Job summary
Team Lead Occupational Therapist- Surgical Therapy Team
Directorate: Cancer and Core clinical services
Care Group: Diagnostics and Therapies
Band: 7
Salary: £47,810 - £54,710 pro rata
Interview Date: 4th September 2025
We are looking for an experienced and enthusiastic Occupational Therapist to join the acute therapy team at Medway NHS Foundation Trust as the Occupational Therapy team lead for Surgical Therapy team.
You will be jointly managing alongside the Physiotherapy counterpart an integrated team of Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapist and Therapy assistants
Your team will be working as part of an MDT including therapy staff, nurses, CSW's, Doctors and more to ensure that our patients receive the highest quality of care.
We are looking for a candidate who shares our ambition and vision to deliver the best of care by the best of people. They must have the drive to take us forward , by ensuring that the trust continues to be the first choice for patients and our staff.
For further information or an informal conversation about the role please contact Zara Elenkova - Professional lead Occupational Therapist zara.elenkova@nhs.net
Main duties of the job
As a Team Lead Occupational Therapist, you will need to be motivated and enthusiastic with a broad range of acute hospital experience, demonstrable leadership skills with the ability to contribute to service development.
You will get an opportunity to develop your managerial and supervisory skills providing supervision to rotational Therapists, Therapy Assistants and Students. CPD is encouraged and supported.
We offer in-service training, peer groups, robust mandatory training in addition to many interesting courses run by the trust. External training is also supported where appropriate. The team provides robust Speciality specific training and upskills team members through area specific competencies.
Our values are Bold, Every Person Counts, Sharing and Open and Together. It is important that you understand and to refer to our values when completing your application and always reflect our values throughout your employment with the Trust.
We are committed to endorsing diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusion; our policies / procedures ensure that all applicants are treated fairly at every stage of the recruitment process.
To contribute to our exciting future and become part of our team, apply today.
About us
Do you have the ambition and vision to deliver our mission of theBest of Care by the Best of People providing excellent care, every time?
Here at Medway, we pride ourselves on working together as one to ensure that our shared vision is achieved for our patients.
As a key partner in the healthcare of our local population, we are keen to deliver this as an outcome of our Trust-wide strategy - Patient First. Using an Operational Excellence approach to align our priorities and operational management structures, we are just over a year and half into our Patient First deployment. We are looking for creative, skilled people to join our Transformation Team and further support us on this journey.
Our culture and values define us here at Medway NHS Foundation Trust and are the heartbeat of who we are as an organisation.
Our BEST values underpin Patient First and are at the core of the care we give to our patients, the support we offer to our staff and our overall leadership approach:
B - Bold
E - Every person counts
S - Sharing and open
T - Together
Our Trust is a great choice for people who want to develop their career in an ambitious and dynamic environment; our employees are able to choose the coverage and supplemental benefits that best fit their needs and those of their families. This includes the promotion of flexible working opportunities across the Trust.
Job description
Job responsibilities
To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of own work including responsibility of an allocated patient case/work load.
To undertake assessment, standardised and non-standardised, of patients including those with diverse and complex presentations and conditions: using clinical reasoning skills and assessment techniques to formulate individualised treatment plans and programmes.
To deliver individualised Occupational Therapy intervention and treatment programmes using a broad range of Occupational Therapy skills in individual and group settings.
To continually reassess patient progress, adapting treatment plans accordingly, and developing discharge plans.
To refer patients appropriately to other health and social care services according to protocol providing timely and detailed information to ensure good continuity of care.
To communicate effectively with patients and carers and other health care professionals using a wide range of verbal and non-verbal communication tools to share assessment findings, agree treatment plans, progress rehabilitation, give advice, teaching etc. This will include patients with communication and comprehension difficulties and those who may beunable to accept diagnosis/prognosis.
To undertake the day to day operational management of the Surgical therapy team ensuring that the team are supervised and supported.
Job description
Job responsibilities
To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of own work including responsibility of an allocated patient case/work load.
To undertake assessment, standardised and non-standardised, of patients including those with diverse and complex presentations and conditions: using clinical reasoning skills and assessment techniques to formulate individualised treatment plans and programmes.
To deliver individualised Occupational Therapy intervention and treatment programmes using a broad range of Occupational Therapy skills in individual and group settings.
To continually reassess patient progress, adapting treatment plans accordingly, and developing discharge plans.
To refer patients appropriately to other health and social care services according to protocol providing timely and detailed information to ensure good continuity of care.
To communicate effectively with patients and carers and other health care professionals using a wide range of verbal and non-verbal communication tools to share assessment findings, agree treatment plans, progress rehabilitation, give advice, teaching etc. This will include patients with communication and comprehension difficulties and those who may beunable to accept diagnosis/prognosis.
To undertake the day to day operational management of the Surgical therapy team ensuring that the team are supervised and supported.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Current Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
- Evidence of relevant post-graduate courses/CPD to Masters Level
- Degree/Diploma in Profesional Field
Knowledge
Essential
- Awareness of the challenges of group dynamics in patient groups
- Profficient in the use of Microsoft IT packages.
- Communicating with patients and a wide range of health care professionals.
- Able to work collaboratively within an MDT
Experience
Essential
- Relevant experience including broad range of clinical experience
- Awareness of principles of adult protection and safeguarding
- Experience in health, acute hospital or social care setting
- Experience in the correct handling and storage of data using paper or computer based entry systems
Skills
Essential
- Experience of carrying out assessment and treatment in the context of complex medical and psychological problems where there are likely to be conflicting expert opinions
- Diplomatic and persuasive communication technique to challenge current practice and change historic working practices
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Current Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
- Evidence of relevant post-graduate courses/CPD to Masters Level
- Degree/Diploma in Profesional Field
Knowledge
Essential
- Awareness of the challenges of group dynamics in patient groups
- Profficient in the use of Microsoft IT packages.
- Communicating with patients and a wide range of health care professionals.
- Able to work collaboratively within an MDT
Experience
Essential
- Relevant experience including broad range of clinical experience
- Awareness of principles of adult protection and safeguarding
- Experience in health, acute hospital or social care setting
- Experience in the correct handling and storage of data using paper or computer based entry systems
Skills
Essential
- Experience of carrying out assessment and treatment in the context of complex medical and psychological problems where there are likely to be conflicting expert opinions
- Diplomatic and persuasive communication technique to challenge current practice and change historic working practices
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
