Children’s Occupational Therapist

About Us:

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF SHOFA’S MARKET.

Children’s Services in Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories. Where courageous and inspiring professionals bring everything to their work.

Sometimes this even includes heartbreak. Shofa is a shining example. Shofa’s brother suffered with his mental health and died tragically young. She uses his memory as motivation to give Westminster Youth Council members the opportunity to have a voice and get involved in decision making. This passion resulted in in her innovation: The Westminster Youth Market. Here local teenagers learn about entrepreneurship and develop their personal skills. This is an inclusive platform where everyone’s contribution and abilities are celebrated. Inspired by a promising life cut short, Shofa believes without vision there is no direction and every young person should be supported to realise their dreams.

Please view the extraordinary story of Shofa’s Market here.

The Role:

As a Children’s Occupational Therapist you can make your own powerful contribution when you join our Bi-Borough Short Breaks Occupational Therapy team. Providing a community based OT service to children with disabilities, their families and carers, you’ll assess and advise service users on all aspects of their daily life, and recommend appropriate equipment and adaptations to their homes. Working in partnership with parents, carers, teachers, health professionals and others to provide professional advice regarding the needs of the children you work with, you will also be responsible for providing reports for the Education, Health and Care plan for children you work with.

Keeping abreast of the latest research, knowledge and best practice in the field of OT, you’ll participate in training in order to maintain your HCPC registration, and be an active member of the Bi-borough Short Breaks Service. We’ll also expect you to help to supervise Occupational Therapy students and support OT apprenticeships, and be conversant with essential departmental policies and procedures and relevant government legislation.

Your other tasks will include working closely with social workers and the City of Westminster Housing Department to support children with disabilities and their families who are in need of rehousing, using tools such as Mosaic to maintain accurate, up to date and relevant case records.

Please refer to the Job Description for more information.

About You:

With a Degree or Diploma in Occupational Therapy and State Registered Qualification through HCPC, you should either have two years’ post qualification experience, including a minimum of one year’s experience in paediatrics, or experience of working in a community based setting. It is essential that you have knowledge of the Occupational Therapy process from referral through to discharge or review, and experience of working with issues of loss and bereavement.

Skilled in the assessment and intervention of children’s occupational performance, and with the ability to focus on all the activities of daily living, self care, mobility, seating, bathing, toileting and feeding, you will have experience of working with complex disabilities. With a sensitive and empathetic understanding of the issues affecting families and carers of children with disabilities, you will have the ability to work with clients from diverse racial ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds, and with those living various lifestyles. Capable of assessing and prescribing the most suitable form of specialist equipment and/or home adaptation for a wide range of complex disabilities, you will also be ready to plan interventions and set goals with the children and families you work with.

What We Offer:

Westminster is an amazing place. There are 250,000 diverse residents, over 50,000 vibrant and vital businesses and three-quarters-of-a-million people working here every day. We are an organisation that wants the very best for our residents: a supportive and safe environment, the chance to grow and learn throughout their lives, to build fantastic careers in world-leading industries, to have access to high-quality, affordable housing and to retire into the community with dignity and pride.

We want Westminster to be a place where you can make the most of your talents and thrive as an individual. That’s why we’re proud to have won Best Health & Wellbeing Initiative in the 2020/21 Business Culture Awards. By being the best you can be, you will help us adapt to the changing needs of our organisation and communities.

At Westminster City Council, we are passionate about our aim to be an inclusive workplace for all that reflects the communities we serve, and we believe everyone is valued. We particularly welcome applicants from underrepresented backgrounds, including B.A.ME (Black, Asian and Multiple Ethnic backgrounds), LGBTQ+ and those with hidden or visible disabilities. We are committed to ensuring all our staff – regardless of gender, age, religion, sexuality, ethnicity or disability – can succeed. We value diversity and appreciate that people work in different ways. So, as a Timewise employer we work to provide flexible working arrangements and an empowering environment that enables you to be your best, that is the Westminster Way.