Hand Therapy Operational Team Leader

Job overview

We are seeking an experienced, dynamic, and highly motivated Hand Therapy Lead to provide senior leadership and operational management for our internationally renowned Pulvertaft Hand Unit.

This is a pivotal leadership role within the Trauma & Orthopaedics division, responsible for ensuring the delivery of a high-quality, specialist hand therapy service across physiotherapy and occupational therapy. The post holder will work closely with consultants, senior managers, and the wider multidisciplinary team to ensure the service remains safe, responsive, efficient, and sustainable.

The Pulvertaft Hand Unit is a nationally and internationally recognised centre of excellence for hand surgery and therapy. You will be joining a high-performing, forward-thinking team delivering specialist care to a complex and diverse patient population.

This role plays a critical function in managing day-to-day operational pressures within the service and reducing escalation, supporting timely and effective decision-making across the unit.

While primarily a leadership role, the post includes a defined advanced clinical component, maintaining expert clinical credibility within specialist hand therapy practice.

Main duties of the job

The Hand Therapy Lead will provide senior professional, clinical, and operational leadership, with responsibility for:

• Leading and developing a highly specialised multidisciplinary Hand Therapy workforce
• Providing supervision, appraisal, and performance management across the service
• Service planning, demand and capacity management, and operational delivery
• Clinical governance, audit, risk management, and regulatory compliance
• Financial management, including responsibility for pay and non-pay budgets
• Driving service improvement, innovation, and transformation initiatives
• Supporting advanced clinical practice and extended scope roles
• Acting as a key point of contact for workforce, recruitment, and operational challenges
• Ensuring high standards of patient care, experience and outcome

You will be an experienced and credible senior clinician with:

• Professional registration (HCPC or equivalent)
• Extensive experience in specialist hand therapy practice
• Demonstrable leadership experience at Band 7/8 level
• Strong operational and service management skills
• Experience of workforce planning, governance, and service development
• A collaborative approach, with the ability to influence across multidisciplinary teams
• A clear commitment to quality, patient safety, and continuous improvement

Closing date: 22 July 2026

Interview date: 20 August 2026

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached Job description and Person Specification. To apply please click APPLY FOR THIS JOB – this link will take you to the TRAC Recruitment Site. You will need to register if you do not already have an account.

UHDB is committed to fair and transparent recruitment. We welcome authentic applications that reflect your own skills, experience and motivations for the role. While we understand that candidates may use AI tools for grammar, formatting or accessibility purposes, applications that appear to be substantially AI‑generated may be subject to additional review. If this applies to your submission, we will let you know and may ask for clarification. Please ensure your application accurately represents your experience and is written in your own words.

Following the recent update on UK immigration policy for those on a Health and Care Visa or Skilled Worker Visa, please click on the link to check your eligibility before applying for this post as we may be unable to provide sponsorship Skilled worker: Health and Care Visa | NHS Employers

Your application (for shortlisting purposes) is assessed based on the Person Specification in the job advert (below).