Band 7 Occupational Therapy Lead

Job overview

The Band 7 Occupational Therapy Lead for Neighbourhood Health plays a pivotal role in delivering high-quality, person-centred care across community services. This role focuses on collaborative partnership working with primary care, social care, voluntary organisations, and community groups to address the wider determinants of health, including housing, social isolation, and access to meaningful activities.

A strong emphasis is placed on early intervention and prevention to support individuals in maintaining independence, reducing hospital admissions, and enhancing overall wellbeing. Through a population health approach, the OT Lead ensures services are tailored to the specific needs of local communities, addressing health inequalities and promoting personalised, strengths-based care that empowers individuals and communities.

The post holder is responsible for the effective day-to-day leadership and management of therapy staff and assistant practitioners, ensuring the delivery of safe and effective services. They will provide senior clinical leadership, offering expert advice and support while demonstrating advanced clinical judgement, risk assessment, and decision-making skills.

The role requires flexibility, including working across West Essex localities to meet service needs

Main duties of the job

The Band 7 Occupational Therapy Lead role, promoting neighbourhood health involves working collaboratively across community services to support individuals to live well within their local environments. This includes developing strong partnerships with primary care, social care, voluntary sectors and community organisations to address wider determinants of health such as housing, social isolation and access to meaningful activities. A key focus is on early intervention and prevention, enabling people to maintain independence, reduce hospital admissions and improve overall wellbeing. By using a population health approach, the OT Lead ensures services are responsive to the specific needs of the local community, addressing health inequalities and supporting personalised, strengths-based care that empowers individuals and communities to thrive.

To be responsible for ensuring the delivery of high-quality person-centred services, day to day management and leadership of therapy and assistant practitioners. To provide senior clinical advice, leadership and support ensuring the needs of the service are met by exercising and demonstrating high levels of clinical judgement, critical risk assessment and advanced decision making skills.Flexible working is required, as at times you will be expected to work across sites in our other West Essex localities depending on service needs.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To act as a senior decision maker to guide and support staff with complex patient cases.
• To assess, plan, implement and evaluate specialist treatment and care and/or rehabilitation programs to people, promoting independence and autonomy; working within a multidisciplinary team.
• Provide expert clinical holistic assessment and evidence based pro-active and reactive health care interventions to support patients and their carers to achieve maximum health welling and independence
• To participate in duty clinician cover, triage and MDT/allocation meetings where clinically appropriate.
• To act at all times as an advocate for service users, carers and relatives.
• To be responsible for standards of care within the service area; to evaluate clinical care and develop actions with relevant line managers where required.
• To have overall responsibility for caseload management through continual monitoring and data collection.
• To maintain a professional portfolio and demonstrate that practice is up to date and evidence based through regular management and clinical supervision/mentorship.
• Day to day management and leadership of therapy and at time nursing practitioners and other staff in the multi-disciplinary team. To provide senior clinical advice, leadership and support ensuring the needs of the service are met by exercising and demonstrating high levels of clinical judgement, critical risk assessment and advanced decision making skills.
• To delegate day to day clinical duties appropriately to other team members.
• To inspire and demonstrate leadership qualities through excellent communication skills, delivery of specialist advice, working with others, demonstration of personal qualities and continuous service improvement.
• Act as a role model, provide professional leadership to the team and promote the Trust values.
• Actively participate in identifying training needs of self and others and participate in appropriate training programmes.