Go back Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust
Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist
The closing date is 08 October 2025
This is an exciting opportunity for a Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist to become part of the leadership of the well-established and dynamic Rheumatology and Chronic pain team, here at Evelina Childrens Hospital, part of Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust. This position will oversee all areas of Occupational therapy input across these two services.
The 8a post will be the lead Occupational Therapist for the rheumatology and Chronic Pain service at Evelina London and has operational oversight and responsibility for delivery of OT assessments and interventions in this tertiary level service. It provides clinical leadership to the team and will support the development of the band 6 Occupational therapist. The post holder is responsible for clinical governance and assurance including, but not limited to, the management of clinical risk and patient safety, compliance with mandatory training, clinical and professional standards. Reporting to the Clinical Lead for Paediatric Occupational Therapy and ultimately the Head Occupational Therapist, this position leads workforce planning, training and development, with oversight of job plans and has responsibility for delivering governance and operational performance.
This position has become available as a result of redesigning the OT workforce based on the available funding. We look forward to receiving applications from experienced OTs who have worked in inpatient services.
Main duties of the job
This role involves providing specialist out-patient assessment and intervention for children and young people, working inpartnership with multi-disciplinary colleagues in Physiotherapy and Psychology, as well as the wider MDT and medical colleagues.
You will also support the provision of an in-patient acute service for children and young people requiring rehabilitationfollowing an acute flare up. Examples of clinical problems but not limited to are: Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA), Juvenile Dermatomyositis,Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and other multi-system inflammatory disorders with weakness, joint stiffness and fatigue which result in functional incapacity.
The occupational therapists are valued members of the multidisciplinary team. They have a key role in promoting the child/young personsrecovery in terms of physical, communication, cognitive and psychosocial abilities. You will be core to providing robust, multidisciplinary,individualised rehabilitation packages. This includes promoting the child/young persons acquisition of skills to support their development and independence
You will need to be...
enthusiastic about developing staff within the teamable to demonstrate the value of occupational therapy and advocating for OT as a key professionexperienced in working within paediatric rheumatology/chronic pain servicesable to work autonomously and provide specialist OT assessments and interventions to children, young people and their families
About us
This post requires applicants to have excellent verbal and written communication skills, as collaborative working within the multi-disciplinary team and with our community colleagues in health, education and social services is essential. It also requires an OT who has experience with working with this population of children, as you will need to be adaptable to meet the childs individual therapy needs.You will need to be flexible in order to support the team within a busy tertiary service.You will be energetic, keen to critically appraise literature in the field of occupational therapy and deliver evidence-based practice as part of a service that encourages reflective practice.
This post sits within the Paediatric occupational therapy service at Evelina London Childrens Hospital.
You will be responsible for the supervision and support of the band 6 occupational therapist within the service. You will contribute to service development alongside your colleagues in the MDT as well as the paediatric OT team.
You will be supervised and operationally managed by the clinical lead in paediatric occupational therapy and professionally managed by the Trust Head OT.
Job responsibilities
The successful candidate will have experience with intervention modalities which will include goal-directed task-based occupational therapy, pain and fatigue management. Specialist skills in mental health or a background in working in child development are also desirable.
You will be experienced in setting client-centred rehabilitation goals and will offer a family-centred service. This role requires close liaison andworking in partnership with community therapy services, education services, and/or other appropriate agencies.
You will support children to work towards meaningful goals focusing on functional skills and independence in areas of self-care, school/work andleisure/play, alongside their families and local teams.
You will be responsible for supporting the development of knowledge and skills in this area and will contribute to service development alongsidethe team.
There is the potential to participate in departmental audits or research projects. There is also the opportunity to increase your knowledge and skills through participation in team and hospital wide continuing professional development programmes, supervision of junior staff members and students, appraisal, in-service training and joint working.
Person Specification
Skills / Knowledge / Ability
* Advanced clinical practice skills with outstanding clinical reasoning and problem-solving skills
* Previous experience as head/lead of department/service.
Previous Experience
* Substantial clinical experience in paediatrics at a senior/specialist level
* Ability to supervise clinical staff and students.
* Experience of (and where applicable, training in) specialist rheumatological assessment and intervention approaches
* Experience of (and where applicable, training in) specialist chronic pain assessment and intervention approaches
* Experience of clinical governance and implementation of audits.
* Expert level knowledge and experience in relevant specialised area
Education/ Qualifications
* Occupational Therapy Degree or equivalent qualification.
* Evidence of post graduate education in relevant clinical area.
* Leadership training
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust
£64,156 to £71,148 a yearincl. HCA pro rata
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