Job overview
Do you want to work in the vibrant and diverse city of Manchester contributing to development of a uniquely modern and responsive mental health service?
Are you an experienced Occupational Therapist ready to take on the challenge of community working?
As part of investment within community services, the Manchester Early Service have additional funding to expand creating an exciting time to join the service. We are seeking dynamic Band 6 level Occupational Therapists to work as part of an OT team within our Early Intervention Teams across the city of Manchester, looking to provide and coordinate physical and mental health wellbeing interventions to promote recovery, working in tandem with our physical health pathway. We have newly created vacancies for full and part time posts based at our North Team (based at Central Park), Central and South Teams (based at Chorlton House).
You will be part of a clear professional structure operating with the support of a Lead OT based within your locality.
You will be provided with a full range of mandatory training and CPD opportunities with a particular emphasis on developing skills within the Model of Human Occupation.
You will work alongside a range of agencies and offer support to junior staff within the teams.
Main duties of the job
You will deliver and coordinate specialist Occupational Therapy assessments within the team and care coordinate/keywork a reduced caseload of individuals with needs which align with an OT approach.
You will be responsible for evidence based occupational and employment assessments and production of reports to a high standard. These will highlight how biological, sociological and psychological factors interact to create obstacles to the satisfactory occupational participation of an
individual within the social context.
You will be part of a clear professional structure operating with the support of a band 7 Lead OT based within your locality and an overall Professional Lead OT.
You will be provided with a full range of mandatory training and CPD opportunities with a particular emphasis on developing skills within the Model of Human Occupation.
You will work alongside a range of agencies and develop your skills supporting to junior OT staff and students.
Please view our job description and person specification for detailed information
Working for our organisation
Greater Manchester Mental Health (GMMH) Foundation Trust employs over 7000 members of staff, who deliver services from more than 122 locations.
We provide inpatient and community-based mental health care for people living in Bolton, the city of Manchester, Salford, Trafford and the borough of Wigan, and a wide range of specialist mental health and substance misuse services across Greater Manchester, the north west of England and beyond.
Greater Manchester is one of the world's most innovative, original and exciting places to live and work. From the beauty of the surrounding countryside to the heart of the vibrant inner city with great shopping, entertainment and dining options.
Wherever you go you will experience a great northern welcome with people famed for their warmth, humour and generosity.
Our people enjoy their work, have opportunities to learn and develop their skills and are encouraged to generate new ideas that improve care for our service users.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see attached job description and person specification
Staff benefits
1. Pay Enhancements – 30% additional for Evenings (8pm onwards) and Saturdays and 60% additional for Sundays and Bank holidays.
2. 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays rising to 29 after 5 years and 33 days after 10 years
3. Excellent pension
4. Cycle to work scheme
5. Salary sacrifice car scheme
6. Wellbeing programme
Person specification
Experience
Essential criteria
7. Demonstrable experience of working as a qualified Occupational Therapist
8. Providing Occupational Therapy in a mental health setting
9. Using a variety of Occupational vocational assessments
10. Identifying barriers to goal achievement
11. Planning and carrying out evidence based interventions
12. Experience of working with psychosis
Desirable criteria
13. Experience of working in a range of mental health settings
14. Experience of working in a community setting.
15. Experience of supervising support staff
Education
Essential criteria
16. Diploma/Degree In Occupational Therapy
17. Field work educators qualification within 1 year of appointment
18. Registration with HPC
Desirable criteria
19. AMPS Training
20. Model of Human Occupation training
21. Care Programme Approach Training
22. Equality Diversity Awareness Training
Knowledge
Essential criteria
23. Social inclusion and recovery models
24. Evidence based Occupational Therapy assessments and interventions relevant to mental health
25. Mental health legislation
26. Reflective practice
27. Knowledge of local cultures, social diversity and an ability to work as an OT within this context
28. Knowledge of the CPA process
29. Risk assessment and safeguarding
Skills
Essential criteria
30. To apply models of human occupation
31. To use a variety of Occupational assessments
32. To develop case formulation from assessment
33. To plan and implement evidence based interventions aimed at achieving user goals
34. To use effective evidence based communication skills
The Trust mandates all post holders who require a DBS for their role to subscribe to the DBS Update Service. You will be required to enrol for this service for a fee of £16 per year and maintain registration throughout your employment with GMMH.
Applicants are encouraged to apply for posts at Greater Manchester Mental Health who have direct experience of mental health, learning disability or drug and alcohol services either as a service user or a carer.
The Trust is also committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults and requires all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
We are aspiring to ensure our workforce is representative of the diverse communities that we serve, and we are strongly committed to removing barriers to employment for candidates from under-represented groups, for example BAME, Disabled and LGBT+ communities. If you would like to have an informal chat about the recruitment process for this role or would value some additional support, we’d love to hear from you.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) when writing job applications
A candidate may utilise the help of AI when writing job application. The assessment of an application is made on its entirety and most times AI-generated content does not fully grasp the context and requirements of the job one applies for thus producing inaccurate and misleading information, especially in the supporting statement section of an application that can lack real life examples of one’s achievements, success and challenges.
We have added a disclaimer to our application process advising that the use of AI is monitored. GMMH reserves the right to follow up with a candidate at the interview on specific responses and those examples used in the supporting statement to explore it further.
Sponsorship
We are proud to be an approved sponsor for the Skilled Worker visa. Applications from individuals who require sponsorship will be considered alongside all other applications. Please be aware that not all roles are eligible for sponsorship. You can review the list of eligible roles and salary requirements on the UK Government’s website – click .
If you are offered a role with us and you require sponsorship, we will check your eligibility in line with the information on the above website. Your offer of employment could be withdrawn if the role is not eligible for sponsorship, and you are not otherwise able to evidence your right to work in the UK.
The Home Office introduces new changes from 22/07/2025 that impact the health and care sector, you may wish to familiarise with it.
Do you have experience outside the NHS?
We want to attract and retain people with diverse skills and experience, to deliver inclusive healthcare services to our communities.
We will consider relevant experience outside the NHS to calculate your salary on appointment.