Speech & Language Clinical Lead for Dysphagia

NHS

  • Coxheath, Kent
  • £47,810-54,710 per year
  • Permanent
  • Part-time
  • 7 days ago
This is an exciting opportunity for a Dysphagia Specialist Speech and Language Therapist to join theChildren's Therapies Team in North West Kent. This Band 7 role encompasses both leadership and clinicalwork in the community with children and families aged 0-19 years. The Children's Therapies Team is anintegrated therapies team providing Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy,Specialist Nurse Advisors and Care Co-ordinators to children and families within KCHFT.You will be part of an innovative, cohesive and enthusiastic team of dysphagia therapists who have reimaginedKCHFT's dysphagia service. As part of our county-wide approach to the management of children withdysphagia, you will be able to offer virtual appointments to families across Kent, as well as locality-based faceto face sessions.You will provide support and supervision to other clinicians in the team managing children with dysphagia andsupport competencies for therapists completing Dysphagia specialist training. You will access and lead onfortnightly group supervision and CPD sessions, whilst building links with external stakeholders. You will workwith the other Dysphagia leads to monitor, review and develop pathways to ensure the service is able to offersafe, efficient and effective assessment and intervention in a timely way.Main duties of the job
  • Supporting and leading on the Dysphagia pathways across Kent
  • Leading on service policy and clinical care pathways across KCHFT for dysphagia
  • Ensuring team members are working to agreed care pathway within dysphagia
  • Providing effective supervision, training and support to SLTs to enhance their CPD
  • Reporting and advising on development requirements in dysphagia to colleagues, Professional Leads, Team Leads, Locality Clinical Manager and Head of Service.
  • Participating in reflective practice and on going learning within these clinical fields
  • Carrying out delegated line management of staff
  • Managing a complex /specialist clinical caseload across 0-19 years
The role will be a hybrid model of working (virtual and face to face).We pride ourselves on the support and opportunities offered to staff at all stages in their career including;regular meetings with a line manager, access to supervision; in house and external training. We offer regularclinical governance days where all localities come together to share knowledge, skills and CPD experiences.About usRated 'outstanding' by the CQC, we've got a passion for delivering high standards of patient care and excellent services to improve the health of our communities. To do this we need outstanding people who share our values compassionate Aspirational Responsive ExcellentWe know a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion leads to better patient care and a happier workforce. We pride ourselves in being diverse and welcome applications from people with varied backgrounds, perspectives and experiencesWe ask for information about your protected characteristics on our application forms. This isn't visible to anyone involved with shortlisting or interviewing you, except when you choose to be considered under the guaranteed interview scheme due to disability. Short listers will see two ticks alongside your application to ensure they apply the principles of the scheme to your submissionThe data we collect helps us to ensure we are attracting diversity in our applicants, that all our colleagues have equitable access to career opportunities and supports us on our journey to being a Great Place to WorkAs a flexible working friendly organisation, we want you to be able to work in a way that is best for us, for our patients and for you. Talk to us about a flexible working arrangement that won't involve sacrificing time for personal interests or family commitments. We'll support you to work flexibly in a way that will suits us bothSee where you can go with KCHFTcareer pathwaysDetailsDate posted27 August 2025Pay schemeAgenda for changeBandBand 7Salary£47,810 to £54,710 a year pro rata per annumContractPermanentWorking patternPart-timeReference number846-7434456-EPJob locationsHeathside CentreCoxheathME17 4AHJob descriptionJob responsibilitiesAs a community Trust many of our roles require individuals to be able to drive to perform their duties. As such you will be asked to confirm you have a full UK driving licence where driving is a requirement of the role to be able to proceed with your application. We are committed to supporting candidates with disabilities into employment, if you are unable to drive due to a disability, please contact the Recruitment Team via kentchft.recruitment@nhs.net quoting the vacancy reference number so we can support you further.The job description and person specification gives you all the information you need about this role. Please look carefully at the criteria in the person specification and tell us what you have done that shows you meet this in your application. If you need an application form in an alternative format please let our recruitment team know. All information you supply on your application should, to the best of your knowledge, be true and accurate.Still have questions? The recruiting manager would love to hear from you, their contact details can be found in the job advert.We can get a lot of applications for some roles so to be in with the best chance of being shortlisted please make sure you apply as soon as possible. A vacancy may close early if there is a lot of interest in the job.At KCHFT we strongly encourage colleagues in clinical and non-clinical roles who have direct or social contact with patients to be fully vaccinated. In this way we will be doing all we can to ensure your safety and that of your colleagues and the patients we serve.Find out more about the community difference here.Good luck! We cant wait to meet you and welcome you to #teamKCHFT, #cometocommunity. Job descriptionJob responsibilitiesAs a community Trust many of our roles require individuals to be able to drive to perform their duties. As such you will be asked to confirm you have a full UK driving licence where driving is a requirement of the role to be able to proceed with your application. We are committed to supporting candidates with disabilities into employment, if you are unable to drive due to a disability, please contact the Recruitment Team via kentchft.recruitment@nhs.net quoting the vacancy reference number so we can support you further.The job description and person specification gives you all the information you need about this role. Please look carefully at the criteria in the person specification and tell us what you have done that shows you meet this in your application. If you need an application form in an alternative format please let our recruitment team know. All information you supply on your application should, to the best of your knowledge, be true and accurate.Still have questions? The recruiting manager would love to hear from you, their contact details can be found in the job advert.We can get a lot of applications for some roles so to be in with the best chance of being shortlisted please make sure you apply as soon as possible. A vacancy may close early if there is a lot of interest in the job.At KCHFT we strongly encourage colleagues in clinical and non-clinical roles who have direct or social contact with patients to be fully vaccinated. In this way we will be doing all we can to ensure your safety and that of your colleagues and the patients we serve.Find out more about the community difference here.Good luck! We cant wait to meet you and welcome you to #teamKCHFT, #cometocommunity.Person SpecificationQualificationsEssential
  • Registered health care professional (HCPC registration)
  • Evidence of Post Graduate Specialist qualifications relevant to specialist area of practice ( dysphagia)
  • Speech & Language Therapy degree
ExperienceEssential
  • Experience in area of practice Supporting others (mentor / educator / supervisor ) experience
ExperienceEssential
  • Experience of leading and managing teams
  • Experience of developing policy and service development plans with practical experience of change management
  • Practical experience in managing health related projects/complex caseloads
special knowledge & ExpertiseEssential
  • Evidence of continued relevant professional development and implementation in practice within the last 12 months
skills & abilitiesEssential
  • Ability to manage time effectively, priorities and work under pressure to meet deadlines
  • Highly developed facilitation skills
  • Strong influencing and negotiating skills
  • Ability to communicate complex, sensitive information to individuals and groups
  • Ability to work effectively with a variety of people at all organisational levels across different sectors including areas of social deprivation
Personal attributesEssential
  • Ability to work under pressure
Person SpecificationQualificationsEssential
  • Registered health care professional (HCPC registration)
  • Evidence of Post Graduate Specialist qualifications relevant to specialist area of practice ( dysphagia)
  • Speech & Language Therapy degree
ExperienceEssential
  • Experience in area of practice Supporting others (mentor / educator / supervisor ) experience
ExperienceEssential
  • Experience of leading and managing teams
  • Experience of developing policy and service development plans with practical experience of change management
  • Practical experience in managing health related projects/complex caseloads
special knowledge & ExpertiseEssential
  • Evidence of continued relevant professional development and implementation in practice within the last 12 months
skills & abilitiesEssential
  • Ability to manage time effectively, priorities and work under pressure to meet deadlines
  • Highly developed facilitation skills
  • Strong influencing and negotiating skills
  • Ability to communicate complex, sensitive information to individuals and groups
  • Ability to work effectively with a variety of people at all organisational levels across different sectors including areas of social deprivation
Personal attributesEssential
  • Ability to work under pressure

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