Job summary
Come and join us!

We have an exciting opportunity for a Band 7 to join our dynamic, friendly and forward-thinking General Medicine OT Team at St. Richard's Hospital Chichester. This is a 12 month fixed term or secondment opportunity to cover a maternity leave, and would be ideal for an experienced B6 to gain experience in a senior role or an existing B7 wanting to experience new areas of practice.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and well-motivated Occupational Therapist who is pro-active, flexible and demonstrates excellent communication, clinical and organisational skills required to lead and manage in a fast-paced environment.

We offer:

• A supportive working environment with regular supervision and CPD opportunities.
• Various opportunities for learning and developing clinical and managerial skills
• Involvement and leadership with Service Development projects

Our General Medicine OT's play a pivotal role in supporting patient flow and are valued as highly respected members of the multidisciplinary team. To look at how we work as a team please take a look at these links:
https://www.facebook.com/UHSussex/videos/this-week-is-occupational-therapy-week-throughout-the-week-we-will-be-taking-a-c/849792357558874/
https://www.uhsussex.nhs.uk/resources/candidate-information-pack/

Main duties of the job
Before applying, employees must discuss the opportunity with their current line manager to confirm whether they may be released from their substantive role if successful. Release to undertake a secondment is not an automatic entitlement and must be agreed by all relevant parties: the employee, their current line manager, and the recruiting line manager.

• To be responsible for the operational management and clinical leadership of the Occupational Therapy General Medicine team in conjunction with the Professional Lead. This will include specialist occupational therapists, junior occupational therapists, assistants and students working in occupational therapy service
• To use expert Occupational Therapy knowledge and advanced clinical reasoning skills to provide specialist support and advice to the Occupational Therapy team and other multidisciplinary team members, and to manage own caseload of patients with highly complex conditions as an autonomous practitioner
• To contribute to the delivery, evaluation and review of the Medical/surgical Occupational Therapy service
• To be responsible for defined projects in agreement with the Head of Occupational Therapy, Therapies Site Lead and Professional Lead
• To professionally represent the Occupational Therapy Service as a whole, to include deputising for the Occupational Therapy Professional Lead in liaison with other Team Leads in their absence

About us
At UHSussex, diversity is our strength, and we want you to feel included to help us always put the Patient First. Your uniqueness and experiences will be part of our creative and innovative community where everyone is encouraged to succeed. We have a range of Staff Networks to help break down barriers, and can offer a buddy to help new members settle in. We're proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2) and a Veteran Aware Trust.

We treat our patients and staff with the same compassion and empathy we expect for ourselves. We're here for them when they need us, and we go above and beyond to meet their needs. This can be seen in our Wellbeing Programme for staff which is extensive and designed to support you when you need it, including where possible, flexible working to support work life balance - because we know that to look after others we must first look after ourselves.

As a university trust and a leader in healthcare research, we value learning, teaching and training so that we can be the best that we can be. From the moment you start with us and throughout your career we will help you to grow and develop. We hope that in choosing UHSussex you are choosing a long and happy career where you will be able to see the difference you make and feel valued for all that you do.

We look forward to receiving your application and the start of your journey with UHSussex.
Candidate information pack
https://www.uhsussex.nhs.uk/resources/candidate-information-pack/

Details
Date posted: 08 July 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 7
Salary: £49,387 to £56,515 a year Per annum pro rata
Contract: Fixed term
Duration: 12 months
Working pattern: Part-time
Reference number: 279-8080069-JUL26
Job locations: St. Richard's Hospital, Spitalfield Lane, Chichester, PO19 6SE, United Kingdom

Job description
Attached you will find the job description and person specification which provides more detail about the essential and desirable skills and experience needed for this role. Please read this document for further information.

This role is eligible for visa sponsorship under the UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker route however sponsorship can only be provided where applicants meet the specific requirements set by UKVI, including the relevant skill and salary thresholds (£25000), and any role-specific criteria.

Person Specification

Experience/Qualifications
Essential

• Diploma in Occupational Therapy or BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy or overseas equivalent
• Evidence of relevant post graduate clinical courses/ CPD and reflective practice
• Experience of supervising less experienced staff and students
• Experience of working in a range of clinical specialties e.g.: cardiac; respiratory medicine; palliative care/end of life; dementia care, frailty, orthopaedics.
• Experience in managing a team.

Desirable

• Evidence of post graduate management courses or training
• Experience in handling complaints and disputes
• Recruitment and Selection training and experience

Skills
Essential

• High level of clinical skill in speciality area and ability to teach those skills (to own and other professions)
• Ability to work under pressure and remain calm in a crisis
• Ability to prioritise clinical and non clinical work
• Teamwork and co-operation.
• Experience of working as part of a multidisciplinary team

Desirable

• Relevant experience, including work at Band 7 level within the speciality
• Experience in strategic planning and formulating business plans

People Management and Development
Essential

• Experience in assessment of competency of other members of staff and managing poor performance
• Proven ability to build and maintain relationships with patients, carers and multidisciplinary teams
• Experience of Supervising and conducting Appraisals
• Experience of giving presentations to OT colleagues and to audiences of mixed professional backgrounds

Desirable

• Management training course/module

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
Essential

• Evidence of having undertaken own development to improve understanding of equalities issues
• Evidence of having championed diversity in previous roles (as appropriate to role).

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).