Senior Practitioner - Occupational Therapy, Pullar House, Perth - Internal

Main Purpose of the Role

Working within Perth & Kinross Council is more than a job, it's about being part of an organisation that puts people at the heart of all we do and provides opportunities to make a real difference by enhancing every life we touch.

We currently have the following opportunity:

Senior Practitioner - PKC13876
£51,524 - £55,504
Pullar House, Perth

Please note: Only existing employees of Perth & Kinross Council may apply.

The Role

Would you like to join our team in the Perth Locality as a Senior Practitioner Occupational Therapist?

If so, we are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated team player who has the practice knowledge and experience to support the team.

This is a full-time, 36-hour permanent post in the Perth City Locality, an area of exceptional beauty, including a mixture of urban and rural towns and villages.

The role requires you to be a qualified Occupational Therapist, registered with the HCPC. You will have significant post-qualifying experience in a community social work service, with the ability to work at an advanced level.

You will have well-developed knowledge of issues affecting adults and children in relation to Occupational Therapy.

The role takes responsibility for the support and management of the Perth City Locality OT Service, Occupational Therapy Duty Service and OT Admin Service. It includes a mixture of clinical, professional and operational activities. These will include some of the following:

• carrying a small caseload of complex cases
• supervision of staff, including annual learning and development appraisals
• supporting staff health and wellbeing
• management of the waiting list, including screening and allocation of casework
• responding to FLRs and complaints
• authorising requests for specialist equipment and adaptations
• representation at inter-agency forums in a management capacity

 The Person

You will be working with a supportive and collaborative team of Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapy Assistants and Senior Clerical Assistants based across our Perth and Kinross localities.

You will provide, manage and/or co-ordinate, and contribute to the development of best practice and service development. This will include delivering person-centred, inclusive services in line with HCPC standards of practice. You will have a proven ability to work in partnership with individuals, families and carers to deliver outcomes and maximise independence.

We would encourage applications from people who feel as passionately as we do about treating everyone with kindness, dignity and respect, demonstrating these values in every aspect of practice and staff development.

You must be able to demonstrate initiative and independence, work within defined guidelines and procedures, and deal with both predictable and unforeseen challenges as they arise.

A solution-focused approach is essential.

You will demonstrate a commitment to ongoing professional development, acquiring the skills and knowledge required for the role and developing expertise to support others. You should be committed to learning, improvement and innovation, and demonstrate a flexible approach to change with the ability to challenge the status quo.

A commitment to creating and supporting a safe working environment is essential.

You must have a valid driving licence, as this post requires travel to a variety of locations across Perth and Kinross.

We offer a range of employee benefits, including flexitime, flexible working, a pension scheme, and health & wellbeing support.

Skills & Experience Required

This essential frontline senior post will be responsible for the daily management of the Perth City locality OT team, with responsibilities for recruitment, waiting list management, casework allocations, supervision, governance, and responses to front line and stage 1 complaints.

The post holder will be required to manage a small caseload of complex cases, supporting children with hoisting, moving and handling, and specialist equipment provision to support feeding and postural care. Other casework will include adults with bariatric needs, including moving with dignity considerations, requiring the provision of specialist seating and equipment. Knowledge of building and design is essential due to structural survey requirements.

Advanced moving and handling experience, with RoSPA Level 4 accreditation in Single Handed Care, is essential for casework and for supporting and training junior staff and families.

Experience of advanced building design is essential to support housing needs, including wheelchair-accessible designs and bathroom and showering solutions for clients with physical, neurological and visual impairment needs.

The post holder will also have responsibility to share the daily management and delivery of an Occupational Therapy Duty Service. Support and guidance to this staff group are critical due to the demands placed on the service. The team receives a high volume of referrals and contacts (approximately 50 per day), which is challenging for a small team to manage. This includes referrals from the spinal injuries unit, children’s hospitals, and significant demand from Ninewells and PRI to support hospital discharges.

