Verified Skilled Worker sponsor

Head of SALT and Children & Young People Therapies

South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust

Sunderland, SR4 7TP £66,582 – £77,368 a year Permanent Posted 1 September 2026 Apply by 15 September 2026

Home Office register entry: South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, Sunderland

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Role description

Job summary

Are you a passionate Speech and Language Therapist looking for an exciting

leadership opportunity? We are seeking a compassionate Head of Service for Speechand Language Therapy, where your expertise and strategic vision will shapethe delivery of care for children, young people, adults and families across South Tyneside and Sunderland.

In this role, you'll provide guidance, leadership, and support to a talented team, helping to deliver high quality Speech and Language Therapy, Childrens Occupational Therapy and Childrens

Physiotherapy Services.

If you're looking for a role where you can make a real difference, lead with warmth, and work alongside a supportive and caring team, we'd love to hear from you!

You will be a passionate clinical leader with a strong knowledge of the

Speech and Language Therapy (SaLT)and Childrens Integrated Therapies (CIT)

landscape. You will be a visible and compassionate leader who is solution-focused, able to work

effectively as part of a team, and able to identify and lead change to maximise opportunities.

You will be a voice and champion for the SaLT and CIT team, working with staff and other Heads of Service to ensure they are closely integrated with the other clinical teams.

You will work closely with Directorate Manager, Clinical Director for Therapies and other Heads of Service

across the Directorate, supporting with senior leadership tasks.

Main duties of the job

You will provide strategic and professional leadership across Speech and Language Therapy (Adults and Children) and Childrens Integrated Therapies (Childrens Occupational Therapy and Childrens physiotherapy) services for South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust (STSFT),working with the Clinical Leads to plan, implement and monitor service delivery of highly specialist,evidence based care across the Trust.

-You will as Professional Head of Speech & Language Therapy, will have professional responsibility and accountability for Speech & Language Therapists.

-You will as Professional Lead represent Speech and Language Therapy and Childrens Therapies in all relevant internal meetings with Senior Managers, Clinical Directors and externally including partnerorganisations, HEIs, commissioners and across the wider South Tyneside and Sunderland footprint.

- You will maintain a clinical role as an expert practitioner in their specialist clinical area and level of practice (specialist, advance practice, consultant level).

You will be expected to have a clear understanding of how this post contributes to the achievement of the trust vision of delivering Excellence in All That We Do. STSFT is a thriving Foundation Trust at the heart of an integrated healthcare system that delivers improved patient care at a community and hospital settings. STSFT encourages research, education and employee engagement. We expect all our staff to share the values that are important to the Trust.

About us

Please add your telephone number to your application form so we can contact you quickly if required.

One Team One Trust - There are many reasons to work at our Trust. From our commitment to putting people first to our accessible services and award winning teams. We have a passion for research, innovation and tackling inequalities. We are committed to respect, fairness and civility and promote a compassionate, caring and positive culture / working environment.

We welcome all applications irrespective of peoples race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups. Looking after our workforces health and wellbeing is a priority for us. We also provide access to high quality education, training, career progression and support. Flexible working is supported via our Flexible Working Policy.

The Trust employs around 8,746 people and provides a range of hospital services to a local community of around 430,000 residents. We also provide a range of more specialised services outside this area. We offer our staff outstanding benefits - Fitness Centre (SRH), libraries at both hospital sites, chaplaincy support and access to a Care Co-ordinator to help staff with childcare arrangements.If you use AI, and it poses a risk to the integrity of your individual recruitment process, we may withdraw your application at any stage of the process.

Date posted

01 September 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8b

Salary

£66,582 to £77,368 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

C9155-CSAHP-0926-04

Job locations

Sunderland Royal Hospital

Kayll Road

Sunderland

SR4 7TP

United Kingdom

STSFT

Sunderland Children's Centre

Durham Road

Sunderland

SR4 3AG

United Kingdom

Palmer Community Hospital

Wear Street

JARROW

Tyne And Wear

NE32 3UX

United Kingdom

STSFT

South Tyneside District Hospital

South Shields

NE34 0PL

United Kingdom

STSFT

Cleadon Park PCC

The Nook

South Shields

NE34 8PS

United Kingdom

Job description

Job responsibilities

To be responsible for the overall management, leadership, strategic planning and development and delivery of Speech and Language Therapy (SaLT) and Childrens Therapies within and out with the organisation.
To role model compassionate and inclusive leadership along with professional clinical leadership.
To work in partnership with key managers/staff within and out with the Directorate to ensure that quality patient services are provided.
To be professionally accountable for the direct delivery of clinical services.
To be accountable for the continuous professional development of the service.
To provide advice and expertise to Therapy Services and the Trust to enable the delivery of appropriate and effective services.
To provide clear professional leadership to staff to enable patient-centred delivery of care, modernisation and service development
To be responsible for the development of safe, evidence based working practices and policies for an area within Therapy Services.
To formulate long-term strategic plans for an area within Therapy Services addressing local regional and national influences.
To prepare realistic and achievable forward looking business plans in line with the strategic planning of the Trust.
To develop new ways of working and new roles in order to develop the capacity and capability of the workforce.
To ensure and facilitate a culture of research and development activity.
To work with and influence a range or organisations to ensure partnership working.
To ensure the delivery of a programme of undergraduate and post-graduate education.
To be responsible for the implementation of Clinical Governance within the service and the development of an annual forward plan.
To work as an autonomous practitioner, devising and delivering specialised programmes of care.
To maintain registration with the Health Care Professions Council.
To motivate and encourage staff particularly in times of sustained pressure e.g. equipment breakdowns, staff shortages and capacity shortages
Responsible for leading workforce and service developments and redesign, as appropriate, to ensure service to patients is delivered to highest professional standards and in line with best practice
Responsible for ensuring that all practices, legal, ethical and professional are adhered to within the service and where necessary appropriately challenge these practices.
PLEASE REFER TO THE ATTACHED JOB DESCRIPTION FOR FULL DUTIES OF THE ROLE

Person Specification

Skills

Essential

Innovative problem solving/analytical skills.
Excellent interpersonal skills including being able to communicate effectively across all disciplines clinical and managerial and at all levels
Strategic vision and planning skills and the ability to explore imaginative ways of optimising use of resources
Ability to lead and embed change
Visible and supportive leadership style. With the capability, confidence, temperament and self-motivation to see projects through to completion
Experience of planning and service development in a complex organisation resulting in improvements in delivery or practice
Able to negotiate, persuade and influence at a senior level with executive management, consultants, external stakeholders and other groups on highly complex, sensitive and contentious issues

Desirable

Project Management experience

Experience

Essential

Experience, knowledge and proven track record of delivery in managing and developing a range of diverse and complex operational services.
Experience of managing a complex and demanding workload.
Ability to translate strategic plans into operation reality.
Experience of successfully leading professional groups.
Able to condense multiple and often conflicting information sources into simple formats
Experience of effective partnership and collaborative working
Experience of workforce planning and development

Physical Skills

Essential

Ability to meet the travel requirements of the role.

Qualifications

Essential

Possess highly developed specialist knowledge acquired through formal qualifications and/or relevant specialist experience in practice equivalent to Masters level.
Relevant degree in Speech and Language Therapy.
Registration with HCPC
Proven management experience at a senior level including dealing with a range of HR matters, financial management, project management, change management, management information systems, governance and recognised leadership qualification or willing to work towards.

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.

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.