Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Senior Specialist Occupational Health Practitioner to join the Occupational Health Service at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust.

This senior clinical role provides the opportunity to deliver evidence-based occupational health services to Trust employees and a diverse portfolio of external clients, whilst providing clinical leadership, professional support and education across the Occupational Health Service.

Working autonomously within your scope of professional practice, you will manage a complex clinical caseload, provide specialist occupational health advice to managers and organisations, and contribute to the development of high-quality, safe and effective services. You will play a key role in supporting clinical governance, workforce development and quality improvement.

You will be required to travel across all ESNEFT Trust sites and other locations as needed.

Main duties of the job

• Deliver autonomous specialist occupational health practice, undertaking comprehensive assessments, providing evidence-based interventions and managing a complex occupational health caseload.
• Provide specialist occupational health advice to employees, managers and external organisations on fitness for work, sickness absence, workplace adjustments, infection prevention and control, blood and body fluid exposure incidents, health surveillance and relevant health and safety legislation.
• Provide clinical leadership, professional support and supervision to Occupational Health Specialist Practitioners, Clinic Nurses and Technicians, promoting high standards of clinical practice and continuous professional development.
• Lead and support workforce education, including induction, competency development, mentorship and the identification of learning needs to ensure staff have the knowledge and skills required to deliver high-quality occupational health services.
• Work collaboratively with the Occupational Health Consultant Clinical Lead, Clinical Manager and multidisciplinary colleagues to support service development, clinical decision-making and the delivery of safe, effective and responsive occupational health services.

About us
We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across east Suffolk and north Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients' own homes.

We are one of the largest NHS organisations in England, employing more than 12,000 staff.

We pride ourselves on supporting our staff. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options.

Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.

Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients.

We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic. This digital transformation will bring what's widely regarded as the world's best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients.

If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge, then we want to hear from you.

Find out about living and working here - Apply through our website

Details
Date posted: 14 August 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 7
Salary: £49,387 to £56,515 a year per annum
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 432-HR645-26
Job locations: Colchester Hospital, Colchester Hospital, CO4 5JL, United Kingdom

Job description
Job responsibilities
For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.

Person Specification
Experience
Essential

• Experience of working autonomously as an Occupational Health practitioner within a busy multidisciplinary environment.
• Experience of undertaking assessments and providing evidence-based advice and recommendations.
• Experience of managing and prioritising a varied clinical workload.
• Experience of supporting, educating or developing colleagues within an Occupational Health setting.
• Experience of contributing to audit, quality improvement or service development activity.

Desirable

• Experience of working in a commercial environment.
• Experience of workplace visits.
• Experience of using OPAS G2 Occupational Health database.

Knowledge
Essential

• Ability to receive, interpret and communicate complex, specialist information to a range of stakeholders, including clients, employees, employers, HR colleagues and managers.
• Knowledge and understanding of relevant OH legislation, professional standards and evidence-based guidance, including Health and Safety legislation, NICE guidance and Department of Health guidance.
• Understanding of clinical governance and quality improvement principles within Occupational Health practice.

Desirable

• Knowledge of quality standards and accreditation processes relevant to Occupational Health, including SEQOHS.
• Knowledge of service improvement approaches, including audit, evaluation and the use of data to support improvements in Occupational Health services.
• Understanding of current developments and challenges affecting Occupational Health practice within NHS and external client environments.

Qualifications
Essential

• Registered Nurse.
• Registered on Part 3 of the NMC Register as a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse in Occupational Health.
• Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to Occupational Health practice.

Desirable

• Teaching, mentorship or professional supervision qualification.
• Relevant Health and Safety qualification (for example NEBOSH or equivalent).
• Specialist training or qualifications relevant to service delivery, such as HAVS, health surveillance or workplace assessment.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details
Employer name: East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
Address: Colchester Hospital, Colchester Hospital, CO4 5JL, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.esneft.nhs.uk/

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact:
General Manager
Leonie Haswell
leonie.haswell@esneft.nhs.uk

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