Occupational Therapist - Essex

Job summary

Manage a clinical caseload and provide occupational therapy assessments and treatments to individuals and groups in a secure mental health setting. Contribute to multidisciplinary care, apply risk assessment skills, develop innovative therapy approaches, and support the training of occupational therapy students.

Job details

Qualified / Newly Qualified Occupational Therapist - Essex Location: Basildon, Essex Salary: From £30,989 – £37,210 per annum (depending on experience), plus £1250 Essex Allowance Hours: Full time Our Charity St Andrew’s is a charity specialising in complex mental health. Its mission is to help people with complex mental health needs transform their lives. With its history dating back nearly two centuries, St Andrew’s today is undergoing significant change to deliver on its mission for years to come. St Andrew’s has hospitals in Birmingham and Essex, with its base in Northampton. It delivers inpatient and outpatient services, as well as dedicated care services for adults. The Person and Role As a registered Occupational Therapist, you would be joining a highly motivated, knowledgeable and innovative OT team. You will have the opportunity to be innovative and create new therapy ideas. Experience will be gained as part of a multi-disciplinary team, taking responsibility for a clinical caseload, and offering OT specific assessment and treatment to groups and individuals within your care. As an employee of St Andrews, you will adopt an inclusive and ‘can do’ attitude in approaching your work. You will demonstrate good understanding of OT within secure services, including an application of risk assessment skills. In sharing your experience of applying the OT process, you should also emphasise how you promote our specialism as a profession. Continued professional development is supported, with access to a range of in-house CPD events, as well as an expectation to be involved in the development and training of OT students. Further opportunities include networking opportunities with colleagues of the same and different grades within the service and The Charity. You Should Have Experience and knowledge of working within a secure setting. Knowledge and experience of working within mental health services. An interest, knowledge and understanding of a range of theoretical frameworks and approaches which guide practice and clinical reasoning. For example Model of Human Occupation, occupational science, occupational diagnosis and sensory approaches. Knowledge and experience in using occupational assessment tools to support clinical reasoning, treatment planning and evaluation of interventions. Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to develop good professional relationships with members of the MDT and patient group, and the ability to liaise with a variety of outside agencies (within and outside of the hospital). Reward We offer an excellent benefits package including: Pension; Sickness policy on par with the NHS; Access to the Blue Light Card and Health Service Discounts schemes; 27 days annual leave (plus bank holidays), increasing after 10 years' service; Life cover; Electric Car lease scheme; Cycle to work scheme; Healthcare cash plan; Free parking; Paid DBS application; Access to free vocational qualifications. On-site facilities such as cafes all set within beautiful grounds. Interested? If this sounds like you then we’d love you to apply here. Closing date: Sunday 25 th October 2026

What you’ll do

Manage a clinical caseload and provide occupational therapy assessments and treatments to individuals and groups in a secure mental health setting. Contribute to multidisciplinary care, apply risk assessment skills, develop innovative therapy approaches, and support the training of occupational therapy students.

Requirements

Applicants should be registered occupational therapists with knowledge or experience in secure settings and mental health services. They should understand relevant theoretical frameworks and occupational assessment tools, and have strong communication skills for working with patients, multidisciplinary colleagues, and external agencies.

Benefits

• Pension
• Sickness Policy Comparable to the NHS
• Blue Light Card
• Health Service Discounts
• 27 Days Annual Leave Plus Bank Holidays
• Additional Annual Leave After 10 Years of Service
• Life Cover
• Electric Car Lease Scheme
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Healthcare Cash Plan
• Free Parking
• Paid DBS Application
• Free Vocational Qualifications
• On-Site Cafes

Listed skills

• Communication · Preferred

Other relevant skills

Identified from the job description. Confirm important requirements above.

• Occupational Therapy
• Mental Health Care
• Secure Services
• Risk Assessment
• Clinical Caseload Management
• Occupational Assessment
• Treatment Planning
• Group Therapy
• Individual Therapy
• Clinical Reasoning
• Multidisciplinary Teamwork
• Communication
• Professional Relationship Building
• Interagency Liaison
• Model of Human Occupation
• Sensory Approaches

Job areas

• Healthcare
• Social Services
• Education