Occupational Therapist in Canterbury

Please note, at this stage, the role is open only to internal staff (including NHSP and Agency staff currently on placement within our organisation) and staff substantively employed within Kent and Medway NHS Trusts and the Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB). Any individual who is at risk of redundancy will be given priority, provided they meet the essential criteria.

We are Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust. A united mental health service for Kent and Medway. We believe communities live well when better mental health care is a part of everyday life. We have a bold vision, to create communities where mental health care helps people not just live with mental illness, but live well.

The senior occupational therapist is an experienced occupational therapist within the multi-disciplinary care team. Your role will be to:

• Identify, develop and provide the Occupational Therapy contribution within the multi-disciplinary service in accordance with the needs of service users and the requirements of the service.
• Assess, plan, deliver and evaluate therapeutic interventions for identified service users.
• Manage a defined caseload of service users with occupational needs using evidence based, service user centred, hope and recovery, health promotion and relapse prevention orientated principles and practice.
• Assessment & Planning: Conduct complex service user assessments to create evidence-based, goal‑oriented recovery plans.
• Intervention: Deliver and adapt therapeutic interventions that maximise independence while managing risk.
• Collaboration: Work within a Multi‑Disciplinary Team (MDT) to coordinate care with families, carers, and external agencies.
• Ethical Practice: Ensure informed consent, assess mental capacity, and uphold service user rights and diversity.
• Compliance: Maintain HCPC registration and strictly adhere to RCOT Code of Ethics, NICE guidelines and Trust policies.
• Leadership: Lead quality improvement (QI) projects, manage resources/equipment and represent the service in clinical forums.
• Accountability: Take full legal and professional responsibility for a personal caseload and delegated tasks.
• Staff Oversight: Provide clinical supervision, appraisals and preceptorship for junior staff and return‑to‑practice clinicians.
• Education: Act as a Practice Educator for students and maintain a robust CPD portfolio through research and audit.
• Provide supervision to designated junior staff and students.
• Demonstrate ability to work as a team member as well as autonomously.
• Manage a case load of service users who have complex needs.
• Balance all aspects of the job role.
• Be flexible and responsive to competing demands.
• Promote Occupational Therapy in the service and keep an occupational focus at the centre of practice.
• Demonstrate an ability to apply increasingly complex skills and knowledge commensurate to a higher level of professional practice.

We are the Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust. We care for the mental health and wellbeing of people across Kent and Medway. Our teams support adults with a wide range of mental health needs. Because we cover the whole county and both hospital and community settings, we can make care more joined up and easier to access for the 1.8 million people of Kent and Medway. Rated 'Good' by the CQC, we care for over 2,000 people in our hospitals and 54,000 in the community each year. Our vision is simple: We are here to help communities not just live with mental illness, but live well. It's why we're passionate about working with communities to make mental health care better for everyone. And everything we do is guided by our values caring, inclusive, curious and confident. Join us – if you share our passion for better mental health care and want to be part of a team that's doing well together.