Occupational Therapist

Location: Home Based/Covering clinics in Bournemouth

Salary: Up to £44,000 per annum + mileage

Contract Type: Permanent

Hours: Full Time or Part Time (22.5 - 37.5 hours per week) between Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm/8:30am - 4:30pm/8am - 4pm

Right to live and work within the UK is required for this role.

About Us:

Optima Health is the UK's largest provider of Occupational Health and wellbeing services, supporting organisations across both the public and private sectors. With a heritage dating back to 1947, we have been helping employers create healthier, high-performing workplaces for generations, and we continue to evolve with innovative, practical solutions that make a real difference.

At the heart of our story are our people. We bring together like-minded professionals who are passionate about improving workplace health and wellbeing and delivering meaningful support to the organisations we work with across the UK.

When you join Optima Health, you become part of something bigger. We invest in our people through structured induction, ongoing training and tailored career development, helping you build the skills and experience to grow your career.

Together, we live our values:

One Team – There are no barriers in our business. We trust each other and work together as one team to deliver what our clients need. We all have a part to play in our future, and everyone's contribution is important and valued.

Doing the Right Thing – We operate to the highest standards. Success is underpinned by honesty and integrity, and by doing what we say we will do. We care about the impact of our work on our people, our clients, their employees, society, and the world we live in. Caring for our colleagues' wellbeing and respecting their time, energy and balance is fundamental to this value.

Shaping Tomorrow – We are always looking for ways to improve and innovate. We train, support and empower future leaders, invest in market-leading propositions and use technology to advance service and clinical outcomes. We evolve how we work - embracing smarter, more flexible approaches that help our people thrive both professionally and personally.

Never Too Big to Care – We always retain a client-first approach. Every client, and every one of their employees that we support, matters. We work in partnership to optimise workplace health and wellbeing, sharing in the benefits of growing together.

Role Summary:

Due to significant business growth, we are looking for an Occupational Therapist who is based in or around the Dorset area to join our nationwide team, to work within a specific geographical area on a hybrid basis. This is an autonomous role, requiring you to conduct assessments in a clinic or workplace setting to advise on return to work. Travelling will be within your working hours, with the expectation of travelling to one location per day. When you are not travelling, you will be home based, completing admin tasks, telephone assessments and report writing. Whilst this role is travel based, you will work remotely twice a week on average (this may vary dependent on working hours and caseload).

The role of an Occupational Therapist within Occupational Health is to carry out objective capability assessments to assist management with resolving complex cases that have often had multiple input in the past, where an employee's injury, condition or disability has affected their performance at work. Employees may present with physical, cognitive, mental health, learning difficulties or neurodiverse conditions and often present with a combination or multiple conditions that need to be considered. Once assigned a new client, you will carry out a telephone assessment to understand the employee's clinical history, presenting issues and their working environment, and where required, carry out a face-to-face assessment either in a clinic or in their workplace to assess functional capability. You will then write an evidence-based report, which is sent to both the employee and employer to advise on recommendations and adjustments that could be made within their working environment that would facilitate their return to work, or for them to remain in work. The role does not require you to conduct multiple assessments over a period of time or complete follow-ups as this is an advisory role, requiring you to complete an in-depth assessment followed by a report.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

• To use clinical expertise to advise on functional capacity, job demands, ergonomics and rehabilitation programmes for employees with complex health problems or disabilities, assisting them to remain at or return to work.
• To be professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of own workload.
• To provide expert advice/consultancy on OT issues/products within the organisation and to customers e.g., organisational level ergonomic consultancy and training.
• To contribute to the development of Optima's Occupational Therapy Service both within the region and nationally.
• Employees with complex health problems or disabilities in a variety of work settings and across contracts including blue collar, white collar, and Government organisations.
• Organisational level ergonomic consultancy and training for current and new Optima contracts.
• Product development and training of other health professionals within Optima.

Experience, Skills, and Knowledge Required for the Role:

• Minimum of 2 years Occupational Therapist experience.
• Full registration with the Health and Care Professions Council as an Occupational Therapist.
• Eligible for membership of British Association of Occupational Therapists.
• BSc in Occupational Therapy or higher.
• Professional knowledge acquired through degree, functional capacity evaluation, workplace ergonomics, objective/standardised evaluation.
• A knowledge of clinical governance and risk management.
• Strong organisational and planning ability with proven track record of being able to manage workload.
• Willingness to travel to different work locations within a defined regional area within your working day (up to 2 hours).

What Can We Offer You?

• 25 Days Annual Leave + Bank Holidays.
• Buy and Sell Holiday Scheme.
• Life Assurance.
• Pension Scheme.
• Health Cash Plan.
• Volunteer Days.
• YuLife Employee Benefits Platform.
• Save As You Earn Scheme.
• Eye Test Vouchers.
• Flu Vaccination Scheme.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Clinical Training Academy.
• Paid CPD Days.
• Professional Registration Fees Paid.
• RAVE Awards.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Right to Request Flexible Working From Day 1.

Optima Health is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All applicants meeting the minimum criteria for the role will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, gender or gender expression, disability, race or ethnicity, religion or belief or sexual orientation.

All salaries are displayed as FTE (full time equivalent).