Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist in Milton Keynes

Fixed Term Contract Up to 12-months

Location: Northampton

Specialist Services, Autism

Salary: £47,741 per annum, pro rata

Hours: Ideally 37.5 per week but open to flexibility

We are looking for a driven, passionate and experienced Occupational Therapist who is committed to providing quality driven care for those within our services. We want someone who is focussed on the quality and development of clinical outcomes, as well as supporting the overall management and leadership of the occupational therapy service within the hospital. The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate the highly specialist skills they have developed over their career as well as evidence of their ability to manage and lead others.

The successful candidate will be expected to support the Lead Occupational Therapist in driving the occupational therapy strategy forward; contributing to continual quality improvement and service innovation. They will also require the skills to role model and energise the workforce; understanding that the health and wellbeing of our staff is critical to the care and treatment of those using our service.

Our Charity: We are St Andrew's. We are a mental health charity and our purpose is to inspire hope for those living with complex mental health needs. We are looking to a future with less stigma, more community support, more research and education, and we aim to be at the forefront of inspiring real change. We want to ensure we can all live in a society where everyone with complex mental health needs is heard, valued and has hope for their future. Come and join us and support us to help people transform their lives.

Specialist Services: Our aim is to provide high-quality assessment, care and treatment, helping patients to progress to the least restrictive setting by equipping them with the skills required to live as independently as possible, closer to communities of their choosing. Our teams are multi-disciplinary with extensive knowledge, skills and experience of working with individuals with complex needs. We include patients in planning their care, valuing and embracing each and every individual's unique qualities.

The role sits within our specialist services, working within our wards that specialise in caring for people with autism. As a highly experienced registered occupational therapist, you would be joining a motivated, knowledgeable and innovative OT team. You will contribute to a multi-disciplinary clinical team; taking responsibility for a clinical caseload, and offering OT specific assessment and treatment to groups and individuals within your care. Strong communication skills are essential, both written and verbal, with the ability to develop good professional relationships with your clinical team and the wider senior leadership team. Alongside your clinical workload you will be responsible for a small team and the overall development of the occupational therapy service within the division.

Applicant requirements:

• Ideally 5 years experience as an occupational therapist.
• Ideally 2 years of line management and leadership responsibilities.
• Ideally post graduate training in sensory integration and/or evidence of the use of sensory approach within practice.
• Experience working in at least one of the following clinical areas: Secure Services, LD or ASD Services, Mental Health Care.
• Evidence of an ability to undertake quality assurance tasks; continuous quality improvement projects, auditing, service development within the unit and division.
• Ability to independently undertake tasks related to HR, investigations and safeguarding.
• Evidence of working on divisional level initiatives/research/leadership projects.
• Evidence of leading and inspiring others in their career.

As an employee of St Andrews you will adopt an inclusive and can do attitude in approaching your work. You will demonstrate excellent understanding of occupational therapy within secure/ Learning Disability / Autism services, including an application of risk assessment skills. In sharing your experience of applying the OT process, you should also emphasise how you promote our specialism as a profession. Continued professional development is encouraged, with access to a range of in-house CPD events, as well as an expectation to support the development and training of others. Further opportunities include networking opportunities with colleagues of the same and different grades within the service and the Charity.

We offer an excellent package that includes:

• Pension; Sickness policy on par with the NHS; Access to the Blue Light Card and Health Service Discounts schemes;
• 27 days annual leave (plus bank holidays), increasing to 33 days after 10 years' service;
• Life cover; Electric Car lease scheme; Cycle to work scheme; Healthcare cash plan; Free parking; Paid DBS application; Access to free vocational qualifications.
• On-site facilities such as cafes all set within beautiful grounds.

If this sounds like you then we'd love you to get in touch.

Closing Date: Tuesday 17th February 2026