Job title: Community Occupational Therapist

Salary: PO1 £38,220 - £40,777

Hours: Full time

Contract: Permanent

Location: Merrion House, Leeds covering citywide appointments / viewings.

As a Community Occupational Therapist, you’ll thrive on assisting people into suitable homes which will greatly improve their quality of life.

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.

About you

As a Community Occupational Therapist, you will bring to the role:

Confidence in your decision making
Excellent Communication Skills
Team Player
Approachable and good at building relationships with others.
Manage your time effectively and have an understanding of line management experience as you will be required to make decisions in your role and for the staff you will manage.

About the role

As our next Community Occupational Therapist, you’ll be part of the team to ensure that LCC Tenants with disabilities are re-housed into properties which will meet their needs, enabling them to live as independently as possible. The work is varied, interesting, challenging and you will get to work with a diverse client group.

The Housing Occupational Therapy Team is a small team specialising in housing and it is important you have skills and knowledge about legislation in relation to adaptations and understand the impact of rehousing for both Leeds City Council and its future tenants.

The role is integral to our Health and Housing Team and the Housing OT team work closely with all the different teams within the service. They also work closely with the Lettings Teams around the city to identify and property assess all suitable properties and work collaboratively with the Senior Surveyors to ascertain what adaptations can be achieved within each property.

What we offer you

We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:

a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements
a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities
a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further

How to apply

Please complete the online application form.

Read our guidance for further advice. Please check your information carefully and ensure you complete all sections before submitting your application.

If you have any queries or would like an informal chat about the role please contact Jenny Haslock, Principal Health Manager. Call 07891273547 or email jennifer.haslock@leeds.gov.uk

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be carried out on preferred candidates. Read our recruitment of ex-offenders’ policy.

We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.

This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.

If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visa route before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. Ensure you are eligible before applying.

Job Description

Job Purpose:

Under the general direction of a Team Manager, and with support from Senior Occupational Therapists, provide a high quality and comprehensive Occupational Therapy service to adults, children and young people, carers and the community in accordance with the organisational needs, policy and practices of the Directorate and within statutory guidelines

The post holder must at all times carry out responsibilities within the City Council’s Policies and Procedures, in particular the Council Policies on Equality and Diversity, Health and Safety, and also within the Health and Care Professions Council Code of Practice.

Responsibilities within Environment and Housing:

To understand and contribute to the annual service plans of the Health & Housing service that creates opportunities for all disabled people and their families to live independently in quality, affordable, safe and stable housing of their choice across all tenures.

To have a knowledge of the various cross tenure funding streams and the scope of the adaptations and re-housing services within Council.

Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade
Participate in appraisal, training, and development activities as necessary to ensure up to date knowledge and skills
Improve own practice through observation, evaluation, discussion with colleagues and appropriate CPD programmes.
Work collaboratively with colleagues, knowing when to seek help and advice.
Contribute to the overall ethos, work, and aims of the service by attending relevant meetings, training days/events as requested.
Be aware of and comply with Leeds City Council policies and procedures e.g., child protection, health, safety and security, confidentiality, and data protection, reporting all concerns to an appropriate person
Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding, and promoting the values, standards, and Equality & Diversity policies of Leeds City Council.
Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse of equal opportunities, ensuring compliance with relevant policies and procedures.
The duties outlined are not meant as an exhaustive list and will also comprise any other duties within the spirit of the post commensurate with the job evaluation outcome for this post.
The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and this role will be expected to work within these parameters.

Qualifications:

PERSONAL SPECIFICATION

Method of Assessment will be through one or more of the following Application Form, Test, Interview, and Certificate

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS: It is essential that the Candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria for the post within the context of the specific role duties and responsibilities: Candidates will only be shortlisted for interview if they can demonstrate on the application form that they meet all the essential requirements

Skills Required

Able to work flexibly across different work locations and areas as appropriate.
Ability to effectively plan, prioritise and time manage own workload.
Able to communicate and pass information effectively, accurately and concisely with a range of partners and services users, carers and colleagues
Able to engage individuals, families, carers and workers from other agencies
Able to identify appropriate Occupational Therapy interventions in order to promote positive change
Ability to carry out Occupational Therapy assessments of disabled people and develop and implement recommended interventions
Ability to assess the needs of and work with individuals and groups using a person centred approach
Ability to devise, implement, review and evaluate service and support plans
Ability to maintain accurate service user records, assessments and follow policy and procedure
Able to record, evidence and communicate using technology
Able to exercise individual judgement, assess risk and consult where and when appropriate.
Ability to carry out safe functional assessment and give physical assistance where necessary.
Ability to move and handle equipment for assessment and provision
Ability to contribute to the education of students, OTs and OTA’s
Ability to provide day to day supervision to OTs and OTA’s
Ability to make proactive use of Supervision to reflect critically on practice and explore different approaches to work and understand the boundaries of professional accountability.
Report Writing and Communications Skills
Car driver

Knowledge Required

Appropriate Occupational Therapy qualification Degree/Diploma
Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
Knowledge and understanding of a range of physical and mental health conditions
Knowledge of the range of specialist equipment and major adaptations to meet assessed need
Knowledge off relevant legislation appropriate to the needs of service users from a wide range of backgrounds
Awareness of the broad range of factors that impact on service users and families e.g. drugs, alcohol domestic violence
Understanding of the roles and responsibilities of statutory and voluntary agencies.
Be competent in the use of IT systems, including Microsoft Officer, Internet and Email
Of current, trends, policies, legislation and regulatory bodies in relation to vulnerable people within a social care setting
Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of confidentiality and the needs and wishes of individuals, families and carers as appropriate.
Demonstrate an awareness of needs and safeguarding issues associated with vulnerable people.
Demonstrate an understanding of diversity issues within local communities.

Experience Required

Experience of practicing as an Occupational Therapist.
Experience of being a fieldwork educator
Demonstrated creativity in tackling and solving problems
Of advocacy and user involvement.
Of using initiative
Of developing services to meet customer needs
Use of reflective practice techniques to critically analyse information to inform decision making and planning
Producing written records and reports to a high standard for a variety of purposes with language suited to function
Application of information gathering skills to make and contribute to assessments
Of using supervision effectively
Of assessment and service provision to disabled people in a range of settings
Of working within and implementing a person centred focused approach

Behavioural and other Characteristics required

Understand and embrace Leeds City Council Values and Behaviours and codes of conduct.
Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the Best City Ambition of Health & Wellbeing, Inclusive Growth and Zero Carbon
Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council equality and diversity policies.
Carry out all duties having regard to an employee’s responsibility under Health and Safety Policies.
Willingness to actively participate in training and development activities.
Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.
Participate in appraisal, training, and development activities.
Be aware of and comply with Leeds City Council policies and procedures.
Be aware of and support difference ensuring equality for all, working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding, equality & diversity.
Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse, reporting any concerns to the appropriate person.
The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and the role will be expected to work within these parameters.