# Band 7 Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist for SSD/Cleft > NHS job listing from Job Clerk for Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust. ## Canonical URLs - **HTML:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/band-7-highly-specialist-speech-and-language-therapist-for-ssdcleft/b042fbea-795c-4400-a802-0cc27c48c104 - **Markdown:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/band-7-highly-specialist-speech-and-language-therapist-for-ssdcleft/b042fbea-795c-4400-a802-0cc27c48c104.md ## Summary - **Status:** Live - **Employer:** Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust - **Location:** Howard Court (Head Office) - **Workplace type:** onsite - **Profession:** Speech and Language Therapist - **Grade:** Band 7 - **Salary:** £49,387 - £56,515 per annum, pro rata - **Contract type:** Permanent - **Employment type:** Part time - 22.5 hours per week - **Closing date:** 2026-10-27T23:59:00.000Z - **Posted:** 2026-10-16T09:55:48.978Z - **Source information URL:** https://www.healthjobsuk.com/job/UK/Hertfordshire/Welwyn_Garden_City/Hertfordshire_Community_NHS_Trust/Speech_Language_Therapy/Speech_Language_Therapy-v8361534 - **Application URL:** https://apps.trac.jobs/job-advert/8361534?ShowJobAdvert=&feedid=9002 - **Employer website:** https://www.hct.nhs.uk ## Job Content ### Job overview Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust’s Children and Young People’s Therapies (CYPT) Service is excited to be offering a Band 7 opportunity to support CYP with Speech Sound Disorders (SSD) and Cleft lip and palate within the Speech and Language Therapy Team. We are looking to recruit to an experienced SLT with specialist knowledge and skills in these clinical areas who will join the DLD/SSD team. You will be involved in service development and will have opportunities to extend your clinical and leadership skills. This permanent post is 0.6 WTE and will be based in our West Hertfordshire locality (St Albans and Hemel Hempstead). As well as leading on speech sound disorders in the West locality, you will provide Hertfordshire wide support for CYP with cleft lip and palate and hold your own specialist caseload. This will include participating in joint cleft liaison clinics with Addenbrooks at Nevells Road in Letchworth, as part of the East of England cleft network, and collaborating with specialist cleft teams locally and at tertiary level. You will also lead on the clinical development of our band 6 cleft links and support the wider team across the trust including providing second opinions when required. The postholder will be expected to work autonomously, and as part of a wider multi-disciplinary team (MDT), undertaking specialist assessment and intervention of CYP with speech sound disorders, cleft and co-occurring language needs. *Proposed Interview date : 3rd November 2026* ### Main duties of the job As a Band 7 Highly Specialist SLT you will: - Lead the development of evidence-based, child-centred clinical pathways and interventions for CYP with Speech Sound Disorders (SSD) and cleft lip and palate. - Act as a key contact for specialist cleft networks, supporting multidisciplinary working and service improvement. - Provide highly specialist assessment, differential diagnosis, intervention and clinical leadership for CYP with SSD and cleft lip and palate, working autonomously and within own professional competence. - Develop the skills and expertise of community therapists and the wider children’s workforce through training, joint working, professional support and second opinions. - Provide professional supervision, allocate work appropriately and collaborate with CYP, families and professionals to agree management decisions, achieve functional goals and contribute to multi-agency meetings. We offer: - Regular professional and managerial supervision, peer support and a structured appraisal system. - A supportive team of highly specialist SLTs committed to high-quality care. - Internal and external CPD opportunities including tutorials, peer review and CENs. - A 2 week induction with opportunities to observe and shadow colleagues. - Regular opportunities to work with clinical and operational leads on service planning and development. ### Detailed job description and main responsibilities Please see Job Description attached, which details the responsibilities within this post. HCT provides integrated Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy Services for families across the county of Hertfordshire. Our CYPT integrated service provides opportunities for joint working and training, and shared learning amongst each profession. Our CYP Therapies service is jointly commissioned by health and education, allowing us to provide a seamless pathway of care from early years through to schools, specialist provisions and further education settings. We have excellent joint working relationships with our partners in education and a wide range of stakeholders, and we work in partnership with them to deliver interventions at Universal, Targeted and Specialist levels across Hertfordshire. We pride ourselves on the support we provide to staff. As a Highly Specialist SLT you will have the opportunity to facilitate professional supervision groups and provide managerial supervision to less experienced colleagues. A staff member who has recently joined the CYP Therapies service has said the following: “I love working in CYPT/HCT - everyone in the team is super dedicated. There is strong management support, but also space for being flexible and creative to meet children’s needs; innovation & good practice is valued and encouraged. I enjoy & appreciate the robust supervision structures, training in supervision & coaching, and the many opportunities for personal development and learning, including for example