Specialist Speech & Language Therapist

Job summary
We are excited to be offering an opportunity to join our Speech and Language Therapy service in Ipswich and East Suffolk to cover a period of maternity leave, working as a specialist speech and language therapist with acquired conditions in the inpatient and acute stroke teams.

The integrated SLT service in East Suffolk delivers inpatient, outpatient and community services.Our team supports people who have a range of conditions including stroke, progressive neurological conditions, head and neck cancer, voice disorders, dementia, respiratory conditions, and frailty. We also offer a countywide service to adults with learning disability. We are a friendly team and share expertise across the teams with our populations at the centre of service delivery. Our department sits withinIntegrated Therapies and therefore have excellent links to our MDT colleagues, including shared CPD opportunities. All teams are supported by our SLT apprentices and assistants.

This service champions research, innovation and development. The team are actively engaged in service improvement projects including the use of EMST, reviewing respiratory pathways and looking at service redesign. The Trust is committed to developing leadership skills for staff at all levels.

Main duties of the job

• The purpose of this post is to provide a highly specialist service to adults with acquired swallowing and communication disorders in inpatient settings. This will include acute stroke and inpatient wards such as respiratory, older people's services, surgery, medicine and oncology.
• To provide clinical leadership with regards to delivering key acute stroke metrics (SNAPP)
• To provide Highly Specialist input to the Videofluoroscopy Clinic, as well as FEES assessments, including independent analysis, reporting and management of dysphagia
• To contribute to the nutrition support team ward round and attend the Trust nutrition meeting, contributing to service developments and strategy
• To provide specialist assessment and management of complex cases, including patients with tracheostomy, with support from the clinical lead therapist as required
• You will supervise and line manage staff and have the opportunity to contribute to our instrumental assessment provision, including videofluoroscopy and FEES, depending on your competency with these service areas.

About us
We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across east Suffolk and north Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients' own homes.

We are one of the largest NHS organisations in England, employing more than 12,000 staff.

We pride ourselves on supporting our staff. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options.

Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.

Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients.

We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic. This digital transformation will bring what's widely regarded as the world's best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients.

If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge, then we want to hear from you.

Find out about living and working here - Apply through our website

Details
Date posted: 04 August 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 7
Salary: £49,387 to £56,515 a year per annum
Contract: Fixed term
Duration: 12 months
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 432-HR622-26
Job locations: Ipswich Hospital, Heath Road, Ipswich, IP4 5PD, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities
For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• RCSLT recognised degree or equivalent
• Eligible for registered membership of RCSLT
• HCPC membership
• Independent Dysphagia practitioner
• Evidence of successful completion of specialist courses at a Master's degree equivalent
• Membership of relevant CENs

Desirable

• RCSLT Videofluoroscopy competency: Level 3
• FEES level 2 competency
• Ability to travel to different places of work/driving licence

Experience
Essential

• Specialist experience of working with adults with acquired swallowing and communication disorders post registration
• Experience of neurological conditions, including stroke, progressive neurological conditions, dementia
• Experience of initiating and completing service development, audit and/or research
• Experience of teaching others on speech and language therapy related topics
• Experience of working in demanding settings, eg busy inpatient service, with patients with complex needs
• Experience supervising junior SLTs, assistants and students, supporting colleagues in stressful situations, and managing conflict

Desirable

• Experience of line managing staff
• Experience of analysing and interpreting videofluoroscopy images
• Experience of adhering to SNAPP stroke audit requirements
• Experience of working with people with altered airways, such as tracheostomy
• Experience of leading teams

Knowledge
Essential

• Highly specialist knowledge in assessment and management of swallowing and communication disorders.
• Well established knowledge and interpretation of a broad range of relevant assessment tools and techniques, including informal assessment, standardised assessments.
• Highly specialist knowledge of a range of appropriate therapeutic interventions
• Knowledge of evidence based practice / service developments in relation to specialism
• In-depth knowledge of the principles of clinical governance/audit
• Assessment/knowledge of alternative/ augmentative communication systems
• Involvement in audit/clinical governance within Speech and Language Therapy and/or multi-disciplinary

Desirable

• Knowledge of changes in NHS and current legislation

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.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact: Professional Lead Kate Harrall View email address on meeveem.com