Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Main area: Children's Speech & Language Therapy

Grade Band: 7

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Part time - 18.75 hours per week (Postholder will be required to work for Sirona on a Wednesday, as well as a Monday or a Friday)

Job ref: 083-6811836-LW-C

Employer: Sirona care & health CIC

Employer type: NHS

Site: Patchway Locality Hub

Town: Patchway, South Gloucestershire

Salary: £46,148 - £52,809 per annum, pro rata

Salary period: Yearly

Closing: 19/03/2025 23:59

This is an exciting opportunity for a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist for Early Years Complex Needs & Dysphagia to join our Children’s Therapy Services. This part-time role offers 18.75 hours per week, and you will be supporting children and young people aged 0-18 years across Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire.

In this role, you will provide expert clinical support to children with dysphagia and communication difficulties associated with complex needs, working collaboratively with those involved in early years home and clinic settings. You will be responsible for managing a highly specialist preschool caseload, offering your expertise in assessing, supporting, and managing the health needs of children with complex feeding, swallowing and communication difficulties.

As a key member of the team, you will provide supervision, teaching, advice, and consultation across the BNSSG area, enhancing the quality of care provided to children and families. You will report to the Clinical Lead for Dysphagia and be part of a supportive and friendly Complex Needs Speech and Language Therapy Team.

If you are a passionate Speech and Language Therapist who is committed to providing the best outcomes for children and families in your community, please apply today.

Main duties of the job:

• To practice as a highly specialist clinical practitioner, being a source of expertise, providing support, supervision, teaching, advice and consultation across BNSSG.
• To offer highly specialist clinical expertise within Early Years dysphagia and complex needs communication support, and to carry own highly specialist case load within this area.
• To provide dysphagia and communication assessment and therapy support as required to children in clinic, early education settings and home.
• To work closely with the multi-disciplinary team around the child.
• You will have line management responsibilities.

Please note: This post primarily covers the Early Years caseload in South Gloucestershire, with some requirement to cover other areas of BNSSG, including for the supervision of Band 6 dysphagia therapists. Initial appointments are clinic based but follow up takes place in the most appropriate setting for the child and family’s needs. Home and nursery visits are an integral part of our complex needs/dysphagia pathways so travel around this large geographical area will be a daily requirement of the post.

Working for our organisation:

Ever dreamt about a career that sparks excitement and fosters your professional growth? Picture yourself waking up eager to make a real difference in our community, surrounded by teams who value your unique ideas. We are Sirona care & health – England’s largest provider of Adult’s and Children’s Community Services and we’d love for you to join us in Bristol, North Somerset or South Gloucestershire.

Agenda for Change Salary, full NHS benefits, 27+ days’ annual leave, and participation in the NHS Pension Scheme – just a glimpse of the benefits you’ll receive. We welcome and encourage all applicants. We are committed to having a workforce that reflects the communities we support and are proactively seeking to improve the diversity of our workforce. We know diversity fosters creativity and innovation. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where all belong. We aim to draw upon the widest possible range of views and experiences to meet the changing needs of our colleagues, partners and communities we serve.

Whether you're starting your journey in healthcare, looking for a fresh challenge within the NHS, or contemplating a career change, don’t be daunted by the prospect of something different – we create development opportunities for all our colleagues and apprentices.

Interested? View our benefits leaflet which you can find attached to this vacancy.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities:

Please see the attached Job Description for a full list of duties and responsibilities before applying for this position. We are unable to provide sponsorship for this role and can only accept applications from UK based applicants. If you currently require a visa to work in the UK, there must be a minimum of 12 months from your start date until the expiry date.

Person specification:

Experience & Skills:

• Significant experience of working with early years dysphagia
• Experience of line management
• Ability to interpret professional standards and guidelines and relate them to clinical service delivery
• Significant experience of working with children with complex needs

Travel:

Do you understand that this role will require daily travel across the South Gloucestershire area to both clinics and families homes?

Qualifications:

• Degree level qualification recognised by Professional Governing Body (Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists/Chartered Society of Physiotherapists/ Royal College of Occupational Therapists)
• HCPC Registration
• Post-graduate accredited Paediatric Dysphagia training
• Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration. This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.