Paediatric and Neonatal Lead Speech and Language Therapist Coventry

Job summary

We are seeking a highly experienced Speech and Language Therapist to join our supportive and highly skilled team of 22 SLT's and 5 assistant practitioners. You will be working with neonate and paediatric inpatients at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire. Energy, vision and clinical expertise within this field is essential. The successful candidate will be joining a Trust which actively nurtures and encourages innovation and service development and you will be supported by the management team to identify and facilitate service development and quality improvement opportunities. Ongoing learning and development is a priority at UHCW and is actively supported by the Trust.

Paediatric Services:

UHCW has one of the largest paediatric units in the West Midlands. Services for children are entirely provided from a dedicated Children's Unit. At University Hospital there are 61 infant and children's beds including a 12-bed adolescent unit, 6 High Dependency beds, 19 infant beds and 24 beds for older children, as well as a 6 bedded medical day unit.

Newborn Services

The hospital has a purpose-built Neonatal Unit with a capacity of 16 critical care cots (intensive care and high dependency) 8 special care cots and 12 transitional care cots. The unit is one of the two designated level 3 intensive care units for the Central Newborn Network.

Main duties of the job

• Leading, co-ordinating and delivering a high quality, evidence-based Speech and Language Therapy service to the highly specialised and complex clinical area of neonates (working alongside Coventry & Warwickshire Neonatal AHPs Integrated Service) and paediatrics, requiring a highly advanced level of knowledge, skills and experience.
• Providing clinical supervision, training and support
• To work as an autonomous practitioner, providing comprehensive, specialist speech and language therapy assessment, differential diagnosis and treatment of children and babies who present with feeding and swallowing difficulties.
• Work as an integral part of the multidisciplinary team, contributing to team discussions and influencing decisions about patient care programmes, taking on the role of care coordinator where appropriate.
• To be a source of expertise and provide clinical support, where appropriate to other MDT colleagues, Health Care professionals including students and community services.
• To lead SLT policy development within neonates and paediatric Speech and Language Therapy.
• Use specialist knowledge to respond to urgent requests for input and ensure that referrals are prioritised and triaged effectively to ensure that high risk patients are seen urgently, and to expedite rapid assessment and discharge planning

About us

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, rated as good by the Care Quality Commission, is one of the largest teaching Trusts in the UK.

We are extremely proud of our employees across our hospital sites, with high quality patient care at the heart of everything we do.

Boasting some of the most modern facilities in Western Europe, the Trust is renowned for being at the forefront of research and innovation as part of its blossoming reputation as a worldwide leader in healthcare.

We are proud to be recognised as a Pathway to Excellence designated organisation - please click the link for further details about this prestigious award. Pathway To Excellence - University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire (uhcw.nhs.uk)

By joining our exciting journey, you will form part of a passionate, talented team and will be able to access a wide range of learning and development opportunities. There has never been a better time to join our team.

The Trust is committed to building an organisation that makes full use of the talents, skills, experience, and different perspectives available in our diverse society. We want everyone to feel they are respected, valued, can achieve their potential and receive the most appropriate and relevant care. We will create an environment where the equality and human rights principles of fairness, respect, equality, dignity and autonomy are promoted and are part of the organisation's core values.

Details

Date posted 10 September 2026

Pay scheme Agenda for change

Band Band 8a

Salary £57,528 to £64,750 a year per annum pro rata

Contract Permanent

Working pattern Part-time

Reference number 218-AHP-B8A-8283327

Job locations University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire
Clifford Bridge Road
Coventry
CV2 2DX
United Kingdom

Job description

Job responsibilities

• Abide by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists & the Health Professions Council standards of proficiency.
• To be responsible for the assessment, diagnosis and management of children with dysphagia and feeding difficulties from 0-17 years and babies within the neonatal service, prioritising clinical needs to provide an effective and efficient service.
• Demonstrate advanced knowledge and skills to manage a caseload including highly complex and specialist cases, evidencing high level problem solving, reasoning skills and independence of judgement, seeking advice as appropriate.
• To develop specific care plans and provide appropriate intervention using specialist knowledge to inform sound clinical judgements/decision making for case management.
• To provide specialist advice to others regarding the management and care of children and neonates with feeding and swallowing difficulties using evidence-based practice and outcome measures.
• To work closely with parents/carers and professionals to agree effective management of feeding difficulties to support safe and positive feeding development.
• To comply with the safeguarding policies of the Trust, ensuring all concerns, incidents and allegations are reported in line with this.
• To demonstrate negotiation skills to develop effective working relationships with patients, carers and their families, and contribute to interagency/multi-disciplinary team building, developing effective working relationships with members of the multi disciplinary team, related agencies and colleagues.
• To evaluate the outcomes of intervention and demonstrate clinical effectiveness, and by use of evidence-based practice and outcome measures.
• To maintain up-to-date and accurate case notes in line with HCPC and RCSL professional standards and local trust policies, including assessment results, treatment plans and reporting to source of referral and other appropriate colleagues. Reports will reflect specialist knowledge of diagnosis and individualised management/care plans and be of a high standard.
• To contribute to clinical teams both multi-disciplinary and uni-disciplinary by discussing own and others input around patients needs ensuring a well-co-ordinated care plan.
• To communicate complex condition-related information from assessment to carers, families and members of the multi-disciplinary team/other professions. This involves maintaining sensitivity at all times to the emotional needs of patients and families, in particular when imparting potentially distressing information regarding the nature of the patients difficulties and implications of the same.

Informal visits are welcomed.

For further details of the role please see the attached job description.

Successful applicants will be required to provide an immunisation and vaccination report, from either their current UK occupational health provider or their UK GP.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Speech & Language Therapy Degree Qualification or Equivalent
• Masters level qualification in a relevant field or equivalent experience
• Member of RCSLT
• HCPC Registration - Licence to Practise
• Postgraduate advanced accredited paediatric dysphagia training
• Evidence of relevant postgraduate training in neonates

Desirable

• Completion of FINE course

Experience

Essential

• Specialist level of clinical skills and knowledge in the assessment, differential diagnosis and management of complex paediatric feeding, swallowing and communication disorders.
• Relevant postgraduate experience in the assessment and management of neonates
• Relevant postgraduate experience in the acute setting
• Experience of SaLT students at student clinical tutor and supervisor levels
• Experience of training staff groups at all levels
• Ability to work as part of a multidisciplinary team
• Experience of leading service development related to this client group
• Experience of leading audit related to this client group
• Significant leadership experience including line management, managing change, workforce/service planning, governance/risk and performance/data
• Evidence of delivering service improvement

Desirable

• Experience of conducting or being involved in research in the specialist area

Knowledge

Essential

• Advanced knowledge of assessment tools and a range of therapeutic interventions relevant to the client group.
• Advanced knowledge of trends and best practice in the clinical specialism
• Good working knowledge of national policies and procedures (relevant to the client group) and their implications for SaLT.
• Understanding of the roles of other professionals (relevant to the client group)
• Understanding of the impact of local cultural, linguistic and demographic factors influencing service delivery in the specialist area.
• Ability to work through interpreters to gain and impart information (relevant to the client group)

Desirable

• Understanding of the impact of local cultural, linguistic and demographic factors influencing service delivery in the specialist area.
• Competence in the management of complex dysphagia in infants
• Competence in the management of communication disorders
• Competence in SaLT management of tracheostomy/ventilator-dependent patients

Skills

Essential

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent presentation skills
• Able to adapt communication style to varied listeners
• Demonstrates ability to be a good team member and function effectively in the multidisciplinary team, leading where appropriate
• Able to judge limits of skills/competence and recognise professional boundaries where appropriate
• Supportive to other staff
• Demonstrates excellent organisational and prioritisation skills
• Basic IT skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Insight into own CPD needs and appropriate strategies for addressing them
• Enthusiasm for the development and promotion of the service and the ability to take initiative
• Demonstrates strategies for keeping up to date e.g. involvement in appropriate Clinical Excellence Group and Professional Body
• An ability to evaluate service delivery and lead service planning for this client group
• An ability to assess, identify and manage clinical risk.

Desirable

• Demonstrates excellent analytical and reflection skills

Commitment to Trust Values and Behaviours

Essential

• Must be able to demonstrate behaviours consistent with the Trust's values. (As detailed in UHCW's Values in Action document below)
• Applicants applying for job roles with managerial responsibility will be required to demonstrate evidence of promoting equal opportunities through work experience

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 known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants.

Applicants must have current UK professional registration.