Speech & Language Therapist Adults with Learning Disabilities

Job overview

A rare and exciting opportunity has arisen for a highly motivated and enthusiastic Speech and Language Therapist to join our established specialist service based in the Forest of Dean at Colliers Court in Gloucestershire.

The Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust is seeking to recruit an enthusiastic, motivated and skilled Speech and Language Therapist for the Forest and Gloucester Learning Disability Teams.

This post is open to newly qualified practitioners looking for their first Band 5, however, we would also be keen to consider applications from more experienced Band 5s.

In addition to The Trust's outstanding mentorship program, we provide excellent appraisal and clinical supervision for all staff and you will benefit from the support of highly experienced and approachable speech and language therapists and the wider MDT. We can also support you through your post-graduate dysphagia training and competencies.

Person-centred coordinated care is a fundamental value throughout all services delivered by Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust and we are keen for you to help us continue to deliver this.

You will be a HCPC registered Speech and Language Therapist with a passion for supporting adults with learning disabilities. You will be highly motivated, flexible and have excellent professional interpersonal skills.

Job description

Speech and language therapy is a countywide provision, primarily community based, requiring travel across sites but with some scope for virtual appointments and home working.

To provide specialist communication assessment and interventions to individuals or groups of service users

To provide eating and drinking assessments and interventions to individual service users within the scope of your professional competencies. It is anticipated you will be supported to access accredited post-grad dysphagia training as required.

To support the provision of a specialist Speech and Language Therapy Service to adults with learning disabilities

To provide education, training, support and advice to colleagues and carers to enable them to provide the best possible care and quality of life for clients.

To provide clinical supervision for less experienced Speech and Language Therapists and for Speech and Language Therapy Students

To carry out delegated tasks in policy and service development

The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification

Job responsibilities

Gloucestershire Health and Care is committed to embedding and providing personalised care through all of its services as part of our high-quality care strategy. The purpose of personalised care is to empower people to lead the lives they want to live. Personalised care starts with a conversation with people about what matters to them. It builds on what people can do, as well as addressing their health needs. Including new ways of working and delivering care, emphasising that we need to make effective use of the full range of our peoples skills and experience to deliver the best possible patient care. So we want to know What Matters to You and that you will share our values and join us on this very important journey.

Please refer to the Additional Information attachment before submitting your application.

The Trust is required to work in line with the Governments UK Visa and Immigration Rules and Regulations. For more information about sponsorship for certain roles, please visit - https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas

About the organisation

We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people's homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.

Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:

• 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
• 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
• 81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust's priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.

This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.

Person specification

Essential

Essential

• Full valid UK Driving Licence

Essential

Essential

• Recognised Speech & Language Therapy Degree Qualification
• Registered Member of Royal College of Speech & Language Therapist
• HCPC registration
• Relevant experience at undergraduate/post graduate level

Desirable

• Evidence of successful completion of relevant specialist short courses
• Ability to manage non-complex dysphagia

Supporting documents

• SLT band 5 job description 2026.pdf (PDF, 457 KB)
• Band 5 SLT job description 2026.pdf (PDF, 193 KB)