AHP Therapy Team - Occupational Therapist Team Lead

Job summary

Ready to Shape the Future of Mental Health AHP Services?

We are seeking an experienced, ambitious and compassionate Occupational Therapist (OT) to join our Allied Health Professional (AHP) Leadership Team within Adult and Older Persons' Mental Health Services across Portsmouth and South East Hampshire.

This is an exciting opportunity to lead and develop a diverse therapy workforce while influencing service innovation, workforce development and the delivery of outstanding person-centred care.

As OT Team Lead, you will provide professional, clinical and operational leadership across our AHP Therapy Team and Personality, Trauma and Response (PTR) Service. Working across inpatient and community settings, you will support OTs, Physiotherapists, AHP Support Staff, Activity Coordinators and Peer Support Workers to deliver high-quality, recovery-focused mental health care.

Why Join Us?

This is more than a leadership role. It is an opportunity to help shape and grow AHP services. You will join a supportive, forward-thinking team that values collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement. We are committed to creating a positive culture where staff feel empowered to develop, lead and thrive. We are proud that our AHP services were recognised with the Chief Allied Health Professions Officer Workforce Award 2025, reflecting our commitment to workforce development, innovation and high-quality patient care.

Main duties of the job

In this role, you will:

• Lead, inspire and develop a multidisciplinary AHP workforce across inpatient and community mental health services.
• Provide professional and clinical leadership, supervision and workforce development.
• Drive service improvement through quality improvement initiatives, audit and outcome measurement.
• Champion innovation and evidence-based practice.
• Support effective patient flow and service delivery across mental health pathways.
• Represent AHPs within operational, governance and strategic forums.
• Build strong partnerships with multidisciplinary teams and external agencies.
• Support student education, placements and the development of future professionals.
• Contribute to clinical governance, professional standards and Trust-wide AHP initiatives.
• Maintain opportunities for clinical practice, supporting direct patient care and clinical leadership where appropriate.

About us

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides joined-up mental and physical healthcare for around two million people across our communities. With over 13,000 staff working in the community and local hospitals, we deliver care at every stage of life, helping people live their best and healthiest lives.

Our mental health services include community-based support and early intervention in psychosis (EIP) for both adults and young people, alongside a network of specialist inpatient wards covering forensic, learning disability, eating disorder and older person's care.

We deliver extensive physical health services too, from urgent community response teams helping frail and older patients remain safely at home, to hospitals at home teams providing acute-level care in familiar surroundings. Our neurological services offer rehabilitation and treatment for conditions including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Motor Neurone Disease, Head Injury, Cerebral Palsy and Stroke. Across Hampshire, our community hospitals provide inpatient rehabilitation as a step down from acute care, and our dedicated teams also staff Treetops Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Portsmouth, offering expert, compassionate support.

Everything we do is underpinned by our CARE values of compassion, accountability, respect and excellence

Job responsibilities

Further information about the Trust and this role can be found on the Job Description and Person Specification document attached. It is important to us that we ensure our recruitment processes are accessible and inclusive to everyone - if as a potential candidate you are concerned a person specification may prevent or restrict your application for employment as a result of unintentional barriers on the grounds of your sex, race, age, sexual orientation, religion/belief or disability please initially contact the Trust's Recruitment team - detailed in the advert. The Trust will seek to resolve this issue wherever possible.

Flexible Working - We understand that flexibility matters. We are happy to discuss flexible working options and encourage candidates to raise these during the recruitment and interview process.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree-level qualification in the relevant Allied Health Profession - Occupational Therapy.
• Current HCPC registration as an Occupational Therapist.
• Evidence of leadership or management qualification, training and/or equivalent experience.

Desirable

• Evidence of study at Masters' level or working towards this qualification relevant to area of practice.

Experience

Essential

• About You
• You will be a motivated and credible OT who is passionate about excellent mental health care and developing others.
• You will bring:
• Significant post-registration experience as an OT.
• Substantial experience within mental health services.
• Strong leadership, supervision and people management skills.
• Excellent clinical reasoning and decision-making abilities.
• Experience leading change and managing complexity.
• Outstanding communication and relationship-building skills.
• A commitment to quality improvement, innovation and evidence-based practice.
• A passion for coaching, developing and empowering others.
• A commitment to fostering inclusive, psychologically safe and high-performing teams.
• Make a Difference
• This is a rewarding opportunity to lead talented professionals, influence the future of AHP services and improve outcomes for adults and older people accessing mental health services.
• If you are passionate about leadership, service development and helping others reach their potential, we would love to hear from you.

Desirable

• Experience supporting student practice placement education.
• Experience delivering teaching, training or professional development programmes.
• Knowledge of local health and care strategies.