Senior Occupational Therapist

Job overview

Our Adults Community Mental Health teams in Chelmsford, Braintree and Maldon are looking for an enthusiastic Band 6 Senior Occupational Therapist to join our friendly and supportive service. In this role, you will contribute significantly to delivering high‑quality, recovery‑focused care for adults with complex mental health needs, working within a multidisciplinary team that values partnership, compassion and continuous professional development. Regular supervision, strong peer support and ongoing learning opportunities are integral to the post.

As a senior clinician, you will lead a diverse and complex caseload, delivering evidence‑based occupational therapy through both individual and group interventions. You will play an active role in risk assessment and treatment planning, while also providing supervision, support and professional guidance to junior colleagues and students. We are seeking someone confident, motivated and deeply committed to mental health practice, with the ability to work autonomously while contributing positively to team culture and ongoing service development.

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will complete holistic assessments to identify each patient’s needs, drawing on specialist tools and clinical expertise when working with complex presentations. They will use sound clinical reasoning to determine the appropriate level and type of intervention, developing detailed treatment plans and communicating these clearly and collaboratively with patients and their carers.

They will share agreed treatment and care plans with multidisciplinary colleagues and partner agencies, contributing effectively to both formal and informal meetings.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

As a Senior Occupational Therapist within the Adults Community Mental Health Service, the successful applicant will undertake comprehensive evaluations of patients referred for occupational therapy, using specialist assessments where appropriate and applying robust clinical reasoning to determine the most suitable level and context for intervention. They will design and deliver a range of individual and group treatment approaches, negotiating and communicating treatment plans with patients and carers and embedding thorough safety planning throughout.

The role includes making clinically informed decisions when delegating elements of intervention to assistants, junior staff, students, carers and partner agencies. The post‑holder will maintain accurate, timely and professionally compliant clinical records, and provide clear written and verbal reports at all stages of assessment, treatment and review.