Senior Occupational Therapist

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Please be aware that, due to current allocation constraints, Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) are being prioritised for registered roles at this time.

Our Trust cares for more than 100,000 patients at any one time across our community health, mental health and learning disability services across Essex and parts of Bedfordshire and Suffolk.

We want you to be part of our journey of transformation, where our patients and their families are at the heart of everything we do and to achieve our vision to be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care.

You'll be part of a Trust where you will be supported to be your authentic self and be the best you can be, where we will help you to grow, develop and thrive.

The Trust is recognised by the University of Essex and is a top provider of apprenticeships for people looking to be an assistant practitioner, senior health care support worker (CAP). Our trailblazing CAP apprenticeship won a national HSJ Award.

We are also recognised as a Veteran Aware Trust and holder of gold accreditation from the Ministry of Defence Employment Recognition Scheme. Our services are highlighted as an exemplar of good practice, producing the best care for more than 3.500 armed forces veterans in the past seven years.

We have been shortlisted and won national awards. We are an inclusive organisation and Level 3 Disability Confident Leader Trust.

We are constantly innovating and looking for new ways to deliver care, such as using technology to enhance patient care and working with partners to launch new services such as the Basildon Mental Health Urgent Care Department, virtual hospitals and falls response cars.

Join us and you'll do the best work of your life - and make a difference to other people's lives. What we do together, matters.

Job overview

This is an exciting opportunity for a Band 6 Occupational Therapist to join a supportive and friendly Older Adults Occupational Therapy team in West Essex, working across a number of community sites.

The role offers a varied caseload with opportunities to deliver both group-based and one-to-one occupational therapy interventions for older adults with mental health needs, including cognitive impairment and dementia.

The post provides experience in screening older adults for therapeutic groups, alongside preparing and facilitating a range of interventions, including Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST). You will work closely with the Multi-Disciplinary Team, contributing to reviews and care planning meetings, and will gain experience delivering community-based occupational therapy interventions within patients' home environments across West Essex, supporting independence, safety, and quality of life.

You will be responsible for providing a high standard of occupational therapy assessment, advice, intervention, and evaluation for older adults referred to the service.

The role includes regular clinical supervision, reflective practice, and structured support for ongoing professional development and Band 6 progression within Older Adults mental health services.

The post holder will be required to travel independently between community sites across West Essex as part of their day-to-day role, including transporting equipment and intervention resources as required.

Main duties of the job

You will use a range of appropriate occupational therapy assessment tools and approaches to assess older adults' abilities, strengths, and difficulties in relation to their identified goals and occupational performance in everyday activities.

Plan, facilitate, and lead group-based interventions, ensuring sessions are purposeful, outcome-focused, and responsive to the needs of older adults, including those with cognitive impairment or dementia.

Screen and assess patients for suitability for group interventions, contributing to effective care pathways and group formulation.

Manage a caseload of complex community-based cases, working autonomously within professional boundaries and with appropriate support and supervision from senior members of staff.

Support and supervise junior staff, students, and support workers as required, contributing to their learning, development, and delivery of high-quality occupational therapy interventions.

Working for our organisation

Valuing you. Recognising your dedication. At EPUT, we look after you.

• Receive supervision and support to help you fulfil your potential.
• Join an inclusive EPUT community and connect with others through engagement events and equality or champion networks.
• If you need help, we provide mental health and wellbeing services, occupational health advice and counselling.
• We run recognition awards to recognise staff's hard work and dedication.

Benefits

• 27 days holiday, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days after 10 years' service.
• Excellent pension of up to14.5% of your pensionable pay.
• Staff discounts include Blue Light Card, NHS discount offers, and staff benefits.
• £8K relocation package if you move to Essex to join us
• Season ticket loans are interest-free to cover the cost of travelling to and from work via tram, rail, or bus.

Work that wraps around your needs

• Flexible working: available from day one for most roles.
• Job share: Applications for job shares are welcomed

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the Job Description for full details of the role.

In summary, you will work as a core member of the Occupational Therapy team within the wider Specialist Dementia and Frailty Service for West Essex.

You will work collaboratively with the Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) to deliver high-quality occupational therapy assessment, care planning, and intervention for older adults with complex needs. The role also includes providing advice, guidance, and practical support to carers, promoting independence, safety, and quality of life.

Person specification

Education/ Qualifications

Essential criteria

• HCPC Registered
• Degree/Diploma in Occupational Therapy

Desirable criteria

• Evidence of post qualification study/ CPD relevant to role

Clinical Knowledge and Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience working with older adults with mental health and or cognitive impairment/ dementia
• Experiencing of providing evidence based interventions 1:1 and within group settings.
• Experience supervising qualified and/ or unqualified staff in a clinical setting.

Desirable criteria

• Knowledge and experience of assessment and provision of adaptive equipment to support user independence and safety
• Experience as Fieldwork educator
• Experience contributing to quality improvement initiatives.

Personal Qualities

Essential criteria

• Flexibility to visit patients in home environment and cover groups over a number of different sites.

Please be aware that, due to current allocation constraints, Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) are being prioritised for registered roles at this time.

Important note: please ensure that as part of your application, you include professional references with business contact information covering your last three years of employment history. We are unable to accept personal or character references.

As a newly appointed employee, you are responsible for incurring the cost of your initial DBS check relevant to your post; the amount will be deducted from your first salary with the Trust.

Our Trust is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We particularly welcome applications from people with experience of using mental health services. We also hold the Disability two tick symbol and have made the pledge to commit to employing more people with learning disabilities, we encourage people with a disability to apply. If you require this application form in another format i.e. Braille or audio tape etc, please contact the Recruitment Department on 01375 364513 or email epunft.recruitment.adverts@nhs.net and we can arrange for this to be dispatched to you.

The Trust has the right to expire vacancies prior to the closing date if they so wish. The Trust makes every attempt to contact all applicants and we strongly advise that you check the email account which is registered with NHS Jobs regularly, we would advise however due to the high number of applications we receive that if you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expect all staff to undertake this commitment. Applicants will be subject to robust safer recruitment processes.

Important Notice: Recently the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021 (the Regulations) which amended on 22 July 2021 and come into force on 11 November 2021 that anyone directly employed to work in a Care Home or who are required as part of their role to be deployed to a CQC registered care home are required to have had both their COVID vaccinations, unless they are exempt. This is therefore a requirement of this role and will form part of our pre-employment checks.

Please note - staff who are formally at risk within the organisation will be given priority in securing alternative employment. Should it come to light that a post being advertised by the Trust is considered 'suitable alternative employment' to an individual who is at risk, the recruiting manager will be advised and the post will be withdrawn from NHS Jobs.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.

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