Job vacancy: Lead Occupational Therapist, Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, Trust Headquarters

Job summary

Main area

Mental Health

Grade

NHS AfC: Band 7

Contract

Permanent

Hours

Full time
Part time

37.5 hours per week

Job ref

311-P006-25

Employer: Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: One of the five boroughs in PCFT
Town: Trust Headquarters
Salary: £47,810 - £54,710 pa pro rata
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 26/08/2025 23:59

Lead Occupational Therapist

NHS AfC: Band 7

If you are Kind, Fair, Ingenious and Determined then we want you to come and join our #PennineCarePeople

https://www.penninecare.nhs.uk/values

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Your main responsibilities in this role are to take the lead in the development and management of the Occupational Therapy service across inpatient services (adults of working age and older adults), in one of the five localities within Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust (PCFT) using highly specialist clinical and leadership skills developed through experience and post graduate training, ensuring quality of service and compliance with the Trust’s core values, standards and regulations.
You will work in partnership with Operational and Ward managers, quality leads and other Lead Occupational Therapists to support and develop the Occupational Therapy workforce, ensuring person centred, high quality, evidence based, safe and effective OT service delivery across inpatient Mental Health Services.

Please see the job description for further details about the role and responsibilities.

Person specification

Knowledge

Essential criteria

Proven experience of effective multi -disciplinary/interagency working
Able to communicate effectively complex and sensitive information, both verbally and in writing.
Skills in providing consultation to professional and non -professional groups
Good presentation and teaching skills
Able to organise and respond effectively to complex information
Demonstrate application of Risk Assessment and management in clinical practice
Demonstrate an excellent understanding and clinical application of the Model of Human Occupation with people with complex mental health needs

Work related circumstances

Essential criteria

Use of a car or access to a means of mobility to travel across the Trust footprint in line with service needs
Appointments to regulated and controlled activities require an enhanced DBS disclosure.

Education/qualifications

Essential criteria

BSc (Hons) or equivalent Occupational Therapy qualification
Health and Care Professions Council registration
Accredited Fieldwork/Practice Educator
Evidence of relevant post graduate courses / CPD
Clinical supervision training
Post registration study equivalent to master’s level
Management / leadership training

Desirable criteria

Speciality related postgraduate qualification

Experience

Essential criteria

Extensive experience which demonstrates competencies to meet the job description activity including practice at a clinical specialism level.
Current specialist knowledge and application of OT assessments and intervention relevant to inpatient service users occupational needs.
Applying and interpreting standardised OT assessments
Proven experience of line management / supervision of OTs / support staff
Extensive experience of supervision of OT students and/or OT apprentices
Demonstrable experience of involvement in service development
Research and Audit experience
Experience of supporting effective change management within teams

Desirable criteria

Evidence of post graduate research experience
Evidence of leading a team of OT’s

Skills and abilities

Essential criteria

Demonstrable knowledge of up -to - date evidence based practice
Applied knowledge of relevant national policy and legislation related to people with complex mental health needs
Awareness and knowledge of factors relating to Occupational Therapy service provision within inpatient services
Experience of applying the Model of Human Occupation to assess and evaluate service user outcomes.
Detailed knowledge of the principles of clinical quality and its application in practice
Well-developed people skills, respectful and empathic towards others
Commitment to lifelong learning and an ability to direct own professional development

Hints and tips for completing your application can be found here. We also offer virtual application support sessions each month, where you will learn some hints and tips to support you in completing your application form. To secure your place, and to find out more visit the jobs events page on our website.

Sponsorship - We are an approved sponsoring organisation. Applications will be considered from applicants requiring sponsorship alongside all other applications. Please be aware, not all roles are eligible for sponsorship. You can review the list of eligible role and requirements on the government website.

What happens after your application has been received?

You will be informed about the progress of your application following shortlisting via email. Only applicants who clearly demonstrate the criteria listed in the person specification will be shortlisted for interview. Interview invites will be sent out via email.

What happens if I am offered the position after interview?

The hiring manager will make contact with you to verbally offer you the position. The hiring manager will then inform Recruitment of the decision and provide relevant paperwork. You will be sent a formal conditional offer via email.

What pre-employment checks will I need to complete?

By conducting pre-employment checks, the recruitment team will verify that you meet the pre-conditions of the role you have been offered. Pre-employment checks will be carried out according to NHS Employment Check Standards. The checks are:

Identity verification
Right to work check
Disclosure and barring service (DBS)/Criminal record check (dependent on role)
Professional registration and/or qualification check
Occupational health assessment
Employment history and reference validation

All applicants external to the NHS will be required to provide their HMRC employment history to cover the most recent three years employment. This information will used to validate employment history and references as part of pre-employment checks.

If you are offered a position with us and you require sponsorship to support your right to work, we will review your eligibility in line with government guidance. If the role you have been offered is not eligible for sponsorship, and you are not able to evidence own your right to work, your conditional offer could be withdrawn.

What happens when pre-employment checks are complete?

Recruitment will liaise with you and the hiring manager to arrange a start date for your new position. You will then be booked on to a Trust Welcome Session and be sent your Pennine Care NHS Terms and Conditions.

Other important information

We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) and recognise the importance of ensuring our diverse service user population is reflected within our workforce. Unfortunately, we know that, at present, there is underrepresentation of our communities in our workforce. We welcome applications from people from diverse communities to help us grow, learn, be better and consider brilliant innovation diverse people bring.
If you would like to be considered under the disability confident scheme, you will be guaranteed an interview if you meet the essential criteria on the person specification for the post.
If you require reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process please phone us on 0161 716 3181 at the earliest opportunity. We will support you to complete your application.
Unfortunately we are not able to guarantee the transfer of lease cars, or cover the costs of early termination charges.
We have a strict policy on unsolicited contact from recruitment agencies. Please do not contact our hiring managers directly.

We reserve the right to close a vacancy earlier than the advertised closing date if a sufficient number of applications have been received. To ensure you application is considered, please submit at the earliest opportunity.

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: Dr Michele Harrison
Job title: Head of Allied Health Professionals and SW
Email address: [email protected]
Telephone number: 07445 741441

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Job summary

Employer heading

Lead Occupational Therapist

NHS AfC: Band 7

Job overview

Main duties of the job

Working for our organisation

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Person specification

Knowledge

Essential criteria

Work related circumstances

Essential criteria

Education/qualifications

Essential criteria

Desirable criteria

Experience

Essential criteria

Desirable criteria

Skills and abilities

Essential criteria

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

Documents to download

Further details / informal visits contact

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