East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Specialist SALT in head and neck cancer

The closing date is 14 July 2025

Job summary

We have a substantive vacancy within our Head & Neck cancer service. The service works very closely within the specialist oncology MDT and has regular joint clinics with dietitians, Clinical nurse specialists, oncologists, surgeons, lymphedema nurses and radiographers.

You will need to be a confident and enthusiastic therapist who can demonstrate a variety of different skills.

You will have the opportunity to work alongside highly skilled and experienced colleagues, become involved in specialist MDTs and attend relevant Special Interest Groups and also work towards your competency in SVR and instrumental diagnostics. Our team are presently completing MBSImps training, as well as investigating pharyngeal stimulation and other innovative treatments for dysphagia rehabilitation such as aeration.

Our team is very friendly and helpful and we are committed to regularly reviewing our service delivery, clinical supervision and our CPD. We have over 200 years of collective clinical experience between us and are very generous with our knowledge and are essentially a supportive and can do team.

We also have excellent liaison with the local university, hospitals and other local teams.

Main duties of the job

Work independently within specialist MDTS to provide highly complex assessment, differential diagnosis and appropriate Speech and Language Therapy intervention for adults with swallowing and communication disorders referred to the service as a consequence of Head & neck Cancer.

About us

We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across east Suffolk and north Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients' own homes.

We are one of the largest NHS organisations in England, employing more than 12,000 staff.

We pride ourselves on supporting our staff. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options.

Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.

Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients.

We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic. This digital transformation will bring what's widely regarded as the world's best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients.

If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge, then we want to hear from you.

Find out about living and working here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkPu7HphU8A

Date posted

03 July 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£46,148 to £52,809 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

432-HR422-25

Job locations

Colchester Hospital

Turner road

Colchester

CO4 5JL

Job description

Job responsibilities

For full details of theresponsibilitiesand dutiesof this role please see the attached job description.

Job description

Job responsibilities

For full details of theresponsibilitiesand dutiesof this role please see the attached job description.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

oRCSLT recognised degree or equivalent
oEligible for registered membership of RCSLT
oHCPC membership
oIndependent Dysphagia practitioner
oEvidence of successful completion of specialist courses at a Masters degree equivalent (or an MSc if available in clinical specialism), particularly in dysphagia (eg Maggie Lee Huckabee training)
oMembership of relevant CENs

Experience

Essential

oSignificant specialist experience of working with adults with complex Head and Neck cancers, including SVR
oSpecialist experience working with adults with voice disorders arising from Head and Neck cancers and their treatment
oExperience of teaching others on speech and language therapy related topics
oExperience of working in demanding settings e.g. busy clinics with patients with complex needs/with palliative care patients
oExperience of supervising staff, including junior SLTs and students

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

oRCSLT recognised degree or equivalent
oEligible for registered membership of RCSLT
oHCPC membership
oIndependent Dysphagia practitioner
oEvidence of successful completion of specialist courses at a Masters degree equivalent (or an MSc if available in clinical specialism), particularly in dysphagia (eg Maggie Lee Huckabee training)
oMembership of relevant CENs

Experience

Essential

oSignificant specialist experience of working with adults with complex Head and Neck cancers, including SVR
oSpecialist experience working with adults with voice disorders arising from Head and Neck cancers and their treatment
oExperience of teaching others on speech and language therapy related topics
oExperience of working in demanding settings e.g. busy clinics with patients with complex needs/with palliative care patients
oExperience of supervising staff, including junior SLTs and students

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

Certificate of Sponsorship

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

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Colchester Hospital

Turner road

Colchester

CO4 5JL

Employer's website

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

Employer details

Employer name

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Colchester Hospital

Turner road

Colchester

CO4 5JL

Employer's website

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