Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust

Speech & Language Clinical Lead for Dysphagia

The closing date is 12 September 2025

Job summary

This is an exciting opportunity for a Dysphagia Specialist Speech and Language Therapist to join theChildren's Therapies Team in North West Kent. This Band 7 role encompasses both leadership and clinicalwork in the community with children and families aged 0-19 years. The Children's Therapies Team is anintegrated therapies team providing Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy,Specialist Nurse Advisors and Care Co-ordinators to children and families within KCHFT.

You will be part of an innovative, cohesive and enthusiastic team of dysphagia therapists who have reimaginedKCHFT's dysphagia service. As part of our county-wide approach to the management of children withdysphagia, you will be able to offer virtual appointments to families across Kent, as well as locality-based faceto face sessions.You will provide support and supervision to other clinicians in the team managing children with dysphagia andsupport competencies for therapists completing Dysphagia specialist training. You will access and lead onfortnightly group supervision and CPD sessions, whilst building links with external stakeholders. You will workwith the other Dysphagia leads to monitor, review and develop pathways to ensure the service is able to offersafe, efficient and effective assessment and intervention in a timely way.

Main duties of the job

  • Supporting and leading on the Dysphagia pathways across Kent
  • Leading on service policy and clinical care pathways across KCHFT for dysphagia
  • Ensuring team members are working to agreed care pathway within dysphagia
  • Providing effective supervision, training and support to SLTs to enhance their CPD
  • Reporting and advising on development requirements in dysphagia to colleagues, Professional Leads, Team Leads, Locality Clinical Manager and Head of Service.
  • Participating in reflective practice and on going learning within these clinical fields
  • Carrying out delegated line management of staff
  • Managing a complex /specialist clinical caseload across 0-19 years

The role will be a hybrid model of working (virtual and face to face).We pride ourselves on the support and opportunities offered to staff at all stages in their career including;regular meetings with a line manager, access to supervision; in house and external training. We offer regularclinical governance days where all localities come together to share knowledge, skills and CPD experiences.

About us

Rated 'outstanding' by the CQC, we've got a passion for delivering high standards of patient care and excellent services to improve the health of our communities. To do this we need outstanding people who share our values compassionate Aspirational Responsive Excellent

We know a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion leads to better patient care and a happier workforce. We pride ourselves in being diverse and welcome applications from people with varied backgrounds, perspectives and experiences

We ask for information about your protected characteristics on our application forms. This isn't visible to anyone involved with shortlisting or interviewing you, except when you choose to be considered under the guaranteed interview scheme due to disability. Short listers will see two ticks alongside your application to ensure they apply the principles of the scheme to your submission

The data we collect helps us to ensure we are attracting diversity in our applicants, that all our colleagues have equitable access to career opportunities and supports us on our journey to being a Great Place to Work

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want you to be able to work in a way that is best for us, for our patients and for you. Talk to us about a flexible working arrangement that won't involve sacrificing time for personal interests or family commitments. We'll support you to work flexibly in a way that will suits us both

See where you can go with KCHFTcareer pathways

Details

Date posted

27 August 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£47,810 to £54,710 a year pro rata per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

846-7434456-EP

Job locations

Heathside Centre

Coxheath

ME17 4AH


Job description

Job responsibilities

As a community Trust many of our roles require individuals to be able to drive to perform their duties. As such you will be asked to confirm you have a full UK driving licence where driving is a requirement of the role to be able to proceed with your application. We are committed to supporting candidates with disabilities into employment, if you are unable to drive due to a disability, please contact the Recruitment Team via kentchft.recruitment@nhs.net quoting the vacancy reference number so we can support you further.

The job description and person specification gives you all the information you need about this role. Please look carefully at the criteria in the person specification and tell us what you have done that shows you meet this in your application. If you need an application form in an alternative format please let our recruitment team know. All information you supply on your application should, to the best of your knowledge, be true and accurate.

Still have questions? The recruiting manager would love to hear from you, their contact details can be found in the job advert.

We can get a lot of applications for some roles so to be in with the best chance of being shortlisted please make sure you apply as soon as possible. A vacancy may close early if there is a lot of interest in the job.

