Senior Mental Health Occupational Therapist

Job summary

We are seeking an experienced and enthusiastic Senior Occupational Therapist to join our Central Youth Service, supporting children and young people with complex mental health needs.

The ideal candidate will have a strong desire to support young people to reach their goals and be able to demonstrate the following qualities required for the role, these are, experience, passion, resilience, empathy, great communication skills and an ability to be flexible and manage risk.

The postholder will lead on the delivery of high-quality, evidence-based occupational therapy, embedding occupational therapy principles and the recovery-focused model within multidisciplinary practice. Working collaboratively with young people, families, carers and partner agencies, you will undertake specialist occupational assessments, develop occupation-based formulations, and deliver tailored interventions that promote participation, independence, emotional wellbeing and positive life outcomes.

Main duties of the job

As a senior member of the team, you will contribute to multidisciplinary assessment, risk management and care planning, providing expert occupational therapy advice for complex cases. You will utilise standardised and non-standardised assessments, outcome measures and occupation-focused interventions to support young people in achieving their goals across home, education, social and community environments. The role will involve leading on service development initiatives, quality improvement projects and the promotion of evidence-based practice, while ensuring that the voice of the young person and principles of co-production remain central to care delivery.

The successful candidate will demonstrate strong leadership skills and a commitment to professional excellence. You will provide clinical supervision, support the development of junior staff and learners, and act as a champion for occupational therapy within the service and wider organisation. Working autonomously while contributing to the strategic development of the Central Youth Service, you will help shape innovative and responsive interventions that improve outcomes for children and young people, whilst maintaining professional standards in line with HCPC requirements, Trust policies and contemporary occupational therapy practice.

About us

Within the Youth Team we pride ourselves on the care we give to both our service users and each other. You will find a positive and supportive environment with a strong team ethic. Our goals are to provide great care with great outcomes where we challenge ourselves to grow both individually as clinicians and collectively as a team, so that we can better meet the needs of the young people.

On a wider scale there are many other benefits to working for NSFT as an organisation, some of which are:

• NHS pension
• a comprehensive in house & external training programmes
• career progression
• starting annual leave of 27 days per annum increasing to 33 days pa based on length of service (plus paid bank holidays)
• staff physio service
• NHS discounts and many more

• NHS pension
• a comprehensive in house & external training programmes
• career progression
• starting annual leave of 27 days per annum increasing to 33 days pa based on length of service (plus paid bank holidays)
• staff physio service
• NHS discounts and many more

Job responsibilities

Please find attached our Job Description and Person Specification for more detail on your Key Accountabilities, then if you feel you have what it takes to make a difference in your local communities, click APPLY!

Person specification

Knowledge

Essential

• Supervisory/appraisal skills
• Working knowledge of Mental Health Act 1983 and any updates
• Specialist knowledge and application of Occupational Therapy Assessments and interventions relevant to this client group

Desirable

• Knowledge of current legislation including risk assessment and CPA.
• Up to date with latest evidence-based research for specialist area.
• Knowledge of principles and application of Clinical Governance.

Skills

Essential

• Familiarity of audit procedures.
• Group work skills
• Ability to work under pressure managing own caseload and effective prioritisation
• Good verbal and written communication skills

Desirable

• Data inputting
• Experience in running therapeutic groups
• Experience of assessing and prescribing equipment.

Experience

Essential

• Post registration experience in mental health.
• Experience of MDT working
• Experience of working with groups of people
• Ability to work both independently and under supervision

Desirable

• Experience working in a range of mental health settings.
• Supervising students/staff.
• Previous line management experience.
• Familiarity of audit procedures.

Qualifications

Essential

• BSc/MSc or Diploma in Occupational Therapy
• Practice Educator (AHP) Registered with the HCPC

Desirable

• Practice Educator qualification
• Relevant post graduate training courses
• Clinical supervisor course

Other

Essential

• Ability to travel independently
• Willingness to work flexibly
• Commitment to professional development and lifelong learning.