Job overview
Are you an Occupational Therapist with extensive clinical and leadership experience looking to take the next step in their career? Are you passionate about supporting Allied Health Professionals to provide high quality care to service users and their families? Are you able to lead others with strength, kindness and compassion?
We are looking for a Professional Head of Occupational Therapy for the Lambeth Directorate. This is a strategic and operational role responsible for directing the performance and development of Occupational Therapy and Support Staff working across the inpatient, crisis and community pathways.
As a member of the Directorate’s Senior Leadership Team you will be the principle representative for the Occupational Therapy workforce within the Directorate and will provide line management, professional and clinical supervision, support and oversight. Developing a culture of quality improvement and evidence-based practice to promote and raise the profile of the Occupational Therapy contribution to service users and their supporters’ experience and outcomes.
Main duties of the job
·Professionally responsible for all Occupational Therapists and associated support staff working across the Directorate
·Line Management of the Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist for Inpatient Services
Deputising for Trust Head of Allied Heath Professionals when required
· Supporting Occupational Therapy Apprenticeships
Supporting Occupational Therapy Students
Working for our organisation
By coming to work at SLaM, you will gain experience of being part of an organisation with a rich history and international reputation in mental health care. You will have access to professional development and learning opportunities, and have the chance to work alongside people who are world leaders in their field. SLaM delivers a significant amount of training experiences ; providing an extensive range of learning opportunities for staff at all levels. In addition, our working relationship with King's Health Partners allows those working at the Trust to get involved in academic research.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
·Provision of professional and visible occupational therapy leadership
·Advice and support to occupational therapists and other allied health professionals working in the directorate, upholding professional standards
·Line management, rota planning, facilitating group and individual supervision
·Development of occupational therapy policy and practice that reflects the needs of service users and their support network, implementing evidence based practice, and contributing further to the knowledge base by evaluation of practice and implementation of innovation.
·Assist the Head of Nursing and Quality in supporting the quality agenda and improvement of the service user and their support networks’ experience
·Ensuring the implementation of quality improvement to develop practice and service delivery.
·The provision of strategic professional advice to the Clinical Director and Service Director, attending and contributing to the Directorate Leadership Meetings and management of the service, as required.
·Lead on the development of the occupational therapy recruitment and retention initiatives within the service, and contribution to Trust wide initiatives that improve the quality of the occupational therapy workforce.
·Work with the management team to ensure access to relevant education and training initiatives for occupational therapy and associated staff that support the delivery of care within the service.
·Contribution to the development of the Trust wide OT/AHP strategy, and direction of local implementation, based on local service priorities, evaluating and feeding back to the Trust wide OT/AHP strategy group.
·The role will be divided between the following components: strategic and professional leadership, quality and governance, direct clinical care/service development. The number of sessions allocated to each role will be determined by the Service Director and the Trust Head of Allied Health Professions.
Person specification
Education, Training & Qualification
Essential criteria
1. HCPC registered Occupational Therapist
2. Undertaken leadership development training
3. Evidence of continued professional development relevant to role
Desirable criteria
4. Membership of Royal College of Occupational Therapists and/or Special Interest Group relevant to the role
5. Leadership Qualification
Experience
Essential criteria
6. Significant experience of working in mental health as an occupational therapist
7. Extensive experience of working in a multidisciplinary clinical and/or management team
8. Experience of working in a clinical or management position in mental health, Experience of line managing a team
9. Experience of setting, monitoring and evaluating standards of care, Experience of managing a budget,
10. Experience of developing quality services, Experience of rostering
Desirable criteria
11. On Call experience
12. Experience of investigating complaints and incidents
13. Experience of setting objective measurements and developing and monitoring systems for performance management and improvement at team, pathway, directorate and Trust level
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Essential criteria
14. Evidence of an extensive understanding and experience of mental health occupational therapy practice
15. Intellectual strategic comprehension: ability to recognise key and underlying issues in complex situations, the immediate long term implications of decisions to make the interconnections
16. Analytical ability: capacity to process detailed information rapidly
17. Is prepared to challenge restrictive practices and thinking. Cultural flexibility: ability to develop an in-depth understanding of a wide range of organisational and community cultures, developing plans and strategies with all stake
18. Ability to contribute fully to the work of the Directorate Leadership Team and Head Occupational Therapy Committee and deputise if required
Desirable criteria
19. Experience of directing a multi-dimensional project across a complex organisation
20. Sound technical and creative skills in the use of video, social media or other mediums to promote AHP provision