Specialist Occupational Therapist

Job overview

Are you a dedicated Occupational Therapist looking to inspire and support the Children and Young People Mental Health Service redesign project as a Specialist Occupational Therapist? CYPMH Dorset is entering an exciting period of growth and development, supported by new investment and a strong commitment to transforming how children and young people access mental health support.

As the Specialist Occupational Therapist, you will be part of a service that places children, young people and families at the centre of decision‑making, working in our Getting Help and Getting More Help teams. With a strong focus on strengths, participation and outcomes that matter in everyday life working within a THRIVE‑informed, needs‑led model of care. You will bring specialist occupational expertise to assessment, formulation and intervention, supporting young people to engage in meaningful occupations across home, school and community contexts. Working collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team across THRIVE groupings, delivering evidence‑based interventions, contributing to service innovation, and supporting the embedding of occupationally focused practice within the wider CAMHS pathway.

The Specialist Occupational Therapist role is a part-time post. This role is a Pan-Dorset service wide role. Any queries, please contact [email protected]

Main duties of the job

Applications from candidates that require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are unfortunately ineligible to apply for this position.

Managing a complex clinical caseload, contributing to service development and quality improvement, offering clinical supervision and leadership to junior staff and students.

Deliver evidence‑based, strengths‑focused interventions that promote participation in everyday occupations across home, school and community contexts.

Work collaboratively with children, young people and their families, using shared decision‑making to agree goals and outcomes that are meaningful and occupation‑focused.

Contribute to multidisciplinary assessment, formulation and care planning, ensuring the occupational perspective is embedded within CAMHS pathways.

Provide clinical supervision, support and guidance to junior OT staff, support workers and students, as appropriate.

Contribute to the development, delivery and evaluation of OT‑led interventions, groups and resources aligned to the THRIVE framework.

Participate in service transformation, quality improvement and audit activity, supporting the ongoing development of the CAMHS service.

Work in partnership with education, social care and voluntary sector services to promote integrated, holistic support for children and young people.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For the main duties and responsibilities for this role please read the attached job description and person specification.  When completing your application please ensure your supporting statement reflects the criteria set out in these documents by showing how your experience and skills apply to this post.

We understand that using AI can be a useful and supportive tool when completing your application.  However, we have also seen an increase in the over-reliance of AI tools which is negatively impacting applications as they remove candidate’s individuality, and it becomes much harder to get a sense of who you are and your authentic experience.  If you do use AI, it should be used to enhance your application and not to create your supporting statement in its entirety.  If we suspect you have used AI to create your supporting statement and this does not match your experience, we may withdraw your application.

As part of our vision to have a skilled, diverse and caring workforce, Dorset HealthCare offers support for people getting into work. We offer an employability service to support individuals with application writing, interview skills and other employment support. If you would like or know of anyone who would value this support, please do contact [email protected]