Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Occupational Therapist

The closing date is 01 January 2026

Job summary

We are seeking to recruit a B6 Occupational Therapist to join our well-established and innovative community learning disability team in Horsham.

You will have a passion for improving the lives of adults with learning disabilities, collaborating within and across services to deliver results, and be passionate about developing your own skills and those of your colleagues.

We are a friendly, supportive and creative multi-disciplinary team, dedicated to achieving great outcomes for adults with learning disabilities. We are a service that has clear objectives linked to the latest national policies and are dedicated to delivering the highest quality care through evidence-based care pathways. We are co-located with our social work colleagues and work closely in partnership with them, as well as with families, paid carers and the wider systems that support people.

Main duties of the job

As a learning disability Occupational Therapist, you will use your specialist skills and understanding of the relationship between the individual, their environment and their occupations to support people with complex health needs to live well with their learning disability. You will provide specialist occupational therapy assessments and interventions for people referred to the service as well as contributing to the core tasks of the team.

Contributing to the management of a team caseload of individuals with complex needs, you will assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions, which will be delivered in a variety of community settings, including:

- Family homes

- Residential and supported living services

- Day services

- Community facilities

You will have the flexibility to manage your workload in the community, however you will be expected to spend some time working from the central team base in Horsham.

You will be supervised by one of the team's B7 Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapists.

About us

As a mental health trust Sussex Partnership places a huge focus on the wellbeing of our staff, as well as ensuring our reward packages reflect the immensely important work they do.

You can expect:

  • Excellent supervision programmes.
  • Flexible working opportunities
  • Access to a host of discount schemes (including gyms, shopping, restaurants and cars)
  • Generous holiday entitlement
  • Excellent NHS Pension Scheme
  • The trust also offers a wide range of training specifically targeted towards AHPs and promotes ongoing learning.

Details

Date posted

18 December 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£38,682 to £46,580 a year pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

354-LD-20312

Job locations

County Hall North (Parkside)

Chart Way

Horsham

RH12 1XH


Job description

Job responsibilities

REQUIREMENTS

In order to be a successful specialist occupational therapist in our team you will be:

Registered with HCPC as an Occupational Therapist

Comfortable working in a complex and varied role

Keen to develop your specialist skills to support adults with learning disabilities with their mental health, physical health and behaviour support needs

It would also be advantageous if you have:

Experience working with people with learning disabilities

This post will be based in Horsham and will primarily cover Horsham, Crawley, Mid-Sussex and surrounding rural areas. However, a willingness and ability to travel across West Sussex (and sometimes further) will be needed, as required to meet the needs of the service. SPFT staff have the capacity to work from home remotely where applicable and in agreement with your line manager.

MAIN DUTIES

To provide occupational therapy interventions for referred clients using evidence based, client centred principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions

  • To manage an appropriate complex clinical caseload
  • To complete initial assessments on behalf of the team
  • To participate in the team triage rota
  • To act as a lead practitioner for designated clients
  • To promote evidence based practice in occupational therapy in learning disability services.
  • To contribute to the development of multi-disciplinary best practice clinical guidelines and protocols.
  • To contribute to the provision of high-quality practice placements

We believe our service will be the best it can be if we have a diverse workforce and one that reflects the population we serve. Our workforce is currently under-represented from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic and disabled communities and we would greatly welcome applications from these communities.

Please see attached Job Description for full details.

For more information please contact:

Cathy Haydon (West Sussex LDInterim Occupational Therapy Professional Lead - Learning Disability and Neurodevelopmental Services)

Eleanor Taylor (Team Leader) - eleanor.taylor@spft.nhs.uk

Job description

Job responsibilities

REQUIREMENTS

In order to be a successful specialist occupational therapist in our team you will be:

Registered with HCPC as an Occupational Therapist

Comfortable working in a complex and varied role

Keen to develop your specialist skills to support adults with learning disabilities with their mental health, physical health and behaviour support needs

It would also be advantageous if you have:

Experience working with people with learning disabilities

This post will be based in Horsham and will primarily cover Horsham, Crawley, Mid-Sussex and surrounding rural areas. However, a willingness and ability to travel across West Sussex (and sometimes further) will be needed, as required to meet the needs of the service. SPFT staff have the capacity to work from home remotely where applicable and in agreement with your line manager.

MAIN DUTIES

To provide occupational therapy interventions for referred clients using evidence based, client centred principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions

  • To manage an appropriate complex clinical caseload
  • To complete initial assessments on behalf of the team
  • To participate in the team triage rota
  • To act as a lead practitioner for designated clients
  • To promote evidence based practice in occupational therapy in learning disability services.
  • To contribute to the development of multi-disciplinary best practice clinical guidelines and protocols.
  • To contribute to the provision of high-quality practice placements

We believe our service will be the best it can be if we have a diverse workforce and one that reflects the population we serve. Our workforce is currently under-represented from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic and disabled communities and we would greatly welcome applications from these communities.

Please see attached Job Description for full details.

For more information please contact:

Cathy Haydon (West Sussex LDInterim Occupational Therapy Professional Lead - Learning Disability and Neurodevelopmental Services)

Eleanor Taylor (Team Leader) - eleanor.taylor@spft.nhs.uk

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Degree/Diploma in occupational therapy
  • Registration with the HPC as an occupational therapist

Knowledge/Experience

Essential

  • Experience of multidisciplinary working
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Degree/Diploma in occupational therapy
  • Registration with the HPC as an occupational therapist

Knowledge/Experience

Essential

  • Experience of multidisciplinary working

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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).

Employer details

Employer name

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Address

County Hall North (Parkside)

Chart Way

Horsham

RH12 1XH


Employer's website

https://www.sussexpartnership.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer details

Employer name

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Address

County Hall North (Parkside)

Chart Way

Horsham

RH12 1XH


Employer's website

https://www.sussexpartnership.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Senior Occupational Therapist

Cathy Haydon

catherine.haydon1@nhs.net

01903953279

Details

Date posted

18 December 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£38,682 to £46,580 a year pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

354-LD-20312

Job locations

County Hall North (Parkside)

Chart Way

Horsham

RH12 1XH


Supporting documents

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