Clinical Physiotherapist Specialist - Rheumatology

Here at East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust

Our mission is: Providing high-quality, compassionate care for our communities

Our vision to 2030 is: To be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service

Our values - We want our staff to believe in, demonstrate and live our values in everything we do. Our values are:

Include

We value the diversity and experience of our community colleagues and partners, creating relationships and climates that provide an opportunity to share, collaborate and grow together.

Respect

We create a safe environment where we are curious of the lived experience of others, seek out best practice and are open to listening and hearing new ideas.

Improve

We are committed to consistently delivering excellent services and continuously looking to improve through a creative workforce that feels empowered to act in service of our shared purpose.

Job overview

We are recruiting for a Clinical Physiotherapist Specialist who share our vision to be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service to our patients.

This is an exciting opportunity to take a leading role within a dynamic Rheumatology Service, delivering highly specialist care while influencing service development and clinical excellence.

In this advanced clinical role, you will provide expert assessment, diagnosis, and management for patients living with highly complex rheumatological conditions. Working across specialist outpatient clinics, you’ll apply advanced clinical reasoning and evidence-based practice to deliver outstanding patient-centered care.

This is more than a clinical role — it’s an opportunity to lead, innovate, and elevate the service.

At the heart of everything we do are our core values: Include, Respect, and Improve. We encourage you to embrace these values throughout the recruitment process and in your role with us.

Main duties of the job

Independently assessing, diagnosing, and treating patients with complex rheumatological presentations

Managing highly specialised caseloads within outpatient rheumatology clinics

Applying advanced clinical reasoning and evidence-based practice to inform care plans

Providing clinical leadership within the Rheumatology Service

Contributing to service development, quality improvement, and innovation

Supporting and mentoring colleagues to foster excellence in practice

Working for our organisation

At East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general and specialist services we provide and our 6,000 or so dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible and innovative in the way in which we work and deliver our services to our catchment has never been more important than it is now.

We run the following hospitals:

• The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
• New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
• Hertford County, Hertford
• Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC), Northwood

We have ambitious plans to become an outstanding, patient-led Trust where dedicated staff provide high-quality, compassionate care to our patients. We continue to undergo significant transformation and our staff and patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda.

We are committed to a positive work life balance for our employees. This means that any employee is entitled to seek to work flexible working patterns and we are committed to listen and consider all requests. Such requests, of course, have to be made and considered formally, and will need to be balanced against service needs, but our starting point will always be to find ways to support making them happen.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification applicant pack for further detailed information regarding this role.

Person specification

Qualifications / Training

• HCPC registration
• Degree (BSc) in Physiotherapy or equivalent
• Evidence of CPD in rheumatology, MSK or related areas
• Membership of CSP and relevant specialist interest groups
• Postgraduate Master’s level study or modules in rheumatology or MSK or equivalent experience

• Leadership/management training
• Non-medical prescribing qualification
• Soft tissue and Joint injection competence

Previous Experience

• Post-registration experience including rheumatology and/or advanced MSK roles
• Demonstrated leadership experience (formal or informal)
• Experience of supervising junior staff and students
• Evidence of teaching and training others
• Experience in audit, research or service evaluation
• Experience managing complex caseloads independently

• Participation in regional or national rheumatology networks
• Experience in service development or pathway redesign
• Previous Band 7 experience

Skills

• Advanced clinical reasoning and assessment skills
• Highly developed verbal, written and non-verbal communication
• Ability to lead, supervise and motivate staff
• Strong organisational skills with ability to prioritise
• Audit and basic research skills
• Ability to work under pressure & adapt to changing clinical environments
• Proactive, supportive team member with ability to use initiative
• Competent in IT (Word, Excel, EPR, PowerPoint)

• Presentation skills
• Patient education programme delivery
• Communication (e.g., motivational interviewing, CBT-informed approaches)

Knowledge

• In-depth knowledge of rheumatology physiotherapy including inflammatory, degenerative, connective tissue and hypermobility conditions
• Knowledge of rheumatology guidelines, NICE pathways and national standards
• Strong understanding of MDT working and long-term condition management
• Awareness of safeguarding, equality and diversity legislation
• Understanding of NHS policy, AHP frameworks and service delivery models

• Critical appraisal and research methodology
• Knowledge of service transformation and pathway development

Other Requirements

• Understanding of, and commitment to, equality, diversity and inclusion
• Role model our Trust values every day
• Ability to travel across sites
• Physically able to undertake clinical duties including patient handling
• Commitment to ongoing personal development
• Car owner/driver (unless exempt by Equality Act)

When you apply...

Please note we do not offer visa sponsorship for roles unless clearly stated in our adverts. This means even if you have the right to work currently but will require a new sponsorship to work for our Trust your application will not be considered.

Vacancies may close earlier than the advertised closing date where a high volume of applications are received. We therefore encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible to avoid missing out on the opportunity to join the Trust or develop your career with us.

While we recognise that AI can support in drafting an application, you are encouraged to clearly demonstrate your personal skills, experience and behaviours that align with the role, and this is usually best done in your own words. We reserve the right to review all applications for the use of AI tools and where this is inconsistent with our values and standards of behaviour your application may be rejected

All correspondence relating to vacancies will be via the e-mail address you have provided on your application form. Some servers automatically send e-mails to your junk mail so please check as well as your inbox.

Secondments/Fixed term

Where a vacancy is advertised as a temporary position, the duration will be specified in the advert. If the vacancy becomes permanent towards the end of the specified duration, the successful applicant may not be required to re-apply and can be slotted into the role on a permanent basis if appropriate.

If you are an internal applicant applying for a temporary working arrangement, please see the attached notes on secondments.

Committed to our Community

In particular we encourage applications from candidates with disabilities, and candidates from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who are currently under-represented in various parts of our workforce .

We understand the importance of balancing work and home life. We are committed to support flexible working for our staff wherever possible and all our employees are given the opportunity to discuss potential for flexible working.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and achieved our status in 2019.

We will remove barriers that prospective candidates might face at any stage of our recruitment process. If you have a disability and would like the advert in an alternative format, or would like to talk about how we can adjust the interview process to best support you, please contact us by emailing [email protected]

We are also proud to support our UK armed forces by supporting Reservists, Cadet Instructors, Veterans and military spouses/partners into employment and offering supportive policies that value their contribution to the community and to our Trust.

Our approach is inclusive, recognizing diverse challenges and creating a supportive environment where carers feel valued.

King's Trust Support

Please contact Enquiries.H&[email protected] for support.