Optimising Care (Moving and Handling) Lead

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced, inspiring, and enthusiastic Optimising Care Moving and Handling Lead to join our Occupational Therapy Service. You will be part of a busy, supportive multi-skilled team of Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapy Assistants, Hearing and Vision practitioners, Social Workers and Assistant Care Managers. As a team we work alongside people seeking, or drawing on, support to live the lives they choose to lead, whatever their age or stage of life, assisting people to maximise their independence in activities that are important to them. 

Your next role

As a new role to the service, you will use your effective knowledge and skills of optimal approaches to moving and handling to work with people in receipt of care and support to promote ‘right-size’ packages of care. This will include finding solutions to enable a single caregiver to support a person safely and effectively to allow for increased independence, better outcomes for them and more personalised support, using a strengths-based approach. You will work closely with Occupational Therapists in situations where the methods required to support someone to move or transfer is challenging and/or complex, drawing upon your clinical expertise of biomechanical principles, legislation and evidence. 

Experience of training development and delivery is essential to the role, ideally in a health or social care setting. You will deliver moving and handling training, working closely with internal and external colleagues to provide advice, information, instruction, and training in all aspects of moving and handling activities including ergonomic interventions and design of safe and efficient systems of work. A great team player, you will be adaptable in your working role and will support the Principal Occupational Therapist in leading on an optimal care approach across Swindon.

Part of your community-based role requires you to carry out lone home visits within Swindon to people’s homes, supported living homes, residential care settings and nursing homes. It is crucial that you have the ability to demonstrate initiative and work autonomously and you will need the ability to work flexibly under pressure to both self-determined and prescribed deadlines. A hybrid-working pattern would be expected, accommodating a combination of remote/home working as well as on-site/in-office presence.

You must be fluent in the English language (as a requirement of Part 7 of the Immigration Act “for the effective performance of a customer-facing role”) and possess a full driving licence and car, or equivalent mobility.

Your next package

Please see our Rewards and Benefits offer for more details.

As an employee, you will receive a diverse and exciting environment in which to work, encouraging creativity and innovation whilst recognising the need to support ongoing personal development and a flexible work life balance.

For Swindon to thrive in the future, we need to lay the foundations now. It’s why our regeneration and transformation programmes are already underway. So, you’ll be joining us at an exciting time on our journey. We’ll look to you to share your knowledge, influence decisions and drive real, positive change. With your contributions, we’ll achieve our vision of a prosperous, re-vitalised Swindon together. And you’ll be proud to say it was made better with you.

Please see our Vision and Values page for more details.

Your next steps

Read the Optimising Care (Moving and Handling) Lead role profile and select the Apply button to start an application.

For further information about the role, please contact Sophie Palmer, Principal Occupational Therapist, by email sophie.palmer@swindon.gov.uk  or phone 07392 109867 or Claire Moreton, Community Led Support Team Manager, CMoreton2@swindon.gov.uk  or phone 07740 037328.

If you are experiencing technical issues submitting your application please email resourcing@swindon.gov.uk 

All applications for this position are being handled through NHS Jobs. Please visit the NHS Jobs website for application details. NHS Ref No: F0065-RNR001936