CAMHS LIST Specialist Occupational Therapist

Job overview

A compelling opportunity to lead and deliver high-quality crisis mental health care for children and young people.

We are offering an exciting opportunity for an experienced Occupational Therapist to join our Liaison and Intensive Support Team (LIST) at Band 7 level. This senior role combines advanced clinical practice with leadership, supervision, and service development responsibilities.

Step into a senior role where your occupational therapy expertise directly supports children and young people experiencing acute mental health needs. As a CAMHS LIST Specialist Occupational Therapist, you will play a key role in delivering intensive, recovery-focused interventions, supporting young people to remain safely in the community and reducing hospital admissions.

Join a forward-thinking, multidisciplinary team committed to delivering compassionate, responsive and high-quality care within crisis pathways.

If you are an experienced clinician ready to lead, innovate and influence service delivery, this is your opportunity to thrive.

Milton Keynes CAMHS offers:

• A well-established crisis pathway through the LIST service, with ongoing transformation opportunities.

• Strong partnership working with acute hospitals, GPs, schools, children’s services and voluntary sector organisations.

• A collaborative and supportive multidisciplinary team culture.

• A commitment to staff wellbeing, supervision and continuous professional development.

Main duties of the job

You will work with children and young people presenting with moderate to severe and complex mental health needs, supporting crisis intervention and recovery through a functional, occupation-focused approach.

In this role, you will:

• Deliver comprehensive occupational therapy assessments, including functional, sensory and environmental needs.

• Develop and implement person-centred, occupation-focused interventions to support recovery and risk reduction.

• Provide short-term, intensive interventions to stabilise mental health and improve daily functioning.

• Support children and young people in maintaining engagement in education, routines, and meaningful activities.

• Work flexibly across community, home, school and acute settings, including liaison with acute hospitals where required.

• Provide clinical leadership in occupational therapy within the MDT, promoting a functionally focused, recovery-oriented approach.

• Contribute to risk assessment and management of complex and high-risk presentations.

• Support safe transitions between inpatient and community settings, promoting continuity of care.

• Work collaboratively with partner agencies (education, social care, paediatrics) to support holistic care and prevent escalation.

• Contribute to service development, pathway improvement and quality initiatives within LIST.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

What We’re Looking For

We are seeking a practitioner who brings:

• Professional qualification in Occupational Therapy with HCPC registration.

• Extensive CAMHS experience, including working with complex and high-risk presentations.

• Advanced skills in functional assessment, formulation and intervention within mental health settings.

• Strong understanding of the impact of mental health on occupational performance, including education, routines and daily living skills.

• Ability to manage a complex caseload and lead clinical decision-making in a fast-paced environment.

• Experience in supervising, mentoring or supporting junior staff and students.

• An excellent team player who actively contributes to a supportive, collaborative multidisciplinary team culture and role-models professional practice.

• Strong communication and partnership-working skills across multi-agency systems.

• A proactive approach to service development, audit and quality improvement.

• High levels of resilience, professionalism and a commitment to improving outcomes for young people.

If you are ready to bring your clinical expertise, leadership and passion to a role that supports young people at their most vulnerable, we would love to hear from you.

Together, we can deliver timely, compassionate care and improve outcomes for young people in crisis.