Advanced Speech & Language Therapist

Job overview

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced and motivated Advanced Speech and Language Therapist (Band 7) to join our Adult SLT Service as Clinical Lead for the Coastal Team covering Worthing and surrounding towns and villages.

This is a dynamic leadership role where you will shape and deliver high-quality, patient-centred care across both inpatient and community settings, supporting patients in Worthing and surrounding areas. You will play a key role in driving service development, strengthening multidisciplinary working, and ensuring excellent clinical outcomes.

As a senior clinician, you will also deputise for the Operational Team Lead when required, contributing to operational oversight, service performance, and workforce development. This is an ideal opportunity for someone looking to combine strong clinical expertise with leadership and service improvement.

This is a fantastic opportunity to take on a visible clinical leadership role within a supportive and forward-thinking service, where you can make a real difference to patient care and service development.

Main duties of the job

In this role, you will:

• Act as the Clinical Lead for the Coastal Adult SLT Team, providing specialist clinical guidance and leadership
• Deliver a highly specialist SLT service to adults with communication and swallowing disorders across acute and community settings
• Hold clinical responsibility for complex caseloads, ensuring evidence-based assessment, treatment, and outcome measurement
• Lead and support a multidisciplinary team, promoting collaborative, integrated care
• Support service development and transformation, identifying opportunities to improve patient pathways and experience
• Deputise for the Operational Team Lead in their absence, contributing to service delivery, workforce planning, and operational decision-making
• Provide clinical supervision, teaching, and mentorship to therapists, support staff, students and apprentices.
• Ensure effective governance, including audit, risk management, and quality improvement initiatives
• Monitor demand and capacity, ensuring safe, responsive, and sustainable service delivery

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

You will be responsible for delivering both clinical excellence and strong leadership, including:

Clinical Practice

• Manage and prioritise a complex specialist caseload, providing expert assessment and intervention
• Apply advanced clinical reasoning to support patients with complex communication and swallowing needs
• Act as an expert resource within the team and wider SLT service
• Ensure care is person-centred, evidence-based, and outcome-focused

Leadership and Service Delivery

• Lead the day-to-day clinical delivery of the Coastal SLT service
• Support the operational management of the team, including performance, workforce planning, and resource allocation
• Contribute to service transformation and innovation, aligning with Trust strategy
• Maintain strong working relationships with MDT colleagues and system partners

Governance and Quality

• Lead on clinical audit, risk management, and service evaluation
• Ensure adherence to Trust policies, professional standards, and regulatory requirements
• Contribute to data collection and analysis to inform service improvements

People Management and Development

• Provide line management and supervision to designated staff
• Support staff development through training, competency frameworks, and appraisal processes
• Promote a culture of learning, psychological safety, and continuous improvement

Operational Leadership

• Deputise for the Operational Team Lead as required
• Support delivery of key performance indicators (KPIs) and service objectives
• Contribute to managing demand, capacity, and service pressures effectively

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.