Stroke Clinical Specialist: Occupational Therapist or Physiotherapist inSouthampton inSouthampton PUBLISHED 5 NOV 2024

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity to work with us.

Please see below for a detailed job description for the role.

The University Hospital Southampton (UHS) award-winning Therapy team is looking for a Band 8a Clinical Occupational Therapist, or Physiotherapist, to join our Stroke/Neuro team. This is a new and exciting opportunity for a dynamic, flexible, and enthusiastic therapist with a passion for the clinical development of others.

Attached you will find the person specification document which provides more detail about the essential and desirable skills and experience needed for this role. We highly recommend you review this document and use it when completing your application as these criteria are used by hiring managers as guidance during shortlisting.

For an overview of the main duties of the role please see the 'Job Description and Main Responsibilities' section below. To understand the day-to-day responsibilities in more detail please read the full job description document attached.

About us

This new post offers an opportunity to provide highly specialist clinical skills across our Stroke Therapy service, whilst supporting the wider Neuro team alongside the Therapy Manager. You will provide clinical leadership to a newly expanded Stroke team across our Hyper Acute Stroke beds as well as downstream wards and support a team of OTs, Physios and Therapy Technicians. You will have the opportunity to support and plan service delivery with senior leaders and focus on quality improvement and research initiatives.

As a Clinical Specialist, there will be opportunities to utilise your clinical, managerial and leadership skills within the Stroke team, across the wider division, and community networks.

At UHS Always Improving is a key trust value, therefore support will be given towards your continued learning, and personal and professional development. Alongside education at UHS we have excellent links and teaching opportunities with the University of Southampton.

This post is part of the wider Therapy services department. You will have many opportunities to develop new skills and knowledge through our in-service training. You will be part of a large department of over 300 wte Therapy staff including Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists and Therapy support staff. As part of this role, you will be expected to work across 7-days on a roster basis, including weekends and bank holidays.

As a new post, there will be a wide range of opportunities to develop the role within the Stroke service at UHS, working with the MDT and partner services in the community. We are therefore looking for a dynamic, enthusiastic, and committed individual to lead service development and provide expert clinical support to the therapy department. The primary focus of the role will be within the Stroke team, however there will be an expectation to support across the wider Neuro service and therapy department.

There will also be an expectation to provide teaching, supervision and development opportunities to team leaders and specialist therapy staff. This post holder will have a key responsibility of ensuring that patients receive high quality care by providing compassionate leadership to the Stroke team and wider MDT in line with the Trusts vision, strategies, and values.

Effective communication, a strong collaborative approach, and ability to engage the therapy workforce and multidisciplinary team within a dynamic, and challenging, environment is essential. You will require strong leadership skills, and be a motivated and experienced OT, or Physio, who is able to make a positive difference to your teams and service.

Please ensure you check you fulfil all aspects of the essential criteria on the job description before applying.

Essential skills for this role:

1. Professional qualification in Occupational Therapy or Physiotherapy, with postgraduate Masters level study or alternative specialist course2. Current HCPC registration3. Evidence of post-graduate clinical experience in Stroke4. Experience and evidence of managing and leading a team in the acute hospital setting5. Broad range of clinical therapy experience in a variety of specialities, to complement a clinical specialist role in Stroke, e.g. Neuro, Spinal, Orthopaedics,6. Motivated individual with excellent verbal and written communication skills to support the MDT working relationship7. Experience managing collaborative projects, including engaging with internal/external stakeholders8. Evidence of leadership skills and ability to manage a diverse team, including rosters and HR issues9. Evidence of providing teaching to wider MDT, therapy teams and students10.Ability to stay calm and make appropriate decisions under pressure, in a fast-paced environment11. Show a clear desire to work in the acute hospital setting12. Show a clear desire to work within UHS therapy services

Desirable skills include:

1. Understanding and experience working with external partners i.e. ICS/voluntary sector on projects2. Experience developing service improvement, conducting research or governance3. Demonstrate a knowledge of NHS systems.

As this is a new role, we actively encourage all potential applicants to contact us to ask any questions before applying.

If this post is not for you and you are interested in finding out about other Therapy opportunities, please email

We look forward to hearing from you and answering your questions.