Senior Mobility Therapist

Whizz Kidz: the facts

Over 75,000 young people aren’t getting the wheelchair or support that fully meets their needs. Without the ability to be independent young wheelchair users are restricted in their ability to socialise and participate in society.

We’re here to change that.

As the UK’s leading charity for young wheelchair users (9 months -25 years old), we empower young people by providing the wheelchairs, equipment, support and confidence-building experiences they need, and campaigning for a more inclusive society.

 And we won’t stop until they are mobile, enabled and included.

 The Clinical team at Whizz Kidz delivers clinical excellence in the Whizz Kidz way and also raises awareness of the charity work and supports raising awareness of the need for change in wheelchair service delivery

Our vision

A society in which every young wheelchair user is mobile, enabled and included.

Our values

We are young people focused, ambitious, collaborative and inclusive.

Job summary

• To work as an autonomous senior practitioner 
• To effectively coordinate and manage your own workload. 
• To work within the clinical and engineering team, holding a full clinical case load and delivering child focused mobility solutions.
• To partner with local NHS services as required
• To work closely with manufactures in the delivery of child and young person postural mobility solutions. 

The person

You will have a passion for working in a clinical team that delivers excellent mobility solutions for young people. Have experience of working with children and young people assessing and prescribing mobility equipment tailored to their needs. Plus good communication skills, a good working knowledge of safeguarding and a drive to identify and maximise opportunities.

Key accountabilities

Clinical 

• To work as an autonomous senior therapist with in depth knowledge of  
• Functional anatomy, physiology and their effects and implication for mobility/seating 
• Medical conditions and syndromes and their effects on function, posture and mobility 
• Tissue viability and pressure care intervention 
• Posture, tone, positioning and biomechanics with respect to mobility and seating 
• Standard and specialist mobility equipment and seating, such as lightweight active user chairs, modular seating, complex / bespoke accessories / assistive systems for mobility and control including respective prescriptions 
• To be professionally and legally responsible for all aspects of your own work and ensure that the required professional standards are delivered
• To be responsible for leading the holistic assessment, planning and implementation of the Whizz Kidz beneficiaries on your caseload
• Maintain high quality, professional standards of care by developing and maintaining knowledge of clinical practice using current best evidence and supporting less experienced staff to do likewise

Governance 

• Take responsibility for working within the clinical governance framework
• Ensure that you remain up to date with and adhere to the service’s clinical policies, procedures, and standards
• Monitor, evaluate, and continuously improve clinical quality and safety
• Contribute to clinical governance audits 
• Ensure learning from incidents, complaints, audits, and patient feedback is acted upon. 
• Stay informed of relevant changes to legislation.
• Work within national guidance and professional standards (e.g. NICE guidelines, HCPC standards, NHS England frameworks) into service models. 
• Provide assurance that clinical risk is well-managed and appropriately escalated when needed. 

Service development, education and quality 

• Contribute to the planning and delivery of monthly team meetings.
• Undertake appraisals and contribute to the formulation of Personal Snap Shots in line with the organisation. 
• Support the team to review and develop electronic documentation to be used by the clinical teams to improve effectiveness and efficiency.  
• Contribute to policy and practice change based on the resulting evidence.  
• Promote and facilitate a culture of self-development.  
• Keep abreast of developments in own role and key issues and legislative changes affecting people with disabilities.

Communication and liaison 

• Develop strong and effective internal and external relationships through appropriate communication, cross team working and networking at all levels to ensure efficient and effective service provision. 
• Represent and support Whizz Kidz by taking an active role in relevant activities, conferences and events.  
• Demonstrate appropriate and effective communication, modifying communication style according to context and people’s preferences / requirements. 
• Have the knowledge and skills to assess for and obtain valid consent where needed and document it in line with legal requirements and professional standards.  
• Identify when referral / liaison with other services is required and discuss this with the individual and carers.

General 

• Safeguard all children, young people and vulnerable adults with whom the service comes into contact, through the strict adherence to Whizz Kidz safeguarding procedures and policies. 
• Actively support induction and mandatory training for all clinical colleagues. 
• Report adverse incidents in accordance with Whizz Kidz policies and procedures 
• Service provision is mobile and flexible, seeing clients mainly in clinics held in community halls. 
• Be responsible for maintaining and developing own competency through continuous professional development (CPD) activities and by maintaining a portfolio which reflects personal development and meets standards of HCPC requirements.  

The post holder will also

• Work within all policies, procedures and budgets set by Whizz Kidz
• Always act in the best interests of Whizz Kidz
• Form effective working relationships with all colleagues, members, volunteers and outside organisations as appropriate
• Take responsibility for ensuring that the policies and procedures relating to Health & Safety in the workplace are always adhered to
• Respect the confidentiality of data stored electronically and by other means in line with the Data Protection Act
• Not disclose to an unauthorised person any confidential information acquired through official duties unless they have received official permission to do so

The above list is not exclusive or exhaustive and the post holder will be required to undertake such duties as may reasonably be expected within the scope and job rank of the post.

Please note: This post is subject to a Enhanced level DBS Disclosure, which will be sought prior to the confirmation of a job offer.

Personal qualities

• Alignment with our values – young people focused, ambitious, inclusive and collaborative
• Passionate about supporting young wheelchair users and creating societal change
• The ability to enthuse and engage others in the potential benefits of relevant projects
• A desire to provide exceptional customer service 
• Goals driven and creative problem solver

A few perks

The wellbeing of our colleagues is of paramount importance to our success as an organisation, and we want to ensure that our benefits package provides something of value for everyone, whether it is our generous holiday entitlement, wellbeing days, Healthcare cash plan, long-service awards. We hope you agree!

Annual leave
25 days of annual leave per annum plus Bank Holiday (pro-rata for part time colleagues).

Christmas closure
In addition to annual leave, employees get three days of paid Christmas leave.

Pension
Automatic enrolment for all colleagues with the option to opt out. Contributions of 5% gross salary made by both Whizz Kidz and employees. We will match higher contributions of up to 6% of gross basic salary.

Simply health
Automatic enrolment in a fully paid for cash plan that assists you with everyday health costs. This scheme is also available to your families for an extra charge.

Season ticket loan
An interest free loan of up to £5,000 following the successful completion of the Probationary Period.

Find out more about our perks