Senior Occupational Therapist

Job overview

An exciting opportunity for a full time Band 6 Occupational Therapist has arisen within the Wigan Living Team, Wigan & Bolton directorate of Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH).

The post holder will deliver holistic occupational therapy assessments and interventions to service users being referred into the Living Well service establishing levels of function, identifying and engagement in their roles and meeting their values, evaluating and reducing risk and facilitating occupational performance to support recovery and enable the individual to live independently in their home environment. This may also include completion of occupational therapy assessments to support applications for housing or any longer term occupational therapy/rehab needs that would require support from other statutory NHS services

The post holder will be an active member of the Trust Network for Living Well pathways and will be involved in developing and implementing OT pathways.

We are looking for skilled and dynamic Occupational Therapist to join our fully integrated multidisciplinary team. The successful candidate be an enthusiastic, committed and highly motivated team player with excellent communication skills, providing evidence based clinical assessments and recovery focused interventions.

Main duties of the job

Job Summary/Purpose:

·To provide functional and cognitive Occupational Therapy assessments and interventions to support the individuals recovery

·Deal with complex physical and mental health needs, using evidence based/client centred principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate and record all interventions in line with relevant clinical pathways.

·To work with service users and their carers/family members on a 1:1 basis or in a group setting.

·To provide professional advice for junior and support staff, as well as students on placement.

·To participate in the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of the OT pathway within community service.

·To regularly supervise Occupational Therapy students on placement.

·To abide by HCPC standards, the Royal College of Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and the Royal College of Occupational Therapy Professional Standards for OT Practice.

Working for our organisation

Greater Manchester Mental Health (GMMH) Foundation Trust employs over 7000 members of staff, who deliver services from more than 122 locations.

We provide inpatient and community-based mental health care for people living in Bolton, the city of Manchester, Salford, Trafford and the borough of Wigan, and a wide range of specialist mental health and substance misuse services across Greater Manchester, the north west of England and beyond.

Greater Manchester is one of the world's most innovative, original and exciting places to live and work. From the beauty of the surrounding countryside to the heart of the vibrant inner city with great shopping, entertainment and dining options.

Wherever you go you will experience a great northern welcome with people famed for their warmth, humour and generosity.

Our people enjoy their work, have opportunities to learn and develop their skills and are encouraged to generate new ideas that improve care for our service users.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached job description and person specification

Staff benefits

• Pay Enhancements
• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays rising to 29 after 5 years and 33 days after 10 years
• Excellent pension
• Cycle to work scheme
• Salary sacrifice car scheme
• Wellbeing programme
• fuelGenie Fuel Cards (for applicable roles)

Person specification

Experience

Essential criteria

• A minimum of 2 years post registration experience as an Occupational Therapist, including 1 year experience of working in mental health.
• Experience of supervising others

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working in the community
• Experience of working in a range of mental health settings
• Experience of audit and research procedures

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Degree in Occupational Therapy.
• Post registration training relevant to mental health.
• Documented evidence of post graduate CPD as per RCOT guidelines to meet HCPC registration requirements, throughout career relevant to mental health field, , RCOT short courses, conference attendance, conditions management, theory updates, reflective practice etc.

Desirable criteria

• Post registration qualification in a clinically orientated area.
• Fieldwork Education qualification or obtaining the same within 6 months of appointment

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Comprehensive knowledge and application of OT models, assessment and interventions relevant to client group.
• Extensive clinical experience including individual and group work.
• Knowledge and application of standardised mental health assessments, outcome measures and specialist tools
• Ability to work autonomously and set own priorities in a demanding environment
• Ability to analyse and advice on professional and ethical issues.
• Supervisory/ Appraisal skills.
• Ability to reflect on and critically appraise own performance.
• Ability to organise and respond to complex, sensitive and contentious information.
• Computer literacy.
• Ability to build and maintain effective working relationships
• Knowledge of legislation and Training and presentation skills. AP/IN For Employment Services Use Only: Unique Reference Number: MTV3 current best practice.
• Knowledge of the principles of clinical governance and to actively participate in quality initiatives.
• Detailed knowledge and experience of risk assessment and management.
• Good knowledge of Safeguarding and Best Interest procedures.
• Extensive knowledge of current best practice in OT in mental health.

Desirable criteria

• Training and presentation skills.

skills and abilities

Essential criteria

• Be able to represent Occupational therapy at service level, by contributing to and implementing managerial actions.
• Initiate, plan and implement training sessions within the Trust
• Commitment to client centred, nondiscriminatory practice.
• Commitment to life-long learning.
• Have the flexibility to travel across the footprint of the Trust to complete role
• Self-awareness/self-management skills.
• Understand the Trusts Strategic Goals and how they can support them

The Trust mandates all post holders who require a DBS for their role to subscribe to the DBS Update Service. You will be required to enrol for this service for a fee of £16 per year and maintain registration throughout your employment with GMMH.

Applicants are encouraged to apply for posts at Greater Manchester Mental Health who have direct experience of mental health, learning disability or drug and alcohol services either as a service user or a carer.

The Trust is also committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults and requires all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We are aspiring to ensure our workforce is representative of the diverse communities that we serve, and we are strongly committed to removing barriers to employment for candidates from under-represented groups, for example BAME, Disabled and LGBT+ communities. If you would like to have an informal chat about the recruitment process for this role or would value some additional support, we’d love to hear from you.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) when writing job applications

A candidate may utilise the help of AI when writing job application. The assessment of an application is made on its entirety and most times AI-generated content does not fully grasp the context and requirements of the job one applies for thus producing inaccurate and misleading information, especially in the supporting statement section of an application that can lack real life examples of one’s achievements, success and challenges.

We have added a disclaimer to our application process advising that the use of AI is monitored. GMMH reserves the right to follow up with a candidate at the interview on specific responses and those examples used in the supporting statement to explore it further.

Sponsorship

We are proud to be an approved sponsor for the Skilled Worker visa. Applications from individuals who require sponsorship will be considered alongside all other applications. Please be aware that not all roles are eligible for sponsorship. You can review the list of eligible roles and salary requirements on the UK Government’s website – click .

If you are offered a role with us and you require sponsorship, we will check your eligibility in line with the information on the above website. Your offer of employment could be withdrawn if the role is not eligible for sponsorship, and you are not otherwise able to evidence your right to work in the UK.

The Home Office introduces new changes from 22/07/2025 that impact the health and care sector, you may wish to familiarise with it .

Do you have experience outside the NHS?

We want to attract and retain people with diverse skills and experience, to deliver inclusive healthcare services to our communities.

We will consider relevant experience outside the NHS to calculate your salary on appointment.