Employer Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Cavendish House Town Hastings Salary £57,528 – £64,750 pa / pro rata for part time Salary period Yearly Closing 29/11/2026 23:59
Principal Occupational Therapist Community East Sussex
NHS AFC: Band 8a
Come and join us
We’re looking for people who share our values of compassion, accountability and optimism to help us provide high quality care for the patients, carers, families and communities we serve. We specialise in NHS mental health and learning disability services and we’re proud to make a difference every day.
At SPFT we put people first. We’ll do everything possible to help you feel respected, valued and included. You’ll have opportunities to learn, grow and gain new experiences to support your career, with access to lifelong learning and professional development.
We actively promote flexible working and understand how important work life balance is, especially in healthcare. Whether it’s part time hours, hybrid working or flexible start and finish times, we’ll explore what works for you and the role.
We recognise that tools like AI are becoming part of everyday life and you may choose to use them when preparing your application. We welcome this, as long as what you submit reflects your own experience, skills and voice. AI can be helpful for structuring or refining your answers, but it should not replace your own examples or create content that isn’t based on your real experience.
Our recruitment process is designed to get to know you, and we’ll explore your examples further at interview, so it’s important your application genuinely represents what you bring. You can read more about using AI in applications and interviews on our recruitment process page .
We’re shaping a workplace where ideas are encouraged, technology supports you and everyone has a voice in how we improve. If that sounds like the kind of organisation you want to be part of, we’d love to hear from you.
Job overview
We are seeking to recruit a passionate, knowledgeable and dynamic Principal Occupational Therapist (OT) as the professional and clinical lead for Occupational Therapy across adult mental health, community services in East Sussex. This is a senior leadership role, providing strategic direction, clinical expertise, and professional governance for OT practice across East Sussex community, including our neurodevelopmental workers in the Neighbourhood Mental Health Teams.
The post includes direct and indirect clinical contributions within the Neighbourhood Mental Health Teams, as well as the opportunity to shape, champion and embed OT practice; ensuring it is visible, valued and integral to the delivery of compassionate, effective mental health care.
You will play a key role in shaping service development, influencing multidisciplinary practice, and embedding occupational perspectives into assessment, care planning, risk management and community intervention for adults with complex mental health needs. The role also contributes to policy development, workforce planning, quality improvement initiatives and service transformation.
You will work closely with other professions within Sussex Partnership, social care and our third sector partners. You will be committed to delivering high‑quality, responsive and inclusive services in partnership with families, carers and experts by experience.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will provide professional and clinical leadership for Occupational Therapy across adult community mental health services in East Sussex, with responsibility for coordinating and developing Occupational Therapy pathways. This includes professional management, leadership and supervision of the Occupational Therapy workforce, and ensuring services are high‑quality, effective and compliant with professional, national and local standards.
The post holder will play a key role in professional governance, contributing to the development, implementation and monitoring of the governance agenda, and ensuring a strong Occupational Therapy contribution to quality clinical care, service performance and continuous improvement across Neighbourhood Mental Health Teams.
In addition to leadership responsibilities, the role incorporates a clinical component, supporting complex OT assessments and interventions with adults who have mental health needs in our communities, consultation and support to families and carers, and specialist advice and consultation to multidisciplinary and multi‑agency teams. This clinical contribution ensures the Principal Occupational Therapist maintains direct involvement in service delivery, supports best practice, and informs strategic and professional leadership.
Working for our organisation
SPFT provides mental health and learning disability care for children, young people and adults across Sussex.
This is an excellent time for Occupational Therapists to be joining SPFT as our community services continue to go through an exciting transformation. There is a robust AHP workforce and strategy and we can offer the following to you:
- The opportunity to participate in a range of quality improvement work and service innovations.
- Access to a wide range of training and CPD opportunities including
- A programme of AHP specific training
- Quarterly Occupational Therapy CPD Hubs
- Communities of Practice (AMPS, Sensory Strategies, Recovery through activity)
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the attached job description for full details and additional information to the main duties above.
Person specification
Qualifications
- Degree/Diploma in occupational therapy
- Registration with the HCPC as an occupational therapist
- Practice Education training
- Training in the use of standardised occupational therapy assessment tools
- Evidence of master level post qualification study
Knowledge/Experience
- Extensive experience as a qualified occupational therapist in mental health
- Experience of both group and individual work
- Experience of multidisciplinary working
- Experience of supervising staff and students
- Experience as a Lead Practitioner
- Experience in a clinical area related to the post
- Interest/experience in research
SPFT is committed to building a workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We particularly welcome applications from people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds and from disabled candidates, as these groups are currently underrepresented.
Successful candidates are normally appointed to the bottom of the pay scale unless previous NHS experience in a similar role can be evidenced.
SPFT takes its responsibilities for safeguarding children, young people and adults at risk very seriously. We expect all staff and bank workers to share this commitment and complete the relevant safeguarding training for their role.
If you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date, please assume your application has been unsuccessful. However, we’ll always do our best to keep you informed as we know how much time and care goes into applying for a role.
In the event of a high number of applications, we may close this vacancy early.
Protect Yourself from Recruitment Fraud
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust does not charge any fees for job applications, recruitment processes, sponsorship arrangements or employment offers.
All vacancies, applications and recruitment communications are managed through the Trust’s official careers website and published contact details.
These are the only authorised channels for applying for roles, receiving recruitment communications and verifying job offers.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Application numbers
Due to high numbers of applications this vacancy may close before the advertised closing date. We will not be able to accept late applications to this post.
Name Teresa Blunt Job title Professional AHP Lead East Sussex Division Email address teresa.blunt@nhs.net Telephone number 07920247716
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