possible life.

Job overview

As a Senior Occupational Therapist in TEWV you will manage a complex caseload independently, assessing occupational performance and delivering specialist occupational interventions, demonstrating adherence to the Trust Values at all times and operating as a leader in the team, service and organisation.

 

Main duties of the job

To be responsible for receiving requests for occupational therapy, triaging and prioritising these, completing evidence-based assessments and interventions to address key occupational areas of self care, productivity and leisure.

To use client-centred approaches to co-producing negotiated occupational goals and evaluate these with service users collaboratively.

To participate in clinical/professional and management supervision

To contribute to multi-disciplinary team working

To contribute to and lead on service improvement and quality initiatives

To use the Trust electronic patient record system

To abide by all Trust policies and procedures

To provide supervision to junior OT staff

 To be able to respond flexibly and creatively to challenges

 

 

Working for our organisation

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a competent, confident, and enthusiastic full time Band 6 Occupational Therapist to join our teams in Darlington; Darlington Community HUB & Darlington Community Treatment and Intervention Team. 

The multi-disciplinary team works with clients experiencing a range of difficulties related to their mental health, and their families to deliver assessment and treatment.

We are looking for an OT who can work flexibly to meet service need and has the vision, energy and inspiration to develop creative, imaginative solutions to delivering occupational therapy with people and their families.

You will access wider support from the occupational therapy network in Darlington, to develop a way of delivering a high quality, needs-led OT service, utilising core occupational therapy skills to ensure all of the people we work with have a robust occupational therapy assessment and intervention plan in place.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post holder will provide evidence-based occupational therapy assessment and interventions as part of the OT Pathway and offer input to individuals, their families and carers, in the community.

All team members must be committed to providing the best possible care for the people we work with and their families/carers.

The ability to engage and communicate with individual's as well as the parents/family/carers and system around them is essential.

Clinical/Professional supervision is provided by the supervising Occupational Therapist as identified by the relevant Lead OT. The postholder will attend OT Learning and Governance Networks to ensure fidelity to core occupational therapy delivery, enhance CPD and contribute to the wider OT service developments.

You must be able to demonstrate experience of delivery of occupational therapy, keenness to continually develop themselves and others, and a particular interest in this field of OT. We will support use of transferrable skills from a range of clinical settings. 

There are varied opportunities for training and development, with CPD needs being identified and monitored through appraisal.

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for further detailed information to ensure that you meet the role criteria before applying.

Person specification

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Minimum 12 months post qualifying experience of occupational therapy delivery
Desirable criteria
  • Experience of supporting people with mental health issues, learning disability or autism
  • Experience of working as part of a multidisciplinary Team

Knowledge

Essential criteria
  • Understanding of the needs of people who use our services with mental health conditions or learning disability
Desirable criteria
  • Clinical risk assessment and application in practice
  • Knowledge of evidencebased practice in designated specialist area
  • Post graduate training in specialist area if applicable to post (e.g. dysphagia, autism diagnostics)
  • Experience of working in a multidisciplinary team
  • Experience of managing complex occupational therapy cases
  • Awareness of professional standards and its application to practice

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Appropriate professional qualification for occupational therapy role
  • Current relevant registration with specific regulatory body
  • International English Language Testing System (IELTS) level 7 (SLT =8) for International recruits
Desirable criteria
  • Post graduate training in relevant specialist area

Employer certification / accreditation badges

We are a Living Wage EmployerVeteran AwareApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyPositive about disabled peopleAge positiveImproving working livesArmed Forces Covenant (Silver Award)Mindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerStep into healthArmed Forces CovenantBetter Health at Work Gold Award

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

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Claire Watson
Job title
Community Team Manager
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
01325 552322
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