At KCHFT we strongly encourage colleagues in clinical and non-clinical roles who have direct or social contact with patients to be fully vaccinated. In this way we will be doing all we can to ensure your safety and that of your colleagues and the patients we serve.

Find out more about the community difference here.

Good luck! We cant wait to meet you and welcome you to #teamKCHFT, #cometocommunity.

Job description

Job responsibilities

As a community Trust many of our roles require individuals to be able to drive to perform their duties. As such you will be asked to confirm you have a full UK driving licence where driving is a requirement of the role to be able to proceed with your application. We are committed to supporting candidates with disabilities into employment, if you are unable to drive due to a disability, please contact the Recruitment Team via kentchft.recruitment@nhs.net quoting the vacancy reference number so we can support you further.

The job description and person specification gives you all the information you need about this role. Please look carefully at the criteria in the person specification and tell us what you have done that shows you meet this in your application. If you need an application form in an alternative format please let our recruitment team know. All information you supply on your application should, to the best of your knowledge, be true and accurate.

Still have questions? The recruiting manager would love to hear from you, their contact details can be found in the job advert.

We can get a lot of applications for some roles so to be in with the best chance of being shortlisted please make sure you apply as soon as possible. A vacancy may close early if there is a lot of interest in the job.

At KCHFT we strongly encourage colleagues in clinical and non-clinical roles who have direct or social contact with patients to be fully vaccinated. In this way we will be doing all we can to ensure your safety and that of your colleagues and the patients we serve.

Find out more about the community difference here.

Good luck! We cant wait to meet you and welcome you to #teamKCHFT, #cometocommunity.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Registered health care professional (HCPC registration)
  • Evidence of Post Graduate Specialist qualifications relevant to specialist area of practice ( dysphagia)
  • Speech & Language Therapy degree

Experience

Essential

  • Experience in area of practice Supporting others (mentor / educator / supervisor ) experience

Experience

Essential

  • Experience of leading and managing teams
  • Experience of developing policy and service development plans with practical experience of change management
  • Practical experience in managing health related projects/complex caseloads

special knowledge & Expertise

Essential

  • Evidence of continued relevant professional development and implementation in practice within the last 12 months

skills & abilities

Essential

  • Ability to manage time effectively, priorities and work under pressure to meet deadlines
  • Highly developed facilitation skills
  • Strong influencing and negotiating skills
  • Ability to communicate complex, sensitive information to individuals and groups
  • Ability to work effectively with a variety of people at all organisational levels across different sectors including areas of social deprivation

Personal attributes

Essential

  • Ability to work under pressure
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Registered health care professional (HCPC registration)
  • Evidence of Post Graduate Specialist qualifications relevant to specialist area of practice ( dysphagia)
  • Speech & Language Therapy degree

Experience

Essential

  • Experience in area of practice Supporting others (mentor / educator / supervisor ) experience

Experience

Essential

  • Experience of leading and managing teams
  • Experience of developing policy and service development plans with practical experience of change management
  • Practical experience in managing health related projects/complex caseloads

special knowledge & Expertise

Essential

  • Evidence of continued relevant professional development and implementation in practice within the last 12 months

skills & abilities

Essential

  • Ability to manage time effectively, priorities and work under pressure to meet deadlines
  • Highly developed facilitation skills
  • Strong influencing and negotiating skills
  • Ability to communicate complex, sensitive information to individuals and groups
  • Ability to work effectively with a variety of people at all organisational levels across different sectors including areas of social deprivation

Personal attributes

Essential

  • Ability to work under pressure

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

Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Heathside Centre

Coxheath

ME17 4AH


Employer's website

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


Employer details

Employer name

Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Heathside Centre

Coxheath

ME17 4AH


Employer's website

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


Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Locality Clinical Manager

Lindsey Tilley

lindsey.tilley@nhs.net

Details

Date posted

27 August 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£47,810 to £54,710 a year pro rata per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

846-7434456-EP

Job locations

Heathside Centre

Coxheath

ME17 4AH


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)