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Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

About

We provide NHS care and treatment for people living in south east England. Our mental health services provide care and treatment for people with conditions such as psychosis, depression, anxiety, dementia and personality disorder. Our vision is to provide outstanding care and treatment you can be confident in.

Contact

Address
Swandean
Arundel Road
Worthing
West Sussex
BN13 3EP
Contact Number
01903 843000

Find out more

Jobs Website
Open
Ref: 354-LD-20340-1 Vacancy ID: 8156924

Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist

Accepting applications until: 29-Jul-2026 23:59

Open

Accepting applications until: 29-Jul-2026 23:59

Location

Bellbrook centre
Bell Lane
Uckfield
TN22 1QL
West Sussex

Contract type & working pattern

Permanent
Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Mon - Friday 9-5)

Salary

£49,387 - £56,515 pa
Yearly

(NHS AfC: Band 7)

Specialty

Learning Disabilities

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

Are you passionate about reducing health inequalities and helping people with complex needs to live well with their learning disability? 

We are seeking to recruit a B7 Occupational Therapist to join our friendly, creative, and research-active community learning disability team in Uckfield.

You will have access to a high-quality internal training programme, as well as external training opportunities to further develop your specialist skills.

We are a multi-disciplinary team, dedicated to achieving great outcomes for adults with learning disabilities.  We have clear objectives linked to the latest national policies and are dedicated to delivering the highest quality care through evidence-based care pathways. We are co-located with our social work colleagues and work closely in partnership with them, as well as with families, paid carers and the wider systems that support people.

Advert

As a clinical specialist occupational therapist, you will use your highly specialist skills and understanding of the relationship between the individual, their environment and their occupations to support people with the most complex needs to live well with their learning disability. You will provide specialist occupational therapy assessments and interventions for people referred to the service as well as contributing to the core tasks of the team.

 

Contributing to the management of a team caseload of individuals with complex needs, you will assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions, which will be delivered in a variety of community settings, including:

-          Family homes

-          Residential and supported living services

-          Day services

-          Community facilities

 

You will have the flexibility to manage your workload in the community; however, you will be expected to spend some time working from the central team base in Uckfield.

 

You will be supervised by the Advanced Practitioner Occupational Therapist.

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 Hampshire.

 

We pride ourselves on our high quality internal and external training opportunities.  We have robust professional leadership structures and provide excellent career development opportunities.

 

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, home-working, 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.

 

Working in Sussex:

·       Travel easily between coast and countryside, with a blend of picturesque villages and seaside towns there's always new experiences to be enjoyed

·       Embrace the city life with great access to Brighton and London

·       With easy access to Gatwick and Heathrow and excellent railway links across the UK there are plenty of opportunities for adventure

 

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

REQUIREMENTS

In order to be a successful clinical specialist occupational therapist in our team you will be:

·       Registered with HCPC as an occupational therapist

·       Have significant experience as an occupational therapist supporting adults with learning disabilities - or in a closely related area

It would also be advantageous if you have:

·       Training in sensory processing and/or the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS)

 

This post will be based in Uckfield and will primarily cover Eastbourne, Downs and Weald. However, a willingness and ability to travel across East Sussex (and sometimes further) will be needed, as required to meet the needs of the overall service.  SPFT staff have the capacity to work from home remotely where applicable and in agreement with your line manager.

 

Full time hours are available, but part time hours will also be considered.

 

MAIN DUTIES

·       To manage a caseload of complex clients, using evidence based, client centred principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions

  • To provide specialist clinical advice and input for clients with complex needs

·       To promote evidence-based practice in occupational therapy and the relevant learning disability service

 

Please see attached Job Description and Person Specification for full details.

 

We believe our service will be the best it can be if we have a diverse workforce and one that reflects the population we serve.  To support our staff we have a number of Staff Networks including:

·       Disability Network

·       Ethnic Minority Network

·       LGBTQ+ Network

·       Neurodivergent Network

·       Spirituality Network

·       Women's Network

·       VaLE (Valuing Lived Experience) Network

 

 

As a University Teaching Trust, we carry out high-quality research to help improve care and treatment.  We're one of the most research-active NHS mental health and learning disability Trusts in the country.

 

We also host the Applied Research Centre (ARC) in Kent, Surrey and Sussex.  Our ARC is one of 15 across the country funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).  It involves working with universities, local authorities and charities to increase the speed at which research is put into practice to benefit patients.

 

You can find out more about working with us at Careers at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

 

 

Please apply using the link in this advert, or for more information explore the attachments or contact:

Stuart Heaton (Advanced Practitioner Occupational Therapist) 0300 304 0313 / [email protected]

Sophie Gill (Team Leader) 07464925337 / [email protected]

Helen Justice (Consultant Occupational Therapist) 07899 067762 / [email protected]

 

(We are happy to arrange informal visits)

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.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Degree/Diploma in occupational therapy
  • Evidence of post qualification study
  • Registration with the HPC as an occupational therapist
  • Practice Education training
  • Training in the use of standardised occupational therapy assessment tools

Knowledge/Experience

Essential criteria
  • Extensive experience as a qualified occupational therapist in mental health
  • Broad experience of working with clients with a range of mental health problems
  • Experience of both group and individual work
  • Experience of multidisciplinary working
  • Experience of supervising staff and students
  • Experience as a Care Coordinator
  • Experience in a clinical area related to the post
  • Leadership experience
  • Experience in applying a range of assessment tools and a comprehensive knowledge of occupational therapy clinical approaches used in mental health

Documents

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Stuart Heaton
Job title
Advanced Clinical practitioner OT
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
0300 304 0313
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