Occupational Therapist

Job Description

Organisation: Leicestershire County Council

Work Location: County Hall, Leicestershire, LE3 8RA

Salary: £32,070 - £42,699 per annum (pro rata for part-time) (Pay award pending)

Working Hours: 37 Hours Per Week

Contract Type: Permanent

Closing Date: Tuesday 14th July 2026

Interview Date(s): TBC

Join us in making a difference to the lives of adults and children in Leicestershire. Bring your Occupational Therapy expertise to deliver timely, high-quality interventions that enable people to live safely and independently.

We are developing a new OT Intake and Response Team to triage referrals and provide a responsive ‘see and solve’ service. In this role, you will use your professional expertise to triage referrals effectively and, where appropriate, complete assessments remotely via telephone, delivering timely and proportionate responses. You will also identify when urgent needs require face-to-face intervention and undertake visits to address immediate risks, ensuring people receive the right support at the right time.

About the Role

As an Occupational Therapist in our OT Intake and Response Team, you will work within a fast-paced, supportive environment, providing expert clinical oversight and direct intervention in response to new referrals. You will be responsible for triaging referrals into the OT Service, using your professional judgement to determine appropriate pathways and ensure timely, proportionate responses.

A key aspect of the role will be delivering urgent and targeted Occupational Therapy interventions, where there are significant risks or immediate needs. Where necessary you will undertake ‘see and solve’ visits to address short-term issues such as equipment provision, minor adaptations and functional difficulties, ensuring people are supported to remain safe and independent at the earliest opportunity.

You will also play an important role in supporting the wider team, providing expert clinical advice and guidance to Community Support Workers and colleagues, helping to inform decision-making and promote best practice. Alongside this, you will identify and respond to safeguarding concerns, mental capacity issues and wider risks, taking appropriate action to ensure safety and compliance with statutory responsibilities.

The role requires you to manage and prioritise a varied caseload, including complex and high-risk situations. You will work collaboratively with colleagues across health, housing and social care to deliver coordinated, person-centred outcomes, and ensure that cases requiring longer-term or more complex intervention are progressed appropriately to the relevant teams.

Dependent on skills, abilities and relevant experience, our salary structure is as follows:

• G9 Occupational Therapist: £32,070 to £34,359
• G10 Occupational Therapist: £35,451 to £39,165
• G11 Occupational Therapist: £39,939 to £42,699 plus £3,200 market premia

A DBS enhanced check for a regulated activity is required for this post.

For information on our approach to the recruitment of ex-offenders, please see our policy statement.

About You

To apply for this role, you must demonstrate:

• A recognised Occupational Therapy qualification and current HCPC registration
• Experience of working within a social care or community Occupational Therapy setting, with a strong understanding of relevant legislation and practice
• Advanced knowledge of Occupational Therapy interventions, including moving and handling, equipment provision, minor and major adaptations
• Proven ability to undertake complex assessments, risk management and decision-making, including safeguarding and mental capacity and the ability to respond effectively in urgent situations, delivering timely and proportionate interventions
• Strong clinical reasoning and professional judgement, with the confidence to work autonomously and prioritise a varied and fast-paced workload
• Excellent communication, negotiation and partnership working skills, with the ability to influence outcomes and work across multi-disciplinary teams
• Experience of supporting and developing others, providing guidance, sharing expertise and contributing to high-quality team practice

You will require a valid full driving licence or access to a vehicle for this position.

In addition, we also expect you to share our commitment to our values and to delivering accessible and inclusive services which meet the needs of all of our residents. You will be asked to demonstrate your understanding of these commitments as part of the selection process.

Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability. We are a Disability Confident Employer.

Interested in Flexible Working?

We are open to discussions about flexible working, which may include part time working, job sharing, term-time working, flexible start and finish times, and hybrid working, depending on the requirements of the role and the service. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below.

For more information or an informal discussion, please contact:

Lauren Taylor - Team Manager, OT Intake and Response Team.

Telephone: 0116 305 8869

Email: Lauren.Taylor@leics.gov.uk

How to Apply

At Leicestershire County Council we’re looking for top talent from all walks of life. Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, and whatever your background - we care about what you bring to our organisation, not just what’s on your CV. That’s why we’ve designed a recruitment process that’s fair, accessible, and focused on potential. And with benefits that support people at every age and stage of life, we make sure you can thrive - both personally and professionally.

If you share our passion to make a difference for the people of Leicestershire, we’d love to hear from you. Click the apply button to submit your application, ensuring that you upload a supporting statement that explains how you meet the criteria listed in the ‘About You’ section above. Without this information, we won’t be able to assess your suitability for the role, and your application will be rejected. For tips on how to write your statement, see the How to Apply section on our career site.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post or you want to request an application pack in an alternative format, please contact our Employee Service Centre by telephoning 0300 3030222 (select option 2) or raising a ticket via our online portal: https://emss.org.uk/support. 

By applying for this post, you agree to our Terms and Conditions.

About us

About Leicestershire County Council

At Leicestershire County Council, we're committed to making a real difference in people's lives. Our aim is to work with communities and partners to deliver public services that make Leicestershire the best possible place to live and work for everyone.

Our employees play a key role in supporting this goal and helping us deliver the vital services we provide to the people of Leicestershire. Whether you're starting your career or looking for your next challenge, you'll find a place with us where your ideas are valued, and your work has purpose.

For further information on what it’s like to work for us and the benefits we offer, please refer to the following:

Our Recruitment Process
Our Organisational Values
Our Employee Benefits
Working for Us