Main area Mental Health Grade NHS AfC: Band 6 Contract Permanent Hours Part time - 22.5 hours per week (Flexible - to meet the needs of the service) Job ref 354-LD-20312
Employer Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site County Hall North (Parkside) Town Horsham Salary £38,682 - £46,580 pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 01/01/2026 23:59
Occupational Therapist
NHS AfC: Band 6
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 AI is becoming part of daily life and you may choose to use it to help prepare your application. We welcome innovation but ask that anything you submit reflects your own abilities, experience and voice. AI can support how you describe your skills and experience, but it should never replace your own words as we want to get to know you.
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
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.
You will be supervised by one of the team's B7 Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapists.
Working for our organisation
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:
* 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.
Requirements
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. However, 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 centered 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
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. Our workforce is currently under-represented from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic and disabled communities and we would greatly welcome applications from these communities.
Please see attached Job Description for full details.
Contact
Cathy Haydon (West Sussex LD Interim Occupational Therapy Professional Lead – Learning Disability and Neurodevelopmental Services)
* Registration with the HCPC as an occupational therapist
Knowledge/Experience
* Experience of multidisciplinary working
SPFT is committed to building a workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We particularly welcome applications from people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds and from disabled candidates, as these groups are currently underrepresented.
Successful candidates are normally appointed to the bottom of the pay scale unless previous NHS experience in a similar role can be evidenced.
SPFT takes its responsibilities for safeguarding children, young people and adults at risk very seriously. We expect all staff and bank workers to share this commitment and complete the relevant safeguarding training for their role.
If you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date, please assume your application has been unsuccessful. However, we’ll always do our best to keep you informed as we know how much time and care goes into applying for a role.
In the event of a high number of applications, we may close this vacancy early.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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.
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