About this role
Job summary
We are delighted to offer an exciting opportunity for a highly specialist Band 7 Speech and Language Therapist to join our growing Neonatal Speech and Language Therapy Service. This newly created permanent role presents a unique opportunity to help shape and develop an innovative and evolving service, making a meaningful difference to babies and their families at a crucial stage of their neonatal journey.
Working within our dedicated neonatal team, you will provide specialist assessment, intervention and support for infants with feeding, swallowing and early communication needs. You will play a key role in service development, quality improvement initiatives and collaborative multidisciplinary working across the neonatal pathway.
This role forms part of a significant investment in neonatal speech and language therapy services. You will work alongside an experienced Band 7 Speech and Language Therapist and be supported by a skilled, welcoming and highly collaborative neonatal multidisciplinary team. Strong links with the regional neonatal network provide excellent opportunities for professional development, peer support, shared learning and service innovation.
If you are passionate about neonatal care, eager to influence service development and committed to delivering outstanding family-centred care, we would love to hear from you.
Main duties of the job
Provide highly specialist assessment and management of neonates with feeding, swallowing and early communication needs within the neonatal and transitional care units Deliver evidence-based interventions and develop individualised care plans to support infants and their families Work autonomously and collaboratively within the multidisciplinary team to ensure high-quality, family-centred care Provide specialist advice and consultation to healthcare professionals, parents and carers on neonatal feeding and dysphagia management Communicate complex and sensitive information clearly and compassionately to families and members of the multidisciplinary team Contribute to discharge planning, community referrals and seamless care pathways across neonatal services Maintain specialist knowledge of neonatal feeding, swallowing and communication disorders, ensuring practice remains evidence based Participate in audit, research, service evaluation and quality improvement activities to support service development and patient outcomes Provide teaching, training, supervision and support to colleagues, students and other healthcare professionals Maintain accurate clinical records, outcome measures and reports in line with Trust, HCPC and RCSLT standards
About us
Please submit your application as soon as possible, as we reserve the right to close adverts once sufficient applications have been received.
We recognise that AI tools can support application writing; however, candidates are asked to keep their use to a minimum. Responses should reflect your own experience, skills and knowledge, as over-reliance on AI-generated content may result in generic answers that do not accurately represent your abilities.
University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN) brings together Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust. As a group, we are committed to improving services for our communities through collaboration, modernising care delivery and striving for excellence. Working together enables us to share expertise, strengthen services and create greater opportunities, and there may be a requirement to work across sites depending on service needs.
Our Excellence Values are Compassion, Accountability, Respect, Integrity and Courage.
UHN welcomes applications from all backgrounds and is committed to an inclusive working environment. We are proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and hold the Gold Award under the Employer Recognition Scheme. Candidates who identify as members of the Armed Forces community and meet the essential criteria will be guaranteed an interview.
Job description Job responsibilities
Please see attached Job Description and Person Specification for a full list of all Roles and Responsibilities.
Person Specification
Experience Essential
Significant experience in paediatric SLT post qualification Experience working with neonates and infants and/or children with complex needs Experience of independently managing feeding and swallowing difficulties associated with a neonatal or paediatric caseload Experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team
Desirable
Experience working in a neonatal or acute setting
Knowledge and Skills Essential
Knowledge of processes and policies relating to work in a neonatal setting e.g. safeguarding, developmental/educational needs, RCSLT guidelines etc. Knowledge of assessment tools relevant to neonates in order to assess, diagnose, plan and treat neonates and infants with swallowing difficulties Excellent interpersonal skills - including observation, listening and empathy skills Ability to recognise own training and supervision needs and use these to further enhance clinical skills Ability to interpret and apply evidence based practice in clinical work Excellent presentation skills, both written and verbal Excellent organisational skills Understanding of the roles of other professionals working on the neonatal unit
Desirable
Knowledge of standards of record keeping Competence in computer skills, word processing, data management and analysis Able to develop and deliver internal and external training
Other Essential
Adherence to RCSLT and HCPC guidelines, codes of ethics and professional conduct
Qualifications/ Education/ Registration Essential
Recognised Speech and Language Therapy Degree or equivalent RCSLT Registration HCPC Registration Post qualification training in paediatric dysphagia Experience working at Paediatric Dysphagia Competency Level C
Desirable
Relevant specialist training courses e.g. FINE, NBO, IBCLC, SOFFI Completion of HEE Modules (Introduction to Neonatal Care and Speech Language Therapy modules) Membership of relevant clinical excellence networks (CENs) e,g, PDCEN, Neonatal CEN Experience working at Paediatric Dysphagia Competency Level D Experience working at Neonatal Dysphagia Competency Level C
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 Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Address University Hospitals of Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Kettering
NN16 8UZ
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.kgh.nhs.uk/working-for-us (Opens in a new tab)