Vacancies

Occupational Therapist

About the role

We are looking for an enthusiastic Occupational Therapist to join our Prevention and Early Intervention Service, working across Cambridgeshire. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of an occupational therapy team that is committed to delivering preventative, strengths-based support to adults within their homes and communities.

The Prevention and Early Intervention Service brings together a range of teams, including Adult Early Help, Reablement, Technology Enabled Care, Sensory Services and Occupational Therapy. Working alongside colleagues across these services, you will help people maximise their independence, build on their existing strengths and access the support they need to live well.

The role is central to our ambition to prevent, reduce and delay the need for ongoing care and support. Through occupational therapy expertise, you will enable people to achieve the outcomes that matter most to them, promoting independence, wellbeing and inclusion while contributing to better outcomes for individuals, communities and the wider health and social care system.

Preceptorship Occupational Therapists will be appointed at a salary of £41,003, rising to £41,958 upon successful completion of the programme and progression into the Occupational Therapist role.

The post is offered on a full-time basis of 37 hours per week.

We have office bases in March, St Ives, Cambridge, Ely and Huntingdon, and the work base may be negotiable depending on service needs. We operate agile working arrangements, and home working can be supported for part of the working week.

Appointment to this post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Cambridgeshire County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all employees to share this commitment.

We also recognise continuous service and will honour annual leave entitlement for staff joining us from other local authorities or NHS organisations in line with our policy.

We are proud to serve the diverse communities of Cambridgeshire and want our workforce to reflect this diversity, which we believe is beneficial for our employees, the organisation, and the communities we serve.

What will you be doing?

As an Occupational Therapist, you will undertake holistic assessments and develop practical solutions that help people remain independent and safe in their daily lives. You will use your professional expertise to identify opportunities for prevention and early intervention, supporting individuals to achieve their goals and improve their quality of life.

Your responsibilities will include:

Completing occupational therapy assessments and developing outcome-focused intervention plans.
Recommending and arranging equipment and adaptations to maximise independence and safety.
Promoting single-handed care approaches through specialist assessment and problem-solving.
Supporting the prevention of unnecessary hospital admissions and facilitating timely discharges from hospital.
Providing advice, guidance and signposting to individuals, families, carers and partner organisations.
Working collaboratively with health, social care and community partners to coordinate effective support.
Contributing to the development of preventative and innovative approaches across the service.
Providing professional support and guidance to non-registered staff, including Therapy Support Workers.
Supporting the development of colleagues by promoting the effective use of occupational therapy principles, equipment and strengths-based practice.

You will report to a Senior Occupational Therapist and work as part of a supportive multidisciplinary team dedicated to improving outcomes for adults across Cambridgeshire.

About you

We are looking for a passionate and motivated Occupational Therapist who is committed to supporting adults to maximise their independence, achieve their goals and live well within their communities. You will be a proactive practitioner with strong assessment, problem-solving and communication skills, able to build positive relationships with individuals, families, colleagues and partner organisations.

To be successful in this role, you will:

Hold a degree or recognised qualification in Occupational Therapy.
Be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Have a sound understanding of occupational therapy practice and a commitment to strengths-based, person-centred approaches.
Be able to undertake assessments, identify practical solutions and manage a varied workload.
Demonstrate excellent communication and collaborative working skills.
Be confident working both independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team.
Have good IT skills and the ability to maintain accurate records and reports.
Be willing and able to travel across Cambridgeshire as required, with access to a vehicle.

We welcome applications from experienced Occupational Therapists as well as newly qualified practitioners. If you are newly qualified, or have limited experience within social care, you may be interested in our Occupational Therapy Preceptorship Programme.

This enhanced 12-month programme is designed to support the transition from student Occupational Therapist to autonomous practitioner, providing tailored development opportunities, structured support and professional guidance to build confidence and competence in practice.

For more information about the role, please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification.

Our benefits

We value our colleagues in Cambridgeshire County Council and have developed a number of benefits in addition to the basics like annual leave, sick pay, pension and mileage…

A comprehensive wellbeing package to cover all aspects of wellbeing, both in and out of work, which can also be accessed by your family
Buy up to 4 weeks additional annual leave (pro-rata) through our salary sacrifice scheme
Take your bank holidays flexibly to better suit your personal circumstances
Make Additional Voluntary Contributions (Shared AVCs) to your pension with tax and National Insurance savings
Access to development opportunities, apprenticeships and qualified coaches to support your personal and professional growth
Paid volunteering hours each year so you can make a positive impact on our community during your normal working day
Access to Peer Support Groups through our IDEAL staff equality, diversity and inclusion network
Opportunities to nominate and receive Employee Recognition Awards
An Our Cambs Rewards account, giving you access to in-store and online discounts as well as our Car Lease and Cycle to Work schemes

Take a look at our Employment Benefits Brochure attached to this advert to find out more.

About us

Cambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes.

Our four values are central to our culture, driving everything we do.

We are proud to serve the diverse communities of Cambridgeshire and want our workforce to be reflective of this diversity, which we firmly believe benefits our colleagues, the organisation and our communities. If you don’t meet every single requirement in the job role but think this could be you, please don’t be put off. We are committed to building a workplace that is compassionate and inclusive as well as diverse, so if you think you could be a good candidate for this role please consider applying and speak to the recruiting manager if you have any questions.

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, along with our employee network 'IDEAL' and self-organised peer support groups help us to foster an inclusive, supportive and safe working environment where people feel valued, respected, and empowered. We collect relevant diversity data for monitoring as part of the recruitment process to understand the diversity of our applicants and monitor any trends throughout the recruitment processes so that we can take meaningful action.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We fully support providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process, as well as when you join us, and we encourage candidates to contact the Hiring Manager, whose details can be found in the advert, to discuss any adjustment needs. Through a Guaranteed Interview Scheme, we will offer an interview to all applicants who disclose a disability and meet the essential criteria for a job vacancy. On your application form you can indicate you are disabled. Some examples of reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process could include additional time to complete an assessment or printing a document on pastel coloured paper with larger font size and line spacing. We would value talking about what might be possible to enable you to join us and thrive, so if there is something that would help you to do your best during your journey with us, please get in touch.

Visit our jobs and careers section to find out more about our wide range of learning and development opportunities; apprenticeships; our wellbeing package; staff benefits; our commitment to equality, diversity and Inclusion.

https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/council/jobs-and-careers

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