Job summary
- Main area
- Mental Health
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 6
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 22.5 hours per week (Will need to agree which working days work for the service and team)
- Job ref
- 354-CO-22005
- Employer
- Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Langley Green Hospital
- Town
- Crawley
- Salary
- £39,959 - £48,117 Pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 25/10/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Specialist Speech and Language Therapist
NHS AfC: Band 6
Come and join us
We’re looking for people who share our values of compassion, accountability and optimism to help us provide high quality care for the patients, carers, families and communities we serve. We specialise in NHS mental health and learning disability services and we’re proud to make a difference every day.
At SPFT we put people first. We’ll do everything possible to help you feel respected, valued and included. You’ll have opportunities to learn, grow and gain new experiences to support your career, with access to lifelong learning and professional development.
We actively promote flexible working and understand how important work life balance is, especially in healthcare. Whether it’s part time hours, hybrid working or flexible start and finish times, we’ll explore what works for you and the role.
We recognise that tools like AI are becoming part of everyday life and you may choose to use them when preparing your application. We welcome this, as long as what you submit reflects your own experience, skills and voice. AI can be helpful for structuring or refining your answers, but it should not replace your own examples or create content that isn’t based on your real experience.
Our recruitment process is designed to get to know you, and we’ll explore your examples further at interview, so it’s important your application genuinely represents what you bring. You can read more about using AI in applications and interviews on our recruitment process page.
We’re shaping a workplace where ideas are encouraged, technology supports you and everyone has a voice in how we improve. If that sounds like the kind of organisation you want to be part of, we’d love to hear from you.
Job overview
Unique opportunity to join a team of mental health speech and language therapists working across the Trust's adult mental health wards. This is a Specialist Speech and Language Therapy (Band 6) role and would ideally suit an experienced practitioner with the desire to help deliver a high-quality service to people living with mental health needs and/or dementia.
You will be supported by a more experienced speech and language therapist. The team is led by a Principal Speech and Language Therapist (Band 8a) in Mental Health and Dementia. There are currently opportunities to support student speech and language therapists.
The post holder will be based at Langley Green Hospital and will need to able to travel for meetings and training to other sites on occasions.
Experience in mental health and/or dementia is advantageous.
By joining our team, you will benefit from:
· Strong supportive teams with dedicated supportive leaders
· Excellent CPD opportunities
· A service that works to develop clear evidence-based care pathways
Main duties of the job
You will already possess a broad range of skills to manage a varied caseload across a range of care pathways including dementia, mental health conditions, acquired neurological conditions, learning disabilities and neurodiversity. Due to the specialist nature of the role and broad range of care pathways we offer, support and CPD to develop skills gaps.
As well as direct assessments and interventions, speech and language therapy will be delivered by increasing the skills and competencies of other staff on wards.
You will have support from and work collaboratively within the speech and language therapy professional group which spans the whole of Sussex and includes a large team of learning disability, neurodevelopmental and mental health specialist speech and language therapists.
You will be collaborating across services to deliver results. We work closely with colleagues in social care, primary care and other specialist secondary services.
This is a great opportunity to use the skills you have developed across a broad range of care pathways.
Working for our organisation
Sussex Partnership provides mental health and learning disability care for all age groups across Sussex and for children and young people in Sussex.
We encourage flexible working
We know that a positive work/ life balance brings about huge health-related benefits, which has a positive impact on the care we provide. Please speak to us about flexible working, for example, part time hours, flexible start/ finish times or anything else. If it works for you and works for the role, we'll do our best to make it happen.
We’d love you to join our Trust, rated ‘good’ overall and ‘outstanding’ for caring by the CQC. Our staff agree, in our recent staff survey 82% told us that they recognise that care for patients is our top priority.
Other key survey results:
· 70% highlighting flexible working as a key point for satisfaction at work
· 79% reporting feeling able to make suggestions to improve the work in their team
· 77% identifying opportunities to show initiative in their roles
REQUIREMENTS
In order to be a successful speech and language therapist in our team you will be:
- A qualified speech and language therapist, registered with the HCPC
- Experienced in a broad range of areas aforementioned
- Comfortable working in a fast-paced and varied role
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
- To provide mental health speech and language therapy services to inpatients who have communication or swallowing needs in an acute mental health hospital.
- To provide the day-to-day speech and language therapy input within the multi-disciplinary team on the designated wards across the hospital.
- To contribute actively to planning, evaluating and development of the service.
- To provide leadership through supervision of speech and language therapy students as required.
- Ensure effective liaison with other services within the locality including voluntary, statutory and community resources, as well as social services.
Person specification
QUALIFICATIONS
Essential criteria
- Recognised Speech & Language Therapy Degree or Masters qualification or equivalent.
- Health Professions Council – licence to practice
- Registered member of Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists
- Evidence of completion of specialist short courses related to dementia or mental health
- Post-basic qualification in dysphagia
EXPERIENCE
Essential criteria
- Post graduate experience as a Speech & Language Therapist working with adults with acquired conditions
- Significant post graduate experience of managing a caseload including people with complex communication difficulties and dysphagia
- To have worked under the supervision of a clinical specialist in dementia or mental health
- Working within a Multi Disciplinary Team
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
- Charly Haris
- Job title
- Principal Speech and Language Therapist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07391 415861
- Additional information
Available on Wednesdays to Fridays
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