Senior Practitioner Occupational Therapist

How You'll Make a Difference

As a Senior Practitioner in the Promoting Independence and Reablement team, you will play a key role in promoting an independence-focused approach, ensuring that the social, health, and welfare needs of adults in South Gloucestershire are met in line with departmental strategic objectives.

Supporting practitioners to deliver timely assessments, care and support planning, and service provision, you will provide professional guidance and oversight for individuals referred from the community into the Reablement Service, as well as those discharged from Hospital Discharge Pathway 1.

What You Will Be Doing

• With the support of the Team Manager, you will take a proactive role in the day-to-day management of the team, providing advice, guidance and support on casework and practice, auditing performance, and developing practitioners through regular supervision and PDPRs.
• Working with other senior practitioners, you will assess risk, identify safeguarding concerns and provide direction on complex cases, ensuring all decisions are informed and aligned with procedures and professional standards.
• It will be your responsibility to maintain high performance and quality standards across the team, ensuring compliance with statutory and local requirements whilst supporting positive outcomes for service users.
• Using your expertise, you will prioritise and allocate work efficiently, ensuring accurate record-keeping and the delivery of clear, concise and high-quality reports.
• As an experienced practitioner, you will maintain up-to-date professional knowledge of legislation and practice, while actively supporting the development of students and newly qualified staff.
• To help continually develop the service, you will play an active role in working in partnership with our reablement provider and health partners.
• You will support practitioners with joint visits where required, provide duty cover, and contribute to decision-making regarding referral pathways and appropriate interventions.
  
  

What We Need From You

• It is essential that you hold a relevant professional qualification, such as a BSc in Occupational Therapy, and are registered with the HCPC.
• We are looking for someone who has significant post-qualifying experience within a social care setting, including managing complex cases and supporting casework supervision.
• You must have the skills, knowledge and confidence to assess and manage risk effectively, while providing clear guidance, oversight and support with casework.
• You will demonstrate a commitment to continuous professional development, maintaining up-to-date knowledge of current legislation and best practice in social care.
  
  

What You Need To Know

• You will be expected to travel throughout the authority and surrounding area so you must have a full, valid driving licence with regular access to a vehicle or have an alternative means of travel.
• Business insurance will need to be added to your insurance policy and you can claim back mileage expenses.
• Please note that due to the nature of this role, it is a requirement of employment that an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is obtained.
• This role is hybrid, with a mixture of working at our office in Badminton Road, working from home and working within the community.
  
  

Interviews are likely to be held on 5th October 2026.

How a Career At South Gloucestershire Council Is Different

• As part of our benefits package, you will receive generous annual leave (pro rata), employee wellbeing support and you will have access to a range of staff discounts, including eye tests, travel, shopping and leisure activities. 
• We recognise that our diverse team of skilled and dedicated people make us a great place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and ensure that individuals are selected, promoted and developed on the basis of their merits and abilities.
• If you want to develop a specialism, you’ll get the support you need and your cases will be aligned with your areas of expertise.
• Seniors and managers will genuinely listen at panel and will support you to ensure your service user’s needs are met.
• What’s special here is the strength of the team ethos. We are a relatively small local authority, so managers know staff well. They can plan their services to ensure teams have manageable caseloads and have effective supervision so feel supported to make decisions which are right for the people they work with.
• We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the safety and welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. Ensuring all our staff are given right skills, knowledge and support to recognise and respond effectively to potential abuse or neglect.
  
  

Our teams at South Gloucestershire Council are making a real difference to the lives of people who live, work and learn here.

• We're building and shaping communities which people are proud of.
• We're working with the most vulnerable in our community to help them achieve what they want in life.
• We're investing in our schools to ensure every child and young person in South Gloucestershire achieves their full potential.
  
  

We've achieved a great deal, but we need talented and dedicated people to ensure we continue to make a difference.

We’re making a difference, be part of it!

To view the full job description, please click this link: Senior Practitioner - Job Description