Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist, Universal Therapy Service in London

We are looking for an experienced Occupational Therapist to join the Haringey Universal Therapy Service (HUTS) with an interest in early intervention, workforce development and service innovation. HUTS includes Occupational Therapy and Speech and Language Therapy and supports children aged 0–19 years, with a strong emphasis on early intervention and the 0–5 age group. This is an exciting opportunity to develop skills in universal practice, service development and project work.

The postholder will work as part of HUTS to develop and deliver a universal occupational therapy offer for children under 5 with functional needs related to sensory and motor development. This will involve working closely with professionals across health, education, early years settings and community groups, as well as supporting parents and carers directly. HUTS is an evolving service, with established elements of the offer and exciting opportunities for service development, innovation and project work. The postholder will be supported by the HUTS Clinical Lead and will work collaboratively to develop the service, including identifying priorities, implementing new initiatives and evaluating impact.

Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required.

Person specification

• Education and qualifications: Diploma or Degree in Occupational Therapy, Registered Member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, Health and Care Professions Council Registration to Practice.
• Knowledge and experience: Significant experience working at a specialist clinical level with supervisory responsibilities, Evidence of CPD in specialist area.
• Skills and abilities: Highly developed clinical skills and post-graduate experience in working with children with additional needs focusing on childhood occupation, using standardised assessments and implementing specialised treatment approaches.
• Experience of using digital technology to provide information, advice and training.
• Experience contributing to or leading service development or quality improvement initiatives.
• Experience implementing a range of therapeutic interventions for children in homes, early years settings and/or mainstream schools.
• Experience of planning and implementing programmes of support and therapeutic interventions for children in specialist area.
• Experience of collaborative, multi-agency and multi-disciplinary working.
• Experience developing or delivering training for non-specialist workforce (e.g. HVs, early years staff).
• Experience training parents/carers and staff from other agencies in the identification and management of children with additional needs.
• Experience of managing demand and setting priority criteria.
• Experience of implementing the principles of clinical governance in clinical practice (e.g. clinical audits).
• Up-to-date knowledge of relevant national policies, legislation and guidance relevant to clinical specialism.
• Knowledge of early intervention approaches and workforce development models.

Skills and abilities

• Ability to translate clinical knowledge into practical strategies for non-specialist staff.
• Strong skills in influencing and supporting change in other professionals’ practice, including workforce development approaches.
• Ability to identify patterns of need and respond at a population/service level.
• Ability to carry out a range of assessments to support differential diagnosis and evaluation of progress.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with regard to individual client management (including empathy, observation and interview skills).
• Ability to work effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary team including excellent communication, liaison, negotiation, and influencing skills.
• Ability to be an effective team member and assume leadership responsibilities.
• Ability to negotiate and deal with conflict.
• Ability to manage complaints and prevent escalation wherever possible.
• Excellent analytical, reflective and problem solving skills.
• Ability to present effective verbal and written reports for clients, carers, colleagues and managers.
• Ability to organise and prioritise timetables and workload of junior colleagues, assistants and students.
• Ability to work calmly under pressure and be flexible to demands.
• Up-to-date knowledge of relevant national policies, legislation and guidance relevant to clinical area.
• Ability to devise and deliver training and to provide programmes of support to parents/carers taking into account cultural and linguistic backgrounds and disability.
• Ability to devise and deliver training to professionals within Health, Education and Social Care.
• Ability to use standardised outcome measures and set up non-standardised outcome measures that are appropriate for the clinical area and client group.

Knowledge and experience

• Knowledge of universal OT service delivery models and how these link to targeted and specialist pathways.
• Highly specialist knowledge of a range of assessment or screening tools and procedures.
• Well established knowledge of a range of universal, targeted and highly specialist therapeutic interventions relevant to occupational therapy.
• Ability to cope with and empathise with distressed families and children.
• Ability to work as a team player and to encourage team working.

SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN AND ADULTS

To comply with the Trust’s Safeguarding Children and Adults policies, procedures and protocols. All individual members of staff (paid or unpaid) have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This will require you to:

• Ensure you are familiar with and comply with the London Child Protection Procedures and protocols for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people.
• Ensure you are familiar and comply with the London Multi Agency Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Pan London Procedures.
• Ensure you are familiar and comply with local protocols and systems for information sharing.
• Know the appropriate contact numbers and required reporting lines.
• Participate in required training and supervision.
• Comply with required professional boundaries and codes of conduct.

Whittington Health is committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.