in-house training days and tutorials. I have worked in many teams across Hertfordshire, all without exception friendly and welcoming. There is an ethos of peer support and encouragement & sharing learning; everyone works hard but there is a sense of belonging and always time for a quick chat… and plenty of laughs. I feel valued here and I value my lovely colleagues and the fabulous children & young people we work with.” Applications for full time and part time work will be considered. A full valid driving license and access to a car to use regularly for business purposes is essential (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010). In addition to the basic salary, this post attracts a High Cost Area Supplement of 5% of basic salary subject to a minimum payment of £1,346 and a maximum payment of £2,270 per annum (pro rata where applicable and dependent on base location). Interview date is set for 3rd November 2026 Whilst it is not a legal requirement, Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust encourages and supports all its’ staff to be vaccinated as this remains the best line of defence against COVID-19. HCT will prioritise recruitment of workers living in England under the new immigration rules for care workers effective from 9 April 2025. Employers must first prove that they have attempted to recruit a worker from within England who needs new sponsorship. This ensures that those who came to the UK to pursue a career in adult social care can do so. The use of AI is monitored and if you have used it then you are required to declare this, as well as what type of AI tools you have used and for what purpose. We reserve the right to further test your individual knowledge and skills in relation to the requirements for the post through robust and thorough interview and assessment. ### 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. ## Person Specification ### Other **Essential** - Hold a full valid driving licence and access to a car to use regularly for business purposes is essential (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010). ### Skills and abilities **Essential** - Ability to undertake complex assessments, formulate differential diagnoses and develop, implement and evaluate evidence-based intervention plans independently. - Ability to communicate complex and sensitive information effectively to children, families and professionals, including managing challenging conversations and differing perspectives. - Ability to provide specialist clinical guidance, supervision, mentoring and training to colleagues, supporting professional development and the delivery of high-quality care. - Ability to build effective working relationships across health, education and other agencies, contributing to coordinated care and shared decision-making. - Ability to manage a complex clinical workload autonomously, prioritise competing demands, delegate appropriately and work effectively within available resources. - Ability to critically evaluate clinical practice, apply research evidence and outcome data, and contribute to the development and improvement of clinical pathways and service delivery. **Desirable** - Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with regional specialist cleft networks and multidisciplinary cleft teams to support coordinated care and service development. ### Experience and Knowledge **Essential** - Highly specialist knowledge and substantial clinical experience in the assessment, differential diagnosis and evidence-based management of children and young people with speech sound disorders, including complex presentations. - Experience of independently managing complex caseloads, making evidence-based clinical decisions, developing individualised intervention plans and evaluating outcomes. - Experience of effective multidisciplinary and multi-agency working, including collaboration with specialist services, education professionals and families to support coordinated care. - Experience of providing specialist advice, clinical supervision, training, mentoring and support to other therapists and the wider children's workforce. - Knowledge and experience of developing clinical pathways, implementing evidence-based practice and contributing to service improvement, audit or evaluation of clinical outcomes. **Desirable** - Specialist knowledge and experience of assessing and managing speech difficulties associated with cleft lip and palate, including an understanding of specialist cleft pathways and regional cleft networks. ### Qualifications and Training **Essential** - Recognised Speech & Language Therapy Degree Qualification or equivalent (Post Graduate Diploma or MSc in Speech & Language Therapy) - Evidence of post qualifying training and/or equivalent experience to maintain and develop highly specialist knowledge in area of specialism - Registered to practice with Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC) - Registered member of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, Membership of relevant CEN ## Documents - [hct benefits (pdf, 588.9kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?edoc=2511) - [job description (pdf, 363.5kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?vdoc=10699912) - [cyp therapies service (pdf, 685.5kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?vdoc=10688254) - [recruitment guide for candidates (pdf, 303.1kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?ddoc=2407) - [job description supplementary information (pdf, 384.4kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?edoc=2599) ## Agent Notes - This Markdown page is generated from the same Job Clerk job record as the HTML job detail page. - Use the canonical HTML URL for user-facing references. - Use the application URL when the user wants to apply on the source NHS site.