Job overview
Are you an enthusiastic and compassionate Occupational Therapist looking to make a real difference in community mental health care?
We have an exciting opportunity for a Band 5 Occupational Therapist to join our friendly and supportive Adult and Older Persons Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) based in Crewe. This is a permanent, full-time role offering a varied and rewarding caseload across both adult and older adult service users living in the community.
As part of a dynamic multi-disciplinary team, you’ll play a key role in supporting people to maximise their independence, quality of life, and recovery. You will contribute to comprehensive assessments, develop and deliver tailored intervention plans, and work closely with service users, families, and partner agencies to promote positive outcomes.
We welcome applications from newly qualified or early-career Occupational Therapists who are looking to develop their skills in a supportive and clinically diverse setting.
What we’re looking for:
* A qualified Occupational Therapist with HCPC registration
* Passion and commitment to person-centred, recovery-focused care
* Strong communication and teamworking skills
* A willingness to work flexibly within a multi-disciplinary environment
Main duties of the job
You’ll work closely with our Occupational Therapists, experienced Occupational Therapy Technical Instructors (OTTIs), and our integrated multi-disciplinary team (MDT) to provide a seamless and person-centred care experience for the individuals we support.
Why Join us?
* Be part of a welcoming, well-established, and supportive MDT environment
* Work under the guidance of an experienced Occupational Therapists and Clinical Leads with a commitment to mentorship and professional growth
* Access a wide range of ongoing development opportunities, including:
Regular clinical supervision
Annual appraisals
Opportunities to support or undertake practice placement education
A variety of internal and external training courses
Peer learning and support forum
Hours: Full-time, 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday
Working for our organisation
Cheshire and Wirral Partnership (CWP) provides health and care services for a population of over one million people, including mental health, learning disability, community physical health and all-age disability care, as well as the provision of three GP surgeries in Cheshire.
We employ around 4,500 staff across 73 sites and have services across Wirral and Cheshire, as well as Trafford, Warrington, Bolton, Halton and Liverpool.
Our aim is to help improve the lives of everyone in our communities, adopting a compassionate, person-centred approach to everything we do. We are rated as Outstanding for Caring by the Care Quality Commission, with a Good rating overall.
As a Disability Confident Employer, Rainbow Badge Scheme member, Veteran Aware organisation and proud holder of the Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award, CWP is committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible and developing a culture that values differences, and welcome applications from people who have direct experience of accessing our services.
All new starters will commence in post on one fixed start date each month, in line with our Prepare to Care (P2C) induction programme date. P2C offers up to 3 weeks training to support you to meet the induction / initial training requirements of the role.
Whether you are just starting out in your career or looking to use your existing skills and experience in a new role, you’ll find something to suit you at CWP.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please download a copy of the job description (see ‘documents to download’ section below) for full details of the main responsibilities for this role.
At CWP, our recruitment selection processes are based on both competence (see person specification for details) and values.
CWP recruits people that can demonstrate the Trust’s Values in their everyday life and we use a values-based approach in our interviews, which explores not only what you do but how and why you do it.
Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trust’s Values and think about how these align with your own personal values. The supporting information section in your application should reflect your understanding of the Trust’s Values and associated behaviours and you should provide examples from your work experience and/or personal life which demonstrate these values through your behaviours.
An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page. Further help and support for completing your application can be accessed via our website. If you need any further guidance to help you complete your application, contact our recruitment team via email at: cwp.recruitment@nhs.net or by calling 01244 393100.
If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the ‘essential’ criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer ‘YES’ to the question: ‘Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?’
Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.
The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post and encourages applications from armed forces reservists or cadet force adult volunteers.
Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment.
You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £16 per year applies.
New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.
Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.
Good luck with your application. We hope to welcome you to Team CWP very soon!
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
* Diploma/BSc in Occupational Therapy
* State Registration with Health and Care Professions Council
Desirable criteria
* Membership of professional body
Knowledge & Expertise
Essential criteria
* Some knowledge of current best practice in OT
* Knowledge of assessment tools and outcome measures
* Ability to work autonomously with individuals and groups
* Group work skills
* Skills in handling and moving
* Ability to support Occupational Therapy students and support staff
* Understanding of professional ethics and their application in practice
* Understanding of team dynamics
* Effective written and oral communication skills
* Computer literacy
* Basic knowledge of the principles of clinical governance
* Basic knowledge of health legislation and current practice, including CPA and risk assessment and management
Desirable criteria
* Training and presentation skills
* Has practically applied evidence based practice
* Evidence of research and clinical audit skills
Experience
Essential criteria
* Application of the occupational therapy process
* Use of functional assessment and activity analysis
* Documented evidence of continuing Professional Development
* Experience working in mental health or supporting vulnerable adults