Job summary
We are seeking to recruit a B6 Occupational Therapist to join our well-established and innovative community learning disability team in Horsham.
You will have a passion for improving the lives of adults with learning disabilities, collaborating within and across services to deliver results, and be passionate about developing your own skills and those of your colleagues.
We are a friendly, supportive and creative multi-disciplinary team, dedicated to achieving great outcomes for adults with learning disabilities. We are a service that has 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.
Main duties of the job
As a learning disability Occupational Therapist, you will use your specialist skills and understanding of the relationship between the individual, their environment and their occupations to support people with complex health 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 Horsham.
About us
As a mental health trust Sussex Partnership places a huge focus on the wellbeing of our staff, as well as ensuring our reward packages reflect the immensely important work they do.
You can expect:
* Excellent supervision programmes.
* Flexible working opportunities
* Access to a host of discount schemes (including gyms, shopping, restaurants and cars)
* Generous holiday entitlement
* Excellent NHS Pension Scheme
* The trust also offers a wide range of training specifically targeted towards AHPs and promotes ongoing learning.
Details
Date posted: 18 December 2025
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 6
Salary: £38,682 to £46,580 a year pro rata
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Part-time
Reference number: 354-LD-20312
Job locations: County Hall North (Parkside), Chart Way, Horsham, RH12 1XH
Responsibilities
In order to be a successful specialist occupational therapist in our team you will be:
* Registered with HCPC as an Occupational Therapist
* Comfortable working in a complex and varied role
* Keen to develop your specialist skills to support adults with learning disabilities with their mental health, physical health and behaviour support needs
It would also be advantageous if you have:
* Experience working with people with learning disabilities
This post will be based in Horsham and will primarily cover Horsham, Crawley, Mid-Sussex and surrounding rural areas. A willingness and ability to travel across West Sussex (and sometimes further) will be needed, as required to meet the needs of the service. SPFT staff have the capacity to work from home remotely where applicable and in agreement with your line manager.
MAIN DUTIES
To provide occupational therapy interventions for referred clients using evidence based, client centred principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions.
* To manage an appropriate complex clinical caseload
* To complete initial assessments on behalf of the team
* To participate in the team triage rota
* To act as a lead practitioner for designated clients
* To promote evidence based practice in occupational therapy in learning disability services.
* To contribute to the development of multi-disciplinary best practice clinical guidelines and protocols.
* To contribute to the provision of high-quality practice placements
Person Specification
Qualifications Essential
* Degree/Diploma in occupational therapy
* Registration with the HCPC as an occupational therapist
Knowledge/Experience Essential
* Experience of multidisciplinary working
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.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled Worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information, visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found in Criminal records checks for overseas applicants.
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.
Contact
Cathy Haydon (West Sussex LD Interim Occupational Therapy Professional Lead - Learning Disability and Neurodevelopmental Services)
Eleanor Taylor (Team Leader) – eleanor.taylor@spft.nhs.uk
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