Job summary
Are you an Occupational Therapist wanting to work creatively to support people to overcome challenges and experience the life-changing power of Occupational Therapy? Are you passionate about person-centred care and team working to support people to live their best lives at home, at work, and in all their daily environments? Then this Learning Disabilities Occupational Therapy Band 5 position sounds like the right opportunity for you!
As an integrated health and social care team, this is an exciting opportunity to work within a multidisciplinary and multi-agency team. You will be based in our Bournemouth office, near Ensbury Park, although the majority of the workload will be in community settings across Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole (BCP). The clients on your caseload will all have a Learning Disability (LD) and may include those with multiple disabilities, complex communication difficulties, sensory needs, and behaviours that challenge. We are able to offer full induction, regular supervision, and ongoing in service training to support you to develop skills in each of these areas. This is a challenging but rewarding role and no two days are ever the same.
No experience of working with people with Learning Disabilities is needed, but a desire to work with this client group and a knowledge and understanding of their needs is important. This is a part-time post of 28 hours per week, but applications from candidates wishing to work fewer hours would still be considered.
Main duties and responsibilities
* To work in people\'s own homes and a variety of community settings as a member of the integrated BCP Adult Learning Disability Service, in conjunction with the Senior LD Occupational Therapists, providing occupational therapy assessment and treatment for adults with a learning disability, in accordance with the Valuing People principles of providing opportunities for people with learning disabilities for greater independence, choice, wellbeing, and control.
* Assess, treat and monitor the progress of the person with LD\'s occupational therapy treatment goals considering the holistic needs of the individual, and any relevant environmental factors using an occupational therapy frame reference.
* To ensure all communication with the people with learning disabilities is in an appropriate format and, wherever possible, their occupational therapy plan and information is in a visual format.
About us
At Dorset HealthCare we\'re on a mission to empower people to make the most of their lives through our outstanding, joined-up healthcare services. We\'re a dynamic, forward-looking Trust, running 12 community hospitals, specialist inpatient facilities and a wide range of integrated community and mental health services for a population of almost 800,000 people. We do things differently here - it\'s one of the reasons the CQC rated us \'outstanding\' in 2019. It\'s also why 95% of patients across our services say they have a good or very good experience of our services and 89% of staff feel they can really make a difference. We\'re an inclusive workplace, where everyone is welcome, everyone can be authentic, and we are all encouraged to be the best version of ourselves. Working with us you\'ll be part of a strong team, challenge yourself, build a career, and teach us what we don\'t know. And you\'ll be working towards our vision to create healthier lives, empowered citizens and thriving communities.
Details
Date posted: 13 March 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 5
Salary: £23,183 to £28,221 a year p.a.
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time
Reference number: 152-M581.25
Job locations: Hillcrest, 31 Slades Farm Road, Bournemouth, BH10 4EU
Job responsibilities
For the main duties and responsibilities for this role please read the attached job description and person specification. When completing your application please ensure your supporting statement reflects the criteria set out in these documents by showing how your experience and skills apply to this post.
Additional information
We understand that using AI can be a useful and supportive tool when completing your application. However, we have also seen an increase in the over-reliance of AI tools which is negatively impacting applications as they remove candidates individuality, and it becomes much harder to get a sense of who you are and your authentic experience. If you do use AI, it should be used to enhance your application and not to create your supporting statement in its entirety. If we suspect you have used AI to create your supporting statement and this does not match your experience, we may withdraw your application.
As part of our vision to have a skilled, diverse and caring workforce, Dorset HealthCare offers support for people getting into work. We offer an employability service to support individuals with application writing, interview skills and other employment support. If you would like or know of anyone who would value this support, please do contact dhc.wideningparticipation@nhs.net
Applications from candidates that require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are unfortunately ineligible to apply for this position
Qualifications and Skills
Qualifications
* Essential: Appropriate degree
* Essential: HCPC registration
* Desirable: Relevant training
Skills
* Essential: Understanding the needs of adults with disabilities
* Essential: Understanding community working
* Desirable: Learning Disability or relevant experience
Qualities
* Essential: Ability to work well in a team
* Essential: Ability to manage own workload
* Essential: Ability to work flexibly
* Desirable: Presentation experience
* Desirable: Creative problem solving
Other
* UK driving licence and car access
* Demonstrable IT skills
Legal and eligibility
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 to check for any previous criminal convictions.
UK Registration: Applicants must have current UK professional registration.
Employer details
Employer: Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust
Address: Hillcrest, 31 Slades Farm Road, Bournemouth, BH10 4EU
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