Senior Physiotherapist Tonbridge

The NHS is changing. More emphasis on community-based care means there's never been a better time to join us. We are looking for an enthusiastic and organised Senior Physiotherapist to join our professional team. We're a close team but we're never exclusive; if you can bring a professional approach and fresh ideas we would love to hear from you.

Please note, this vacancy does not meet the criteria for skilled worker sponsorship and therefore, we are unable to accept applications from candidates that cannot provide documentary evidence of right to work in the United Kingdom.

Main duties of the job

Could you use your skills and experience to support the NHS to deliver great patient care? Great patient care needs great people to support clinical teams. That's where you come in. We're always looking for enthusiastic, responsive, and adaptable people to join our outstanding trust. This role is an important one as you'll be using your knowledge, experience and expertise to provide admin support to our hard-working frontline NHS teams.

We put patients first and we expect all of our colleagues to do the same, so although NHS experience isn't a requirement for this role you'll need to share our passion for delivering excellent patient care and keep that passion at the forefront of your professional activity at all times. The challenges come thick and fast in this role but you'll know that your input is contributing to the excellent experience our patients and service users have every day.

About us

Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust is due to integrate with Medway Community Healthcare on 1 October 2026. Following integration and to align our community services to the new Neighbourhood Model of care delivery, there will be a period of consultation which may result in changes affecting some services, teams or roles. Depending on the area you are applying to work in, this could include potential changes to your role, work base, reporting arrangements, or terms and conditions of employment. Any changes would be subject to consultation and managed sensitively and in line with relevant employment processes.

Rated 'Outstanding' by CQC, we deliver high-quality care that improves the health of our communities. We are looking for people who share our values: Compassionate, Aspirational, Responsive and Excellent. We are proud to be an inclusive, welcoming organisation and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds.

We know life outside work matters. As a flexible working-friendly organisation, we welcome conversations about arrangements that help you thrive while supporting excellent care for our patients.

Job responsibilities

As a community Trust, many of our roles require individuals to be able to drive to perform their duties. Where driving is a requirement of the role, you will be asked to confirm that you hold a full UK driving licence or a full driving licence issued by an EU country (not exchanged from a non-EU country) to proceed with your application. We are committed to supporting candidates with disabilities into employment. If you are unable to drive due to a disability, please contact the Recruitment Team via kentchft.recruitment@nhs.net, quoting the vacancy reference number, so we can support you further.

The job description and person specification gives you all the information you need about this role. Please look carefully at the criteria in the person specification and tell us what you have done that shows you meet this in your application. If you need an application form in an alternative format please let our recruitment team know. All information you supply on your application should, to the best of your knowledge, be true and accurate.

Still have questions? The recruiting manager would love to hear from you, their contact details can be found in the job advert. We can get a lot of applications for some roles so to be in with the best chance of being shortlisted please make sure you apply as soon as possible. A vacancy may close early if there is a lot of interest in the job.

At KCHFT we strongly encourage colleagues in clinical and non-clinical roles who have direct or social contact with patients to be fully vaccinated. In this way we will be doing all we can to ensure your safety and that of your colleagues and the patients we serve.

Person Specification

• Qualifications
• Essential: Degree or diploma in Physiotherapy; Current HCPC registration; Evidence of updated post graduate training/ CPD
• Desirable: Current practice; Educator qualification
• Experience
• Essential: Demonstratable post graduate clinical experience; Evidence of working with adults & older people in relation to physical rehabilitation; Evidence of working in a multidisciplinary team
• Desirable: At least 1-year clinical experience within the NHS; Experience of supervising therapy assistants and/or junior staff; Experience of working within the community; Experience of falls prevention
• Special Knowledge and expertise
• Essential: Up to date knowledge of evidence-based practice; Knowledge & understanding of NICE guidelines and relevant NSFs; Knowledge of advanced moving & handling techniques (e.g. hoist assessment); Knowledge of specialist equipment and adaptations
• Desirable: Understanding of current Health and Social Services agenda
• Skills and abilities
• Essential: Understanding of training needs in relation to post; Ability to manage time effectively, priorities and work under pressure to meet deadlines; Ability to communicate complex, sensitive information to individuals and groups; Strong influencing and negotiating skills; High standard of clinical skills; Good written and oral communication skills; Good organisational skills; Basic IT knowledge (Word, Excel); Effective team player; Valid UK driving license, business insurance and daily access to a car to allow travel around West Kent Locality in a timely manner
• Desirable: Ability to identify and contribute to service development initiatives
• Personal Attributes
• Essential: Ability to motivate and organise others to ensure best practice; Ability to manage and lead change
• Ability to manage
• Essential: Able to support the implementation of local and national agenda's for health under the guidance of the team lead; Ability to prioritise care delivery in a professional manner, taking into account Trust policies and procedures; Ability to manage own time effectively.

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. Applicants must have current UK professional registration.