The post holder will also share responsibility for the daily management and support of the OT admin team, who progress INTEGRA requests for the provision of minor adaptations and manage the servicing and maintenance financial process for fixed assets such as stairlifts, ceiling track hoists and wheelchair lifts. Admin staff also support telephone and intake for both the duty service and the general OT service.

The post holder will report directly to, and support, the OT Team Leader.

The post holder will also represent PKC Occupational Therapy at a variety of levels, including the Local Authority OT Network, AHP OT Uni Professional Tayside Network, PKC/Tayside Equipment and Adaptation Forum, NAEP (National Association of Equipment Providers), Tayside Provision of Children’s Equipment Forum, Tayside Postural Care Forum, and the Scottish Manual Handling Forum.

 Essential Qualifications

• The successful candidate must hold a relevant qualification in Occupational Therapy and have current HCPC registration.
• Post-qualifying experience is essential.
• Manual handling experience, including M&H/SHC, with RoSPA Level 4 accreditation is essential.
• Train the Trainer RoSPA Level 4 is desirable.
• Experience in the supervision and management of staff is desirable, or a willingness to develop leadership and management skills.
• A valid driving licence is required

Working at Perth & Kinross Council

Our values and behaviours influence our work and support us in the delivery of our key priorities. In your application, and should you be invited to interview, you will be asked to describe situations that support the criteria required in the role and which also demonstrate our values and behaviours. Find out more about Perth & Kinross Council and you could soon be joining our team!

Here's what we can offer you:

• A generous annual leave package
• 7 public holidays
• Eligibility to join our pension scheme
• Family friendly and positive work/life balance policies such as Flexible Working, Maternity, Paternity & Adoption leave, time off for volunteering and our Wellbeing Framework
• Flexi time
• Access to a range of benefits

We recognise there can be benefits to flexible working and where individual jobs allow, we seek to support this. You are encouraged to discuss potential options with the recruiting manager, if this is of interest to you. A healthy work life balance is important to us and we provide supportive management and, where possible, flexible working arrangements to help you achieve that balance. You will have access to training and support for continued professional development.

For purposes of connection and collaboration with colleagues and with the community we serve, our full-time employees work on site for a minimum of 2 days per week with the arrangements for part time employees being agreed on a basis which will ensure that they benefit to an equivalent degree.

Our FAQs on hybrid working can be found here Hybrid working FAQs.

We are committed to being a more inclusive employer - to ensure we can consider any reasonable adjustments, please either contact the recruiting manager to discuss any individual circumstances, discuss at interview or, if you prefer, after any conditional offer is made.

Next Steps

We would love to hear from you and would encourage you to get in touch with Carol Cowan on 01738 476777 to find out more.

Click “APPLY NOW”

External candidates are required to provide contact details for 2 referees, including email addresses. One of these must be your current or most recent employer.

We welcome applications from everyone and as a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee to interview applicants who declare a disability and meet the essential requirements of the post. Please contact the hiring manager above or the Recruitment Team on (01738) 475555 or recruitment@pkc.gov.uk to discuss any reasonable adjustments. Appointments are based on evidence supplied during the selection process.

Diversity is important to us and although some of our jobs may be perceived to be traditionally gender specific, we welcome applications from everyone and would encourage you to apply if you meet the job requirements. That includes welcoming applications from former armed forces personnel/reservists. Many of the skills picked up during your military career could be transferred directly into a role with local government.

Working with children and/or protected adults is regulated work and under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 you will be required to join the PVG Scheme or undergo a PVG Scheme update check.

If you have lived overseas for a period of 12 months or more (continuous or total) within the last 10 years, an Overseas Criminal Record Check will be required. You will be required to provide this check.

A confirmed offer of employment and commencement in the post will be subject to the outcome of the above mentioned mandatory pre-employment checks (including references) and will also include eligibility to work in the UK, qualifications and fitness to undertake the post.