Senior Occupational Therapist

Job summary

Join our acute inpatient mental health Occupational Therapy service and make a real difference.We are seeking a Senior Occupational Therapist to play a key role in delivering high-quality, recovery-focused care within a compassionate and therapeutic environment.

As a Senior Occupational Therapist, you will:

• Provide strong clinical leadership, working closely with the Clinical and Operational Lead Occupational Therapist.
• Champion evidence-based practice to enhance service quality and responsiveness.
• Support the Service Manager in developing operational and clinical mechanisms, including deputising in their absence.
• Collaborate with ward-based Occupational Therapists, ensuring effective oversight of OT provision and smooth transition to the Shared Therapies team.

Our service is committed to promoting recovery and enabling sustainable transitions from inpatient care to community support. You will help create safe, therapeutic spaces for individuals at an acute stage of their illness, ensuring compassionate treatment and care throughout their journey.

Main duties of the job

• Maintain a strong clinical presence by delivering individual interventions and overseeing the full range of therapeutic activities within the team.
• Demonstrate advanced expertise in acute mental health care and share this knowledge effectively, promoting recovery-focused practice and social inclusion.
• Proactively manage your own caseload, prioritising tasks efficiently to meet competing demands.
• Assess complex service user needs using professional judgement and evidence-based approaches, ensuring accountability for clinical decisions.
• Ensure every service user has a current, collaboratively developed Occupational Therapy plan tailored to their individual needs.
• Apply leadership principles adapting strategies to meet changing service requirements.
• Work closely with ward-based Occupational Therapists to ensure the delivery of high-quality, needs-led Occupational Therapy services.
• Contribute to clinical development through mentoring, coaching, and supporting student education and fieldwork placement

About us

Join 'Team Derbyshire Healthcare' and become part of a talented, compassionate and enthusiastic workforce committed to a vision of 'making a positive difference in people's lives'.

CQC rated us as 'GOOD' overall, commenting on how our colleagues "treated patients with compassion and kindness" and "felt positive and proud about working for the trust."

Benefits include:

• Commitment to flexible working where this is possible

• 27 days annual leave/year plus bank holidays, increasing to 29 days after 5 years & 33 days after 10 years' service

• Yearly appraisal and commitment to ongoing training

• Generous NHS pension scheme

• Good maternity, paternity and adoption benefits

• Health service discounts and online benefits

• Incremental pay progression

• Free confidential employee assistance programme 24/7

• Access to our LGBT+ network, BAME Network and Christian Network

• Health and wellbeing opportunities

• Structured learning and development opportunities