Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist

Job overview

This post provides an exciting development opportunity for an experienced speech & language therapist to take on the clinical leadership of our SLCN pathway, including DLD.

You will be working closely with your Service Lead and the Service Manager to continue developing our SLCN pathway, and providing clinical support to the staff working on the pathway.

Alongside carrying a caseload of complex children with speech and language difficulties and suspected/diagnosed DLD you will have a day a week of protected non-clinical time for leadership duties. You will also oversee the day to day organisation and clinical leadership of our telephone advice line for families.

The SLT service supports a variety of speech, language & communication &/or dysphagia needs, covering community & specialist settings across the city & county for children & young people with developmental conditions/delay.

SLTs provide individual assessment, individual & group therapy and management, training, advice and liaison through consultative & coaching approaches, as appropriate.

SLTs work as part of the wider multi-disciplinary team providing high quality, effective, accessible, person & family-centred services through tailored packages of care, training & mentoring in the most appropriate setting.

Nottingham Children's Speech & Language Therapy service is a supportive, friendly place to work and we offer excellent CPD opportunities.

Main duties of the job

The post-holder will oversee the clinical delivery of the SLC pathway, one of three clinical pathways in the service.

As the clinical lead you will share your expert clinical knowledge with the team and wider service. You will design packages of care and have an excellent knowledge of the evidence base with regard to SLCN.

You will join our band 7 leadership team, driving forward transformation work within your pathway and the service as a whole.

You will be responsible for carrying out supervision and appraisals for staff working on the pathway and will contribute to Leadership and service planning for the wider SLT service.

You will identify and co-ordinate the training required by staff working on the SLC pathway, in order for them to provide high quality therapeutic interventions.

You will also lead on strategic developments within your specialism/setting/district in liaison with the service manager and clinical/quality transformation lead.

The post-holder will be expected to maintain a clinical caseload, which will include some of the most complex children and families on the SLC pathway.

Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. The cost of the DBS application is £20.00 (standard) or £41.00 (enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first 2 months of employment.

You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. An annual fee of £16 per year applies.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post holder will provide highly specialist clinical expertise and leadership within their specialism/setting/district, in order that children with speech, language and communication needs and their families benefit from a well-coordinated pro-active, specialist, efficient and effective speech and language therapy service.

They will also have experience of supervising SLT assistants and less experienced SLTs.

There is close support from other team members with a peer supervision programme also available. We are a large Nottinghamshire county wide service which provides opportunities to further develop specialist skills and knowledge.

You will be taking on a leadership role in the service at a really exciting time. We are currently transforming our SLT service. We are keen to innovate and develop to ensure that we are meeting the current and future needs of our children and families. We have already started the process of developing a clear vision and values for our service.

You must have a:

Recognised Speech and Language Therapy Degree Qualification Health Professions Council – License to Practice

We work out of a number of bases across Nottinghamshire and can offer flexibility as to where the post-holder is based. The post-holder will be required, to travel out from the base to attend training events, meetings, community visits etc. However, there has been an increase in efficiency with the opportunity for some home working , when required, and the use of digital technology allows meetings and supervision to take place via Microsoft Teams. This platform has also been used to provide individual patient assessment and management, and group education.

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.