Verified Skilled Worker sponsor

Senior Occupational Therapist

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Seaton Delaval, Whitley Bay, NE25 0QJ £39,959 – £48,117 a year Fixed-Term Posted 4 September 2026 Apply by 20 September 2026

Home Office register entry: Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne

Visa sponsorship

This role is listed by an employer that holds a live Home Office sponsor licence on the Skilled Worker route.

Closest occupation match: SOC 2222, Occupational therapists. Pay for this occupation is set by national pay scales (NHS bands), so no single Home Office going rate applies.

This occupation falls under the Health and Care Worker route. Public reference figures for that route: the general salary minimum is £25,000 a year, and salaries set by national pay scales (NHS bands) at or above the relevant band rate typically meet the occupation's requirement. Individual eligibility depends on personal circumstances. These figures are public reference information, not advice or a verdict on this job.

Role description

Job summary

We have an exciting opportunity for a part time Senior Occupational Therapist to cover maternity leave on a fixed term contract for 12 months.

This is a fantastic and exciting opportunity to join a dynamic developing team and be at the cutting edge of delivering acute care to patients in their own home.

The Community Response Service team facilitates early discharges from hospital, who otherwise would have stayed in hospital due to therapy needs, and provide rehab for up to 2 weeks to meet the short-term goals for them to be able to remain at home. They work with the virtual ward teams and other teams within Community Response Service to provide assessments to those who are at risk of hospital admission.

You will be part of a large multidisciplinary team and have opportunities to work individually and with Physiotherapists, Nurse Practitioners, Occupational Therapists, Pharmacists and other Associate Therapy Practitioners.

Please note we reserve the right to close this vacancy prior to the closing date once the required number of suitable applications have been received.

Main duties of the job

To ensure service provision is prioritised and service delivery is made effectively within resource constraints.
To deliver a comprehensive service for a complex case load.
To manage a defined caseload of patients, using evidence based clinical reasoning to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions.
To assess for and monitor the provision of adaptations when appropriate.
To provide clinical education, supervision and support to staff and students within the specialist field.
To provide specialist advice to families, carers, and other health and social care professionals.
To participate in the planning, development and evaluation of OT services within a designated area/team, holding responsibility for defined projects through specialist interest and steering groups.
To contribute to the maintenance and development of the Occupational Therapy Team across Northumbria Healthcare Trust. To practice within the multidisciplinary team, providing specialist Occupational Therapy assessments, diagnosis and treatment using clinical reasoning skills.

About us

We manage three major locality hospitals at North Tyneside, Wansbeck and Hexham, plus a number of smaller community hospitals and clinics from Tynemouth to Berwick on Tweed, covering one of the largest geographical areas of any NHS trust in the country. Leading in innovation and quality - opening a state of the art Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, the first of its kind in England. Do you want to work in one of the best performing NHS organisations in England? Work in an organisation that supports its staff and focuses on staff experience as much as it does the experience of its patients? You can live and breathe in an area that has the cleanest air, cost effective living, great nightlife, some of the best schools with a wealth of history available on your doorstep. Sound too good to be true? Well it isn't, this is what you get when you work for Northumbria Healthcare, this is the Northumbria Way! Please read 'applicant guidance notes' before submitting your application.

Date posted

04 September 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£39,959 to £48,117 a year pro rata per annum

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Part-time, Flexible working

Reference number

319-8260880IO

Job locations

Seaton Delaval Hub

Avenue Road

Seaton Delaval, Whitley Bay

NE25 0QJ

United Kingdom

Job description

Job responsibilities

To work as part of a multidisciplinary team to provide efficient and effective facilitation of the patient journey through hospital and in community, to achieve safe and timely discharge, seamless transitions and help avoid unnecessary admission and re admission to hospital
To carry out appraisals with junior and support staff, as delegated by Line Manager.
To work as part of a multidisciplinary team to provide efficient and effective facilitation of the patient journey through hospital and in community, to achieve safe and timely discharge, seamless transitions and help avoid unnecessary admission and re admission to hospital.
Managerially responsible to Team Lead
Clinically responsible to clinical OT Lead.
To role model compassionate and inclusive leadership in order to shape the creation of a collective leadership culture within the trust. This means demonstrating a consistent leadership style which (a) engages, enables and empowers others (b) uses coaching to promote ownership of learning and quality improvement and (c) facilitates team working and collaboration within teams/departments and across organisational boundaries.
To demonstrate time management skills by day-to-day planning, organising, and completing all clinical and administrative duties including statistical record keeping.
To work to the standards of individual clinical areas and to ensure the background knowledge is acquired through independent learning and collaboration with senior staff.
To participate and support a 7 day service covering hours of 8-8.
To participate in the in-service training programmes and continuing professional development activities as deemed appropriate by the team lead.
To be flexible to the needs of service delivery and provide care across Northumberland and North Tyneside.

Person Specification

Qualifications / Professional Registration

Essential

Degree in O.T.
State registered with Health Care Professions Council
Practice placement qualification

Experience and knowledge

Essential

Documented evidence of continuing professional development
Substantial post registration experience with relevant experience in specialist area including individual and group work
Experience and working understanding of audit procedures

Desirable

Experience of O.T. practice in varied settings
Experience of research procedures
Knowledge of or experience in coaching and mentoring practices and tools
Knowledge of or experience in Quality improvement tools, techniques and methods

Other requirements

Essential

It is an essential requirement of the role that the post holder has a valid driving licence and is either a car owner and able to use the car for work purposes, or has a Trust personal lease vehicle which may be used for the role. However, the Trust would consider making reasonable adjustments to the role, if necessary, to enable a disabled person to undertake the role

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.