Lead Occupational Therapist - Trusted Assessor Delivery

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.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Lead Occupational Therapist - Trusted Assessor Delivery to develop and implement a Trusted Assessor Framework that will be used across Health and Social Care in South West London (Sutton, Kingston, Croydon, Merton, Wandsworth and Richmond).

We know that the trusted assessor role is invaluable, and recognise the need to develop, support and retain trusted assessors in our workforce.

The framework will develop the knowledge, competencies and skills of trusted assessors and support them in carrying out their role such as prescription of equipment and adaptations to maximise independence for vulnerable adults and promote efficiencies.

In the role, you will also develop and implement standard operating procedures for equipment prescribed by Trusted Assessors. You will forge links with training providers to ensure that the trusted assessor training provided meets the needs of South West London partners.

You will evaluate the effectiveness of the Trusted Assessor Framework using outcome measures and report on key performance indicators. You will also be required to gain feedback from residents to shape your work and take strengths and outcome-based approaches.

You will provide direct support to trusted assessors through forums and joint work to support their development.

You will line manage and supervise a Senior Occupational Therapist who will assist with this project and also provide direct support to trusted assessors.

You will report to the Principal / Lead Occupational Therapist and receive monthly supervision and guidance, as well as informal support. 

Applications are welcome for a secondment or fixed term contract. This role will end on 31st March 2025. 

Sutton has embraced hybrid working. You will be required to be based in the office regularly and be able to travel across South West London. There will also be ample opportunities to work remotely. 

The London  Borough of Sutton Occupational Therapy team is a specialist team supporting a wide range of activities across the local authority, including concessionary travel, housing, adults and children. You will have access to CPD opportunities, training and support. Our Trusted Assessors work across teams and partner agencies.

Our Offer to Occupational Therapists

• Recruitment and Retention Bonus for Occupational Therapists in Adult Social Care on selected pay scales
• Reimbursement of your HCPC Registration
• OT Preceptorship - an Assisted Year in Employment. London Borough of Sutton is proud to be one of a few local authorities to support the learning and development of our newly qualified or returning to practice Occupational Therapists through an Assisted year in Employment. This opportunity creates a safe space to practise occupational therapy within a Local Authority, under the guidance of industry professionals.

You will be a HCPC registered Occupational Therapist with at least 3 years post qualifying experience and  will have extensive experience prescribing equipment and adaptations.

You will have experience of providing supervision to staff and students.

You will work autonomously and have experience of managing projects. You will have excellent communication skills and have the ability to work collaboratively across partner organisations.

You will be hosted by the London Borough of Sutton but will be required to work across and with all partners as required with the aim to scale up the support to trusted assessors across South West London.

SKILLS & ABILITIES

1. Proven ability to work on own initiative, manage and prioritise workload to meet deadlines, as well as accommodating unplanned changes to circumstances and priorities

2. Attention to detail and an ability to present documents to a varied audience

3. Effective verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to present information in an influencing way

4. Ability to plan, organise project work and prioritise tasks in accordance with service requirements

5. Proficient skills in Microsoft packages including Word, Excel, Outlook, SharePoint etc

KNOWLEDGE

1 You will have sound knowledge of relevant legislation, including the Care Act, NHS Act, principles of safeguarding and GDPR

2. An understanding of how research, performance assessment frameworks, development and review methods could be applied in an adult social care setting.

EXPERIENCE

1. Practical experience of monitoring, planning, evaluation or performance improvement projects

2. Practical experience of information collection and presentation both electronic and hard copy.

3. Experience or knowledge of contributing to a change management agenda – particularly in the areas of systems and processes.

4. Experience in conducting/ co-ordinating all aspects of user satisfaction surveys

5. Experience of being able to undertake time limited work

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. Our Flexible Working - Smarter Working Scheme embraces new ways of working. It provides improved work life balance for our staff as it allows staff to work from a variety of locations and staff are not required to work within the office 5 days a week.

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)
• Three volunteering days per year in Sutton
• 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.

#LI-JT

We pride ourselves on being a diverse, inclusive and welcoming Borough and we aim to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve - the key highlights from our recent Equalities Workforce Report can be seen here. 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.