Overview
Due to an expansion of the Specialist Learning Disability Service, an exciting opportunity has arisen for an innovative and highly motivated Occupational Therapist. You have the chance to work as part of a dedicated, specialist and innovative Multi Disciplinary Team, where you will help to improve the lives and wellbeing of individuals with a Learning Disability who have had contact with the Criminal Justice System.
The posts sit within the Specialist Offending Behaviour Intervention team but will be part of the wider, highly dedicated and creative Specialist Learning Disability Occupational Therapy service. You will be able to use your core OT knowledge to promote participation and independence in Activities of Daily Living, whilst developing specialist areas such as Criminal Justice, Sensory Integration and Positive Behaviour Support.
With direct support from the Occupational Therapy Professional Lead, your role will be to grow, develop and innovate an evidence-based Occupational Therapy provision within this specialist service. We are a supportive and forward-thinking team, with great peer networks. We actively promote learning and professional development with opportunities in both clinical and leadership fields of work.
We are looking for a Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist to develop the role and benefits of Occupational Therapy in this specialist Service, work autonomously with a varied and sometimes complex caseload, and contribute to service and role development using core OT skills.
About us
Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of 'Outstanding' from the Care Quality Commission. Our family of over 4,500 staff provide health and social care for people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. Everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout:
Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.
Date posted: 13 March 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 7
Salary: £50,008 to £56,908 a year per annum pro rata (inclusive of 5% HCAS)
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time, Flexible working
Reference number: 367-LD&F-10140
Job locations: 3 Bowlers Green, Harper Lane, Radlett, WD7 9HQ
Job responsibilities
The Offending Behaviour Intervention Service is an integral part of the wider Specialist Learning Disability Community Assessment and Treatment team. It will provide evidence-based interventions and support for people with a learning disability that have had contact with the Criminal Justice System and who present an active and high risk to others. The Occupational Therapist will be required to develop and integrate Occupational Therapy as a meaningful intervention whilst driving the objectives for the service. These include:
* Reduce the offending and reoffending rates of people with learning disabilities; prevent inappropriate admissions to inpatient services where risk is indicated, but no mental ill health
* Increase access to specialist forensic advice supporting positive practice with service users, rather than containment and restrictive practice
* Increase the capacity and capability of community providers to work with people with a forensic history or where risks are identified
* Provide high quality, comprehensive Occupational Therapy assessment and intervention for a specified service user group with complex needs
* Carry a caseload as a member of a multi-disciplinary team
* Develop Occupational Therapy provision within the service with support from the Professional Lead Occupational Therapist
* Provide supervision, management support and leadership to Occupational Therapists, Assistant Therapy Practitioners and students within the work setting
* Manage a caseload using evidence-based/client-centered principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions in clinic, community settings and home visits
* Formulate and implement plans for the formal Occupational Therapy treatment and/or management of a client’s personality disorder and risk based on an appropriate conceptual framework of the client’s problems, employing evidence-based methods
* Provide specialist Occupational Therapy advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to a client’s formulation, diagnosis and case management plan
* Establish and maintain robust networks of communication with HPFT and partner agencies
* Liaise with Team Managers and Senior Clinicians to advise on OT clinical and operational issues and promote awareness of the role of OT in the community forensic learning disability service
* Provide interpretation and dissemination of Legislation, Policies and Procedures to staff in relation to their operational impact
* Work with a caseload of clients with complex forensic and mental health needs to identify occupational performance goals, using specialist mental health and occupational therapy assessments
* Contribute to the formulation and implementation of a multi-disciplinary recovery-based care plan within the Care Programme Approach
* Plan and implement individual and/or group interventions using selected and graded activity to achieve therapeutic goals
* Monitor, evaluate and modify treatment to measure progress and ensure effectiveness of intervention
* Demonstrate a high level of understanding of offending behaviour, the effect of mental illness and disability and provide advice on lifestyle changes and adaptations to the client’s social and physical environment
* Have responsibility for the planning, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of occupational therapy and interventions within the Service
* With support from the Service Lead and Professional Lead for Occupational Therapy, reintegrate and develop the Occupational Therapy role within the Specialist Learning Disability Service
Person Specification
KNOWLEDGE, TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE: Essential
* Diploma / degree in OT
* State registration with HPC
* Evidence of having met the full KSF Full Gateway (or equivalent) for Band 6
* Significant Postgraduate Training relevant to Mental Health
Desirable
* Membership of RCOT
* Sensory Integration qualification
* Fieldwork Educators Qualification
AREAS OF EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE: Essential
* Specialist knowledge and application of current best practice in Occupational Therapy and Mental Health
* Experience of mental health / learning disability and personality disorder conditions
* Understanding of treatments and interventions commonly used in mental health
* Effective leadership skills, including the ability to manage conflict, good communication, planning and decision making skills and organisational skills
Desirable
* Experience in providing advice, support and clinical supervision to junior staff and/or students
* Project Management/CQI
* Change Management Skills
Other information
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 CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
UK Registration: Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details: Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, 3 Bowlers Green, Harper Lane, Radlett, WD7 9HQ. Employer’s website: https://www.hpft.nhs.uk/careers/ (Opens in a new tab)
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