Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) Neonatal Unit and Acute Paediatrics

Are you a passionate and experienced Speech and Language Therapist ready to make a life-changing impact from the very start of life?

An excellent opportunity has arisen for a highly specialist Band 7 Speech and Language Therapist to join our Neonatal and Acute Paediatric teams playing a pivotal role in shaping and delivering a developing, innovative service for babies, children, and their families.

About the Role

This is a unique and rewarding position where you will

• Provide highly specialist assessment and management of feeding, eating, drinking, and swallowing (dysphagia) in neonates, infants, and children
• Work as a core member of the Neonatal MDT, embedding SLT within neonatal care pathways
• Support advanced diagnostics including paediatric video fluoroscopy (VFSS) and deliver expert clinical recommendations
• Deliver family-centred care, supporting parents through complex and sometimes emotional journeys
• Contribute to service development, innovation, and transformation within a growing neonatal and paediatric service.

Why Join Us?

At Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, we are committed to delivering exceptional care and supporting our staff to thrive.

You’ll benefit from

• A progressive, forward-thinking therapy service with strong leadership
• Opportunities to lead, innovate, and influence neonatal SLT practice
• A supportive environment with CPD, supervision, and leadership development
• The chance to be involved in audit, research, and service improvement
• Working within a Trust that values compassion, teamwork, and continuous improvement.

About You

You will be an experienced and confident SLT who brings

• Specialist expertise in neonatal and paediatric dysphagia
• Proven experience working with complex feeding and communication needs
• Strong skills in clinical leadership, supervision, and MDT collaboration
• A passion for evidence-based practice and high-quality patient care
• The ability to manage sensitive conversations and emotionally demanding situations with compassion and professionalism.

Make a Difference Where It Matters Most

You’ll support some of the most vulnerable patients, premature babies and children with complex needs, while empowering families and shaping lifelong outcomes.

We would love to hear from you. Informal enquiries and visits are warmly encouraged. Please contact the Therapy Pathway Lead (kerry.herriott2@nhs.net)

We welcome applications for a minimum of 0.3 WTE worked on the NICU, with flexibility to tailor the remaining hours within our evolving paediatric inpatient service. Part-time and job‑share arrangements are warmly welcomed.

For team members looking to further progress in their careers, we are able to offer opportunities for level 5 and Level 6 apprenticeships.

For a full list of roles and responsibilities, please see the attached job description

Essential

• HCPC‑registered SLT with RCSLT membership.
• Strong clinical experience in neonatal and/or paediatric feeding and swallowing.
• Evidence‑based specialist skills in infant and child feeding, including premature and medically complex babies.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and clinical reasoning skills.
• Ability to work autonomously within demanding and emotionally sensitive environments.
• Commitment to MDT working and inclusive, family‑centred practice.
• Experience supporting junior staff/students and leading training.

Desirable

• Advanced competencies in neonatal and paediatric feeding (RCSLT EDS frameworks).
• Experience participating in/or leading VFSS (training can be supported).
• FICare, FINE, NBO, IBCLC or recognised infant feeding training.
• Experience in neonatal or acute paediatric inpatient settings.
• Involvement in service development, audit, or research.

The health and wellbeing of our staff is at the forefront of everything we do. We are proud to be able to offer our staff some fantastic benefits including our on-site Nursery, access to our free Beach Hut for those long summer days, our on-site Wellness Centre including