Occupational Therapist - CMHA Lead OT

Site Tolworth Hospital Town Tolworth Salary £55,524 - £62,652 pro rata per annum inclusive of outer London HCAS Salary period Yearly Closing 15/11/2026 23:59

South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We provide a full range of local mental health services to the Kingston, Merton, Richmond, Sutton and Wandsworth London boroughs, as well as specialist forensic mental health services, including specialised services such as national deaf adults and CAMHS inpatients and OCD.

We are committed to providing high quality integrated health and social care for local people with mental health problems in South West London and more specialist mental health services for people throughout the UK. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’ however we aim to be ‘outstanding’.

Our Values

We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values; being consistent, compassionate, collaborative, respectful and open is at the heart of everything we do. Our mission is "making life better together".

When you join us, you’ll be part of something special – an innovative and rapidly growing organisation that is helping to redefine the Mental Health, education and social care landscape in the UK.

As a Trust, we are happy to talk flexible working.

Job overview

We are looking for an enthusiastic and committed Occupational Therapist experienced in working in mental health services for older adults to provide Occupational Therapy leadership to the CMHA (cognition and mental health in ageing) service line.

The service line has skilled and dedicated Occupational Therapists working in inpatient mental health services, community mental health services, memory assessment services and within care home liaison services.

This role would be providing clinical and professional supervision, supporting continuing professional development through regular forums, working to develop and maintain consistent effective services across the 5 boroughs and contributing to audits and service improvement/ quality improvement projects within the service line.

This a great opportunity for an experienced Occupational Therapist to further develop their leadership skills in this area.

This is a new post which would suit someone with significant experience working with older adults in mental health services and with experience and enthusiasm in developing staff and services and improving quality and effectiveness for our service users.

The postholder will be based within one of the CMHA team bases (depending on postholder) but they will be expected to travel between the trust sites and borough teams as needed.

Main duties of the job

The main duties of this role include maintaining and developing high quality Occupational therapy services across our CMHA teams through providing clinical and professional supervision to Occupational Therapists working in the CMHA service line in both inpatient and community settings, organising and facilitating regular professional development forums, working with service line management to identify areas for service quality improvement and service development and being part of ongoing work around productivity, effectiveness and quality.

Although the role does not have a fixed clinical component the post holder will be expected to be flexible in working alongside and jointly with Occupational therapists in the services in order to support development of staff or processes or to support service delivery at times of increased demand or reduced capacity.

The role will also be part of the wider trust OT leadership team and will contribute to and lead projects in wider trust wise Occupational therapy services as appropriate.

Working for our organisation

We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust.

We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’ - we aspire to be ‘outstanding’.

This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services as we invest a further £120m to upgrade and modernise our estate by 2027.

We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.

We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.

Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.

Unless expressly stated in the job advert the role is not subject to sponsorship, please be advised that all offers of employment are subject to evidence of right to work in the UK.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To apply a high level of understanding of the effects of disability on occupational performance and provide training and advice on lifestyles changes and environmental solutions to the service user’s social and physical needs.
• To promote equality of outcome for service users that reflect their mental health needs and those of ethnicity, gender, culture physical health and age.
• To promote social inclusion and physical and mental well-being using evidence based practice. This is underpinned by the principles of hope and recovery, health promotion and relapse prevention.
• To independently manage a clinical caseload of service users with complex mental health needs, taking on the role of care co-ordinator and/or vocational lead where relevant.
• To identify occupational therapy goals as part of the overall care plan, using specialist mental health and occupational therapy assessments, including Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) tools.
• To exercise independent clinical professional judgement in complex clinical cases and difficult clinical situation, referring to team members when necessary.
• To consider both physical and mental health needs as part of the occupational therapy process.
• To plan and implement specialist individual and/or group interventions collaboratively, to enable service users to achieve valued goals and satisfactory occupational performance outcome.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in job applications

If you have used AI to support the preparation of your application, please briefly indicate how it was used within your supporting statement or application form.

Please remember, your application is your opportunity to tell us about your skills, experience and motivation for the role. We encourage applicants to complete your application and supporting statement in your own words wherever possible. We recognise that AI tools can be helpful in supporting accessibility, and for improving spelling, grammar and structure.

Applications that rely heavily on AI-generated content can become generic and fail to accurately reflect your applicant's individual experience. Applications that clearly demonstrate your own voice, reflections and experiences are often the most effective and help we are better understand your suitability for the role.

Please be aware that information provided in your application and supporting statement may be explored further during the selection process. It is important that all applications accurately represent your own knowledge, skills and experience.

Person specification

Experience

• Experience of carrying a caseload of service users with complex and diverse needs in a mental health setting.
• Experience of working in an inter-professional team.
• Experience of working in a multi-agency environment.
• Experience of working within a range of mental health settings
• Experience of working as an occupational therapist in Older Adults services

Training and Qualifications

• Diploma or degree in Occupational Therapy
• Registration to practice in the UK
• Evidence of post registration training relevant to mental health practice
• Practice placement educators course within one year of appointment

Knowledge and Skills

• Highly developed interpersonal skills enabling therapeutic alliances to be developed & maintained with service users who have multiple & complex needs
• Basic word processing and IT skills
• Proficient standard of written communication skills
• Ability to work autonomously and set own priorities
• Working knowledge of model of human occupation tools

At South West London St Georges Mental Health Trust we are committed to providing services which embrace diversity and that promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Committed Employer, and welcome applications from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We are Members of Stonewall Diversity Champions and Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion.

As part of the Trust's commitment to Equalities and Diversity, the Trust supports the establishment of Staff Networks groups to promote diversity in the workplace:

• BME (Evolve) Staff Network
• DiverseAbility
• Mental Health Staff Forum
• Women's Staff Network
• LGBTQIA+

We are committed to supporting the Armed Forces Community and has signed the Armed Forces Covenant.

We provide reasonable adjustments to the interview process for any candidates with a disability.

Please note:

• That the closing date listed is a guide only and that the vacancy may close earlier should sufficient number of applicants have been received
• That once you have submitted your application you agree to your application being transferred to a 3 rd party e-recruitment system
• That should you not have heard from us within three weeks from the closing date your application has not successful
• That priority consideration for applications may be given to at‑risk NHS employees
• That should you be successful and appointed, you authorise South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust to confirm your previous NHS service via an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process
• That your employment is offered subject to successful completion of a Probationary Period depending on your Band (except medical roles)
• That we are a smoke‑free Trust

South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process, including job applications, sponsorship arrangements, or employment offers. The contact details published on our official website are the Trust’s authorised contact channels and should be used for all recruitment communications, job applications, and verification of employment offers.

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.

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