Occupational Therapist

In Sutton, there is much for us to be proud of both as a council and as a borough. This includes high levels of resident satisfaction, the quality of our services, our success in addressing our financial challenges to date, the way that we involve and engage with residents on key issues facing the borough, and the enthusiastic and motivated staff that we employ. 

Looking ahead, there are plans for the delivery of new homes and new schools and the London Cancer Hub is being developed, while the Council is also seen as a driving force within the South London Partnership of five outer south west London boroughs focused on strategic growth, regeneration and investment.

All of this demonstrates a good track record and an authority that is ambitious and set to deliver more improvements for the borough. We've set out our vision for the future of Sutton in our corporate plan - Ambitious for Sutton. This strategic plan will shape the outcomes we achieve, the services we provide, and the impact we have on residents, to make Sutton a great place to live, work and raise a family.

Situated in Zone 5, Sutton is less than 30 minutes by train from central London, and south and south west London are easily accessible by public transport. There are 10 train stations which serve key neighbourhoods within the borough providing direct connections to London Victoria, London Bridge, London Blackfriars and St Pancras International. Sutton also has direct rail connections with Epsom, Dorking, Guildford and Horsham, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and West Croydon for the London Overground. There’s also an extensive road network which provides close and easy access to the M25 and M23.

Occupational Therapists (OT)  - Adult Services

Grade 8 - £37,038 - £44,814 (unconsolidated maximum £46,857) Fixed Term Contract of 18 months

Occupational Therapists within Adult Social Care receive a Welcome Bonus of £1000 in their first month salary, followed by a Retention Bonus of £1000 for every completed year in service.

As an Occupational Therapist (OT) in Sutton Adult Social Care, you will be working within an integrated locality team with Social Workers, Occupational Therapists, Assessment Officers and Home Care Assessors.  You will also work closely with Admiral Nurses, Sensory Team, Reablement, Education, Housing and the NHS to ensure that assessment and recommendations are robust and fully meet the needs of our residents.

The post holder will carry out comprehensive, specialist assessments (including moving and handling) and make recommendations to address practical problems encountered by older and disabled adults in their homes.  This aim is to enable people to be safe, whilst maximise their independence. The post holder will also facilitate major and minor adaptations and supply of assistive equipment.

Locality Teams

Services for older people, people with physical and sensory disabilities and people with mental health related needs are delivered by our 4, locality teams.  These bring Social Workers together with NHS colleagues, supporting holistic, integrated working.  The teams are based in Carshalton, Wallington, Sutton and Cheam

Hospital Team

Staff within our hospital team work closely with NHS colleagues to facilitate safe, timely discharge.  Their priority is to enable people to return to their own homes, utilising reablement and other services to enable them regain independence.

Learning Disability Teams

Within our boroughwide health and social care service for people with learning disabilities there are two Social Work teams - one for young people aged 18-25 and one for older adults.   Staff work closely with colleagues from the LD Clinical Health Team, children services and other local partners to achieve a smooth transition to adulthood and to support independence, wellbeing and choice.

Our Occupational Therapists take a person-centred approach whilst working within a multidisciplinary team. The successful candidate will demonstrate the following competencies:

• Degree or an equivalent qualification in Occupational Therapy and registered with the HCPC
• Experience of Occupational Therapy (minimum 2 years) within a Local Authority including major adaptations and complex manual handling

You will need to have experience of OT practice within a local authority setting and sound knowledge of relevant legislation and the principles of safeguarding. You will need to demonstrate experience of completing holistic assessments for the provision of services such as recommending equipment, minor and major adaptations, moving and handling risk assessments, mobility assessments and re-housing support.

We will consider newly qualified candidates if they can prove experience in an assistant role in Social Care or similar

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across - however big or small - will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

In addition, we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff, supported by our IT infrastructure, including Google Chromebooks and Google Apps.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
• Flexi-time (Please note, this applies to roles at grades 1-9 only)
• Comprehensive learning and development programme
• Local and national discounts for shopping, eating out and leisure activities
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Car parking scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Zip car scheme
• Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
• Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
• Subsidised gym membership

Please apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please ensure you refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application.

To support our diversity agenda and reduce the risk of bias in our recruitment activities, our short listing process completely anonymises personal information that can identify job applicants e.g. name, title etc. Our hiring managers review and short list applications based on the information provided as part of your application as to how well you meet the requirements and criteria for the role, as outlined in the job profile.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

We pride ourselves on being a diverse, inclusive and welcoming Borough and we aim to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve. We are respectful of difference and realise the positive value of diversity in our workforce. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates and disabled candidates, as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce. As part of our Disability Confident Committed status, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role.

We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums, and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.