Team Lead in Plymouth

37.5 hours per week. Team Lead opportunity: Ivybridge Community Rehabilitation Team. The Ivybridge team are located at the Hayloft, Yealmpton. They deliver a dynamic service including Urgent Community Response, Home First and Intermediate Care across the South Hams. They provide a highly skilled community rehabilitation service for a range of individuals and conditions including falls, frailty and long term conditions. The team prides itself on skillfully supporting people to remain independent at home. The team works closely with a multi-disciplinary team of community nurses and social care colleagues. We are seeking an enthusiastic person with compassionate leadership qualities. You must be an appropriately qualified Physiotherapist or Occupational Therapist to support this dynamic, proactive team. We are seeking someone with experience of working in the community, across pathways, to develop our offer. We require someone who can work with our clinical leadership team to ensure equity of service delivery across South Hams and West Devon. You will be supported and facilitated to develop in your role. It is encouraged that you maintain clinical work and support the weekend rota (approx one day 1:14 weekends / year).

Main duties of the job:

• Undertake a team leader role, in planning, co-ordinating, delivering, developing and evaluating the community rehabilitation team.
• To line manage the community rehabilitation team.
• To take a major role in the advanced assessment and treatment of patients within the speciality who may have complex and/or chronic presentation, and to determine clinical diagnosis and treatment indicated, and to maintain records, as an autonomous practitioner.
• Undertake evidence-based audit and research projects to further own and teams clinical practice.
• Make recommendations to clinical lead/manager of service for changes to practice by the team.
• May lead the implementation of specific changes to practice or contribute to service protocols.
• Supervise, educate and assess the performance of students and more junior staff; this would be to a graduate standard and involve working with universities to ensure the standard of practice and teaching meets the standards set by the degree level qualification.

This role may not be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route; please refer to the Direct Gov website for more information with regards to eligibility. Please note that Livewell may close the job advertisement earlier than the specified deadline if a high number of applications are submitted. Therefore, we recommend you submit your application at the earliest opportunity. All Livewell staff are expected to be able and willing to work across a 7 day service.

About us:

Livewell Southwest is an independent, award-winning social enterprise delivering integrated health and social care services across Plymouth, South Hams, and West Devon, with specialist services in parts of Devon and Cornwall. Our teams work in community hospitals, GP practices, sports centres, and health hubs. As an organisation with a strong social conscience we are guided by our values, kindness, respect, inclusivity, ambition, responsibility, and collaboration. We focus on transforming services to ensure sustainability, while empowering staff and those we serve. We involve the people we care for, along with their families and carers, in shaping the care they receive, striving to deliver the right care at the right time and place. Centering our work on individual needs helps people lead healthy, independent lives. We prioritise employees' development, offering protected CPD time, training pathways, leadership programs, and funding for qualifications like the Care Certificate and Nurse Training Scholarships. Our induction and preceptorship programs ensure a smooth transition into our organisation. Livewell Southwest values diversity and encourages applications from all sections of the community, including those with armed forces experience, lived experience of mental health, neuro-diverse conditions and learning disabilities. If you need assistance or reasonable adjustments during the application process, contact the Recruiting Manager listed in the job advert.

Details:

• Date posted: 12 November 2026
• Pay scheme: Agenda for change
• Band: Band 7
• Salary: £49,387 to £56,515 a year pa, pro rata
• Contract: Permanent
• Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time, Job share, Flexible working
• Reference number: B -PTA-1676
• Job locations: The Hayloft Plymouth PL8 2NN United Kingdom

Job responsibilities:

• To be professional and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of your own work including the management of patients in your care.
• To ensure a high standard of clinical care for the patients under your management, and support more junior staff to do likewise.
• To interpret and analyse clinical and non-clinical facts to form accurate clinical diagnosis and prognoses in a wide range of highly complex conditions, to recommend the best course of intervention, and to develop comprehensive management plans.
• To represent the organisation externally (locally, regionally and nationally) regarding community rehabilitation services in older peoples rehabilitation.
• To undertake the comprehensive assessment of patients, including those with a complex presentation, using investigative and analytical skills, and to formulate individualised management and treatment plans, using clinical reasoning, and utilising a wide range or treatment skills and options to formulate a specialised programme of care and to support junior staff in this work.
• To demonstrate highly developed dexterity, co-ordination and palpatory senses for assessment and manual treatment of patients.
• Use an extensive range of verbal and non-verbal communication tools to communicate effectively with patients/carers; to motivate, gain co-operation, to progress rehabilitation and treatment programmes.
• To accept clinical responsibility for a designated caseload of patients, and to organise this effectively and efficiently with regard to clinical priorities and use of time.
• To participate in working parties developing policy changes within intermediate care, which will impact on all service users.
• To ensure, as team leader, that designated staff implement policy and service development changes.
• To work with the Professional Lead in developing the strategic and operational management of the rehabilitation service.
• To provide spontaneous and planned advice, teaching and instruction to patients/relatives, carers and other professionals, to promote understanding of the aims of rehabilitation, and to ensure a consistent approach to patient care.
• To provide specialist and highly specialist advice to colleagues working within other clinical areas.
• To provide specialist advice, teaching and training to other members of the MDT regarding the management of patients.
• To regularly teach, train, supervise and performance-manage more junior staff, technical instructors, assistants and students.
• To work jointly with other health and social care colleagues and services (for example medical, nursing, Social Services, private sector and therapy colleagues) to ensure patients identified rehabilitation and care needs are met through delivery of a co-ordinated multi-disciplinary service.
• To advise on and prescribe as appropriate, and in line with organisational and departmental policies and procedures, both general and specialist rehabilitation aids, equipment and recommend low-level adaptations for patients.
• To initiate, organise and attend multi-disciplinary/multi-agency case conferences, liaison meetings and patient reviews as necessary and appropriate.
• To assess capacity, gain valid informed consent, which must be documented and have the ability to work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment.
• To comply with local confidentiality policies and procedures to protect vulnerable children and adults.

Professional:

• To maintain own clinical professional development (CPD) by keeping abreast of any new trends and developments, and incorporate them as necessary into your work.
• To be an active member/lead of the in-service training programme by attending and delivering presentations and training sessions at staff meetings, tutorials, training sessions in house and by attending/organising external courses and practising reflective practice.
• To communicate effectively and work collaboratively with medical, nursing and therapy colleagues at all levels to ensure delivery of a co-ordinated multidisciplinary service.
• To participate in the staff appraisal scheme and Personal Development Plan (PDP) as both appraiser and appraisee.
• To undertake the measurement and evaluation of your work and current practices through the use of Evidence Based Practice projects, audit and outcome measures. Make recommendations for change.
• To demonstrate a sound understanding of Clinical Governance and Risk Management and apply to work situation.
• To be responsible for the Clinical Supervision and appraisal of the Community Rehabilitation Team.
• To assist in the recruitment of relevant grades of staff as required.

Managerial/Organisational:

• To line manage the Community Rehabilitation Team, which includes senior therapists.
• Manage the recruitment process, conduct interviews, and be responsible for sickness absence, disciplinary and grievance issues.
• To be responsible for a designated area of work, and to plan and organise efficiently and effectively with regard to patients management and use of time.
• To decide priorities for own work area, balancing other patient related and professional demands, and ensure that these remain in accordance with those of the section as a whole.
• To be responsible for ensuring the effective selection and use of all treatment resources available both in the department and on the unit.
• To be responsible for equipment used in carrying out therapy duties, and to adhere to policies, including competence to use equipment and to ensure the safe use of equipment by others through, teaching, training and supervision of practice.
• To maintain accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date documentation, in line with legal, organisational and professional requirements and communicate assessment and treatment results to the appropriate disciplines in the form of reports and letters.
• To be actively involved in the collection of appropriate data and statistics in line with organisational policies and procedures.
• To be aware of Health and Safety aspects of your work and implement any policies, which may be required to improve the safety of your work area, including your prompt recording and reporting of incidents to senior staff, and ensuring that equipment use is safe.
• To comply with the organisational policies and procedures and to be involved in the reviewing, instigating, devising and updating as appropriate.
• To undertake any other duties that might be considered appropriate by the line manager and/or Professional Lead.

Physical Effort:

Moderate to intense physical effort on a daily basis. Tasks include: Static postures (kneeling/standing), Moving/positioning inert adult limbs, unconscious/semi-conscious patients and altered tone, Supporting patients whilst walking, Assisting patients during transfers, Pushing wheelchairs, Using hoists and other heavy gym equipment on a daily basis, Regular moving/adjustment of patients ward environment to maximise their independence and safety.

Mental Effort:

Dealing with complex patients for long periods on a daily basis. Daily requirement for prolonged periods of concentration, e.g. assessment and treatment of complex and sometimes unpredictable patients. Ensuring good communications with patients who have impaired understanding or communication difficulties. Frequently using complex problem solving skills, making and dealing with difficult clinical decisions, including use of medical equipment. Daily requirement for multi-tasking e.g. writing notes, communicating with team, telephone calls, with regular interruptions. With the team set goals and plans for the patient. Summarise treatment and future goals when writing discharge reports. On a daily basis prioritise the teams workload and coordinate working pattern. Prepare and deliver training packages to a range of staff. Appraise and set personal development plans with the team. With MDT visionary planning and delivering service development.

Emotional Effort:

Dealing with patients and families undergoing major changes in their health and social position, e.g. anxious and/or angry carers, family, family breakdown, isolated and depressed patients and carers on a daily basis. Frequently helping patients and carers come to terms with their impairments, disability and handicap. Dealing with death, bereavement, the terminally ill, distressing conditions and treatments. Immediate response to complaints/demands from distressed or anxious patients, carers and other professionals. Occasionally dealing with confrontation and differing professional and ethical opinions regarding case management. Supervise Community Rehabilitation Team; support them through their development. Support teams with complex emotional situations on the unit.

Working Conditions:

Frequent exposure to unpleasant working conditions e.g. bodily fluids, vomit and soiled linen. On rare occasions contact with fleas, lice and scabies. Occasional exposure to verbal and physical aggression, unpredictable behaviour. Frequent risk of exposure to contagious conditions e.g. diarrhoea and vomiting.

Person Specification:

• Qualifications:
• Essential: Degree or equivalent in Physiotherapy/ Occupational Therapy, HCPC Registration, Computer literate.
• Desirable: Management training, Evidence of post graduate education in rehabilitation to an advanced level.