Reports to: Lucy Wright, Head of Therapies
Location: Alexander House, 30 Troutbeck Road, Sheffield S7 2QA
Hours of work: 30-37.5 hours per week
Download The Full Job Description Here.
Purpose of the role
The role supports the Head of Therapy (HOT) in providing leadership support to the Therapy team. The post holder will also be responsible for supporting the HOT in the service development, auditing, and reporting systems.
To promote STEPS values whilst contributing to the vision and mission of the service. The main role is to provide leadership support to occupational team which is currently made up of eight Occupational Therapists, one Occupational Therapy Assistant and one therapy technician and lead on the occupational therapy service development. You will take on delegated responsibilities as and when required by the HOT. The focus of the role is to also deliver effective, comprehensive, high standard assessments and evaluations for clients, including a high standard of report writing. There will be additional responsibilities that extend to the wider organisational goals working collaboratively with the other clinical leadership roles within STEPS.
Specific Responsibilities
This Job description is an outline which reflects the present requirements of the post and is not intended to be exhaustive list of duties the post holder will be expected to fulfil.
- Provide clinical and operational leadership to the Occupational Therapy team.
- Oversee the service management and the direction of the Occupational therapy service.
- Lead on service development and evaluation including audits and research review.
- Participate in meetings, lead clinical audits, and contribute to policy development and clinical practice.
- Identify clinical priorities at both operational and strategic level, ensuring the highest standards of clinical and professional practice.
- To review equipment needs within occupational therapy service, ensuring a good awareness of new products, and emerging technologies in the UK and internationally.
- Work collaboratively with the IDT to enhance service delivery and client outcomes.
- Provide clinical leadership, support, and guidance to other staff team members
- To support the pre-admission assessment team as required
- To support the student placement programme within the Therapy department and facilitate the learning for both internal staff and visiting students
- To undertake initial assessments, reviews, and evaluation of occupational therapy strategies for residential clients from admission to discharge. To focus the team on creating goal attainment action plans for each client in order to support maximisation of individual capacity/capabilities
- Undertake comprehensive assessments of clients with a diverse and complex presentations. Use advanced clinical reasoning skills and manual assessment techniques to provide an accurate diagnosis of their condition
- To be able to utilise highly developed therapeutic handling skills to support rehabilitation of a variety of neurological/complex trauma rehabilitation clients
- To be able to write and check comprehensive reports, to a high standard, appropriate to be shared with a variety of external bodies including medicolegal professionals.
- To involve client’s and carers/family in the development and delivery of goals within the rehabilitation plan
- To adhere to and carry out individual client and departmental risk assessments
- To liaise effectively with appropriate members of the team regarding the progress of clients to optimise the outcome for each individual. This may include family and written reports to external bodies, e.g., NHS commissioners, solicitors, and case managers
- To act upon and escalate issues as required following STEPS guidance and operating procedures
- To be compliant with the clinical governance requirements operating within STEPS procedures
- To identify the need for audit and be involved in clinical audits as and when directed
- To contribute and lead on specific projects related to service development and delivery e.g., education, training and contributing to the setting and monitoring of practice standards, develop of new or enhanced services within the STEPS rehabilitation model
- To be involved in and oversee team involvement in Research and Development
- To represent STEPS, in line with our values at a variety of conferences and events.
- To adhere to the Royal College of OT code of ethics and professional conduct
Person specification
The requirements of this person specification will be assessed through your application, panel interview, engagement with the tour of our premises and introductions to team members and a task. No presentation is required.
Qualifications
Area Essential Desirable Qualifications Registered with HCPC
Educated to Master’s degree
level, or offering the equivalent
specialist knowledge / expertise
acquired through training and
experience over an extended
period of time
Relevant postgraduate training in
neurological rehabilitation,
vocational rehabilitation, complex
disability management, assistive
technology or equivalent
specialist area
Training qualification /
demonstrable experience in
developing and delivering training programmes Membership of Royal College of
Occupational Therapists and a
relevant specialist section group
Leadership qualification or
evidence of leadership training Experience Significant post-registration
experience as an occupational
therapist
A minimum of 5 years Specialist
Rehabilitation experience working
with people following life
changing injuries including at
Least One Of The Following Areas
Traumatic brain injury
Spinal cord injury
Complex neurological
conditions
Major trauma
Amputation and limb loss
Demonstrable experience of
managing a complex caseload
with competing priorities
A minimum of 2 years’ experience
in a leadership role, supervising
and developing occupational
therapy staff, providing
supervision and mentorship
Experience of training package
development and delivery across
relevant subject e.g., Data
Protection and Clinical Training
Experience of presenting case
studies and research to peers
within the workplace and
conference events
Experience of developing services
within rehabilitation
Experience of outcome
measurement and rehabilitation
data collection
Able to write complex, analytical,
well-structured, and well-argued
reports for Board level audiences.
Experience of policy development
Experience Of Audit Functions
IT experience including Microsoft
Office packages
Experience of working within
governance frameworks e.g.,
clinical systems, data
management, complaints
untoward incidents
Demonstrable experience and
working knowledge of the Data
Protection Act
Documented evidence of
continuing professional
development. A specialist level knowledge and
qualification in varying areas of
extended scope of practice
Experience of playing an active
role within specialist interest
groups
Experience working within the
private healthcare sector
Experience of working with
medicolegal professionals
Experience supporting individuals
with challenging behaviour and
cognitive impairment
Experience of leading on research
and development projects
Experience of managing budgets
or resources
Casting and Splinting experience
Experience using a variety of
rehabilitation technology.
Experience in research and
development.
Experience in recruitment and
workforce planning Personal Attributes Creative, compassionate,
innovative, inclusive and
engaging approach to client
care
Excellent problem-solving skills
Resilient and adaptable in
complex clinical environments
Excellent communicator both
written and verbal. Able to
demonstrate excellent listening
Skills
Ability to present complex
information clearly to a range of
audiences
Strong clinical reasoning and
decision making skills
Skilled in facilitating family
meetings and difficult
conversations
Able to form key working
relationships with colleagues,
understand the dynamics of
interdisciplinary working
Excellent time management
Full UK Driving Licence and
willingness to drive WAV’s as part
of role Equal Opportunities Ability to demonstrate an awareness of equality and diversity obligations when delivering care and also towards colleagues.
