Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Speech and Language Therapist

The closing date is 30 October 2025

Job summary

Do you want to advocate for people with a learning disability to communicate and live well?

As a Speech and Language Therapist in the Community Learning Disability Team, you will use your clinical expertise and experience to support people with the most complex needs to live well with their learning disability. You will provide specialist communication and dysphagia assessments and interventions for people referred to the service as well as being an integral member of a very friendly and supportive team of SaLTs and wider multi-disciplinary team. You will have the autonomy to manage your own diary, and opportunities for hybrid working. This post is for 28.5 hours per week.

Please contact either the Team Leader or the Principal Speech and Language Therapist if you would like to discuss the role further.

Main duties of the job

Contributing to the management of a team caseload of individuals with complex needs, you will assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions, which will be delivered in a variety of community settings. The team encourages multi-disciplinary working wherever possible and you will convene, facilitate, and contribute to meetings to develop a holistic understanding of the person and their needs.

  1. To manage a caseload of adults with learning disabilities who have complex communication difficulties and dysphagia / eating / drinking / swallowing difficulties.
  2. To promote and enable service user and carer involvement and choice in intervention options.
  3. To understand a clients' learning capacity and to approach gaining informed consent in ways which demonstrate good practice and conform to Trust consent policies. To ensure that consent is approached within the legal framework for clients who may be deemed to lack capacity to consent to treatment.
  4. To undertake team Lead Practitioner role. This involves coordinating the care provided by the multidisciplinary team, organising and chairing meetings and updating clinical plans.
  5. To undertake comprehensive assessment of clients referred using investigative and analytic skills, to formulate an individualised management and treatment programme.
  6. To evaluate effectiveness of interventions using agreed outcome measures.

Please refer to the Job Description for more detail.

About us

As a mental health trust Sussex Partnership places a huge focus on the wellbeing of our staff, as well as ensuring our reward packages reflect the immensely important work they do.

You can expect:

  • Excellent supervision programmes.
  • Flexible working opportunities
  • Access to a host of discount schemes (including gyms, shopping, restaurants and cars)
  • Generous holiday entitlement
  • Excellent NHS Pension Scheme
  • The trust also offers a wide range of training specifically targeted towards AHPs and promotes ongoing learning.

Details

Date posted

16 October 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£38,682 to £46,580 a year pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

354-LD-20293-A

Job locations

County Hall North

Chart Way

Horsham

RH121AB


Job description

Job responsibilities

This is a specialist Speech & Language Therapy post in the Community Team for People with a Learning Disability suited to a Speech & Language Therapist with a minimum of 2 years postgraduate Speech & Language Therapy experience. The Speech & Language Therapist will be based within the West Sussex CTPLD, in the Northern Team (office base in Horsham) and will hold responsibility for managing a caseload in Northern West Sussex.

The clinical role will be to provide Speech & Language Therapy assessment, diagnosis and intervention to clients referred to the service using established models of Speech & Language Therapy ensuring practice is evidence based. The postholder will work as a core member of the CTPLD.

Please refer to the Job Description for more detail.

Job description

Job responsibilities

This is a specialist Speech & Language Therapy post in the Community Team for People with a Learning Disability suited to a Speech & Language Therapist with a minimum of 2 years postgraduate Speech & Language Therapy experience. The Speech & Language Therapist will be based within the West Sussex CTPLD, in the Northern Team (office base in Horsham) and will hold responsibility for managing a caseload in Northern West Sussex.

The clinical role will be to provide Speech & Language Therapy assessment, diagnosis and intervention to clients referred to the service using established models of Speech & Language Therapy ensuring practice is evidence based. The postholder will work as a core member of the CTPLD.

Please refer to the Job Description for more detail.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Recognised Speech & Language Therapy Degree or Masters qualification or equivalent
  • Health Professions Council - licence to practice
  • Registered member of Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists
  • Evidence of completion of specialist short courses related to learning disabilities
  • Post-basic qualification in dysphagia

Experience/Knowledge

Essential

  • Post graduate experience as a Speech & Language Therapist working in learning disabilities
  • Experience of training other professionals
  • Knowledge of assessment tools relevant to the client group
  • Knowledge of a range of appropriate therapeutic interventions (relevant to client group).
  • Knowledge of the principles of clinical governance/audit.
  • Knowledge of record keeping standards
  • Ability to adapt written and verbal communication to suit the needs of people with communication and learning disabilities. This may include Makaton signing, symbols and pictures etc
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Recognised Speech & Language Therapy Degree or Masters qualification or equivalent
  • Health Professions Council - licence to practice
  • Registered member of Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists
  • Evidence of completion of specialist short courses related to learning disabilities
  • Post-basic qualification in dysphagia

Experience/Knowledge

Essential

  • Post graduate experience as a Speech & Language Therapist working in learning disabilities
  • Experience of training other professionals
  • Knowledge of assessment tools relevant to the client group
  • Knowledge of a range of appropriate therapeutic interventions (relevant to client group).
  • Knowledge of the principles of clinical governance/audit.
  • Knowledge of record keeping standards
  • Ability to adapt written and verbal communication to suit the needs of people with communication and learning disabilities. This may include Makaton signing, symbols and pictures etc

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Additional information

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Address

County Hall North

Chart Way

Horsham

RH121AB


Employer's website

https://www.sussexpartnership.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer details

Employer name

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Address

County Hall North

Chart Way

Horsham

RH121AB


Employer's website

https://www.sussexpartnership.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Principal Speech and Language Therapist

Anne Walker

anne.walker@spft.nhs.uk

Details

Date posted

16 October 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£38,682 to £46,580 a year pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

354-LD-20293-A

Job locations

County Hall North

Chart Way

Horsham

RH121AB


Supporting documents

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