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Occupational Therapist (Band 5)

Colchester, CO4 5HF
£31,317 per year
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This vacancy has expired.

About the role

Overview

Colchester, CO4 5HF
Full Time
£31,317 per year
11 June 2025

Would you like to explore a rewarding career experience as an Occupational Therapist?

 

About Us:

Cygnet Health Care was established in 1988 as an independent provider of health and social care services in England, Scotland and Wales.

Your Role: Occupational Therapist (Band 5/Newly Qualified)
Working hours: 40 Hours per week
Salary:  £31,317 per year (salary to increase upon successful completion of OT Preceptorship)
Service Line: Learning Disability Mental Health
Location: Cygnet Hospital Colchester, Boxted Rd, Mile End, Colchester CO4 5HF
Responsible to: Head of Occupational Therapy and Regional Lead Occupational Therapist

Cygnet encourages applications from newly qualified, or soon to be qualified, Occupational Therapists. Cygnet is a great place to launch your career in Occupational Therapy, offering lots of learning opportunities and support.  We provide a monthly Band 5 development programme, a 12-month OT preceptorship supported by your supervisor with peer support from other Band 5s too, and weekly 1:1s with your supervisor to help you feel empowered and supported in your role.

Summary of the site:

Cygnet Hospital Colchester is a 59 bed service providing a range of intensive support and rehabilitation services for men with learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders or mental health needs.

The aim of our services is assessment, stabilisation, treatment and engagement, with a view to supporting service users in the least restrictive environment appropriate to their needs. Our services are recovery-focused, with the aim of preparing individuals for a move to rehabilitation or step-down services, and ultimately, back into the community wherever possible.

The team at Colchester consists of nurses, psychologists, psychology assistants, occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, and psychiatrists as well as 24/7 support from the nursing team. This means that we are able to meet the changing needs of our service users as they progress through their care pathway, while ensuring their safety is maintained and their independence supported.

Clinical:

You would be responsible for the assessment and treatment of occupational dysfunction for patients on your allocated caseload, including the delivery of person centred group and individual therapy sessions. You will work with a full multidisciplinary team in a coordinated way to support each service user to develop their skills and move through our clinical model of care from admission to discharge. You will have the support of an Occupational Therapy team. You will receive regular clinical supervision from an experienced Occupational Therapist on-site, including weekly 1:1 check in’s.

Occupational Therapy Directorate

Under the leadership of our occupational therapy directors we support over 150 Occupational Therapists and over 300 OT support staff. Working together as a large team we provide support to each other across the group, with the opportunity to be part of specialist interest groups & become involved in service development.

Every service line has a clinical lead occupational therapist to lead and develop evidence based practice and agreed occupational therapy pathway.

We ensure our occupational therapy team members have a voice through participating in service model development, utilising the expertise and support of our clinical lead occupational therapists

Occupational Therapy Preceptorship & Induction:

We understand the pandemic has brought with it challenging times, and we recognise this may have had an impact on some of your placement experiences. We offer an Occupational Therapy 12 month preceptorship programme to support and consolidate core Occupational Therapy Skills.

5 reasons why you should make an application today…

  1. We care about people in our services
  2. Expert clinical supervision with an occupational therapist
  3. Induction & service line training in area of specialism
  4. Dedicated CPD time for peer support, skill development and specialist training
  5. We support and develop you to build skills and confidence for the next level in your career.

Cygnet Health Care Benefits

  • Free parking
  • Free meals for staff on duty
  • Relocation package available  
  • Group pension plan helping you save for your future
  • NHS Discount Cards & Blue Light Card (includes big brand discounts)
  • Wellbeing centre with exercises, recipes, financial and mental health advice.
  • Plus much more…

A career at Cygnet comes with excellent benefits. Whether it’s saving you money on the high street, with healthcare, holidays & leisure – or securing your future with professional development and a pension – we support you to be happy both in & out of work.

Apply now to enjoy excellent career prospects while reaping the rewards of making a difference to others – every day.

If you would like to discuss this role with the recruiting occupational therapist or arrange an informal visit, we’d be more than happy to facilitate this. Please contact: Emmanuel Ozowara (Head of Occupational Therapy at Colchester) at EmmanuelOzowara@cygnethealth.co.uk

Requirements:
The successful candidate will be required to undergo an enhanced DBS and reference check and an offer of employment will be subject to successful clearance.

 

*Recruitment agencies please note: Speculative emails are not to be sent directly to our clinical staff, these need to go via our internal recruitment team. If speculative candidates are sent directly to a member of the clinical team, we will consider these candidates as our own*

Benefits & Rewards

Group pension icon

Group Pension

We’ll look after you beyond Cygnet by helping you save for your future with a pension scheme. Cygnet provides a monthly contribution into your pot for every month you actively pay in.

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Free Mortgage Broker & Insurance Cover

Cygnet understands that buying a home is probably the biggest and most important financial decision for most of us. As a result we have partnered with L&C to offer free mortgage advice, free insurance cover and receive a voucher on completion of your mortgage

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Enhanced Maternity

In addition to statutory pay, Cygnet provides enhanced maternity pay.

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Free Life Assurance Cover

Cygnet provides a Group Life assurance scheme which pays out a lump sum benefit to your family or next of kin in the event of your death whilst employed by Cygnet.

Plan your commute

Cygnet Hospital Colchester

Colchester
London & South East
CO4 5HF
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Our application process

Application Submission
01
Step 1

Application Submission

Your application is received and reviewed by our recruitment team.
Automated Confirmation
02
Step 2

Automated Confirmation

You’ll receive an automated email confirming receipt of your application.
Application Review
03
Step 3

Application Review

We carefully review applications, considering factors like visa status, location, and experience.
Initial Screening
04
Step 4

Initial Screening

If your application is suitable, you’ll be contacted by the recruiter to arrange a telephone screening call.
Interview
05
Step 5

Interview

If you meet the screening criteria, you’ll be invited for an interview, which normally takes place in person at the site you’re applying to.
Feedback and Offer
06
Step 6

Feedback and Offer

Following the interview, you’ll receive feedback, and if successful, a verbal job offer that will be followed up with a written job offer and onboarding information.

Support for Your Job Application

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Stories from our staff
Quote marks
OT's have the biggest opportunities to change somebody's life
It is very challenging, but at the same time a very rewarding experience

88% of staff enjoy working for Cygnet

At Cygnet, you’ll work in incredible, inspiring teams and enjoy satisfying careers with plenty of opportunities to grow

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90% of staff said access to training has helped them in their role

No matter what your role is, we invest in your learning and development to help you achieve your career aspirations.

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Colleague to colleague endorsements

Support endorsement icon

Zachari

Support Worker
Recognised for
Support

Zachari recently supported a service user to visit home for the first time in sixteen years, which is an amazing achievement. It took lots of gentle persistent and encouragement but much to the amazement of his family the service user finally visited home and now plans to visit every other week.

Passion endorsement icon

Akwasi

Support Worker
Recognised for
Passion

Akwasi strives hard to always make sure that residents are happy and settled. He always engage lots of residents, his knowledge on makaton signs makes it more easier and nice to communicate with the residents who are non verbal. I therefore nominate him as he has got passion for the job and should keep it up.

Hard Work endorsement icon

Alice

Service Manager
Recognised for
Hard Work

It was one of our residents birthday yesterday. Alice organised a fantastic celebration. She invited residents from other services, arranged party foods, drinks, brought in an ice cream van and a bouncy castle. Everything was well planned and ran smoothly. A big thank you to Alice for her dedication and hard work and for making the day so special

Support endorsement icon

Tracy

Support Worker
Recognised for
Support

Tracy supported a service user who was very unwell, staying with him at hospital and ensuring she was with him in the days following his recovery as a familiar face and source of comfort. Tracy has shown commitment and dedication to the service and service users and will always advocate for anyone she feels is not being heard or recognised.

Support endorsement icon

Zaynah

Administrator
Recognised for
Support

I would like to nominate Zaynah for her exceptional support and dedication. During a colleagues unforeseen absence, Zaynah stepped up without hesitation taking on additional responsibilities to support the team. Her positive attitude and willingness to go above and beyond made a significant difference during this time. Thank you Zaynah! 🙂

Passion endorsement icon

Zendor

Ward Manager
Recognised for
Passion

Sunrise ward did not have a ward manager for a period of 8 months. In this time, Zendor acted up as the ward manager. He excelled in the manager role, and was praised by staff and service-users throughout this time for his dedication, care and willingness to go above and beyond. The ward would not have been able to function without him.

Support endorsement icon

Gaynor

Administrator
Recognised for
Support

Yesterday was one of our residents birthday party, Gaynor went above and beyond by taking extra time to help with preparing the party food and ensuring that everwhere was clean and tidy while managing her busy workloads in the office. Her dedication and support made a big difference and it didn’t go unnoticed.
Thank you Gaynor.

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Emma

Support Worker
Recognised for
Passion

Emma is extremely passionate about service users quality of life and their participation in meaningful activities.
She recently organised a day out for 3 service users and their staff to Harewood House. They enjoyed a walk in the house grounds and round the deer park, followed by a pub tea.
Throughly enjoyed by all.

Communication endorsement icon

Tolulope

Support Worker HC
Recognised for
Communication

I would like to nominate Tolu because of his good communication with residents. There was a day i supported a resident with Tolu. The resident was non verbal and he was unsettled as well. Tolu used his makaton skills and calm tone to communicate with the residents as the resident became settled.

Hard Work endorsement icon

Omoshola

Senior Support Worker/Team Leader HC
Recognised for
Hard Work

I would like to Nominate Omoshola for her amazing work and help to the nursing team when short staffed. Thank you so much Omoshola, just wanted you to know that I appreciate you so much. You’re the best senior we have, continue being you and keep up the good work. You deserve this award.

Click here to apply for a life changing career

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Speculative candidates or CVs sent to Cygnet by recruitment agencies/headhunters will be treated as a “free of charge” gesture. For further clarification, email recruitment@cygnethealth.co.uk
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