Band 6 Occupational Therapist

Job overview

Are you an Occupational Therapist who believes in the power of meaningful occupation to transform lives? Are you an Occupational Therapist with a passion for meaningful, purpose‑driven rehabilitation? Do you want to work in a national programme that blends psychology, trauma‑informed care and multi‑agency partnership to create real change for people with complex needs?

Do you thrive in environments where creativity, resilience, and hope matter every single day?

If you’re looking for a role where your skills genuinely change futures — this is it.

The Hive at HMP Ranby Nottinghamshire, is part of the NHS England Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) Pathway, your work becomes part of something bigger — improving wellbeing, reducing reoffending, and creating safer communities you won’t just be supporting daily living skills — you’ll be shaping identity, purpose and possibility for men with complex trauma histories, personality difficulties and long or indeterminate sentences.

You’ll be part of a nationally recognized Outstanding-rated NHS Trust and a psychologically informed service that is changing the landscape of rehabilitation and recovery. Working alongside psychologists, creative therapists, prison officers and wider agencies, you’ll help create a safer, healthier, more hopeful environment for patients — and a stronger, more compassionate society beyond the prison gates.

Main duties of the job

As an Occupational Therapist you will play a central part in delivering high‑quality, psychologically informed care within The Hive, a specialist Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) Pathway service at HMP Ranby. As an autonomous clinician, you will be responsible for assessing the occupational needs of service users with complex personality, trauma‑related, and psychosocial difficulties, and for designing, implementing and evaluating individualised rehabilitation plans that promote independence, purpose, and functional living skills both within custody and in preparation for eventual community reintegration.

You role will involve conducting comprehensive specialist assessments, analysing complex information, and translating this into meaningful, realistic, and collaboratively agreed treatment goals. You will deliver a wide range of interventions—including structured activities, graded therapeutic groups, and 1:1 sessions—using sound clinical reasoning and evidence‑based OT practice. A key responsibility is to adapt interventions responsively, taking account of fluctuating clinical presentations, motivational barriers, emotional distress, and the unique constraints of a secure environment.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

You will be a core member of a multi‑disciplinary team comprising psychologist, creative therapist, psychological practitioner, prison officers, and wider criminal justice partners and will contribute to specialist occupational insights to case discussions, risk formulations, treatment planning, and service user reviews. Participation in MDT risk assessments is central to the role, ensuring that all therapeutic activity is delivered safely and that therapeutic risk‑taking is appropriately planned and agreed.

You will promote a positive and professional profile of occupational therapy within the OPD service, advocating for the role of occupation in trauma recovery, identity development, and behaviour change.

Working within a secure setting, you must demonstrate resilience, adaptability, and excellent judgement, balancing therapeutic engagement with clear professional boundaries and adherence to safeguarding, security, and risk management requirements.

For further information on the advertised role, please refer to the job description located under the Supporting Documents heading. The full person specification can be accessed under the ‘About You’ Section of the document.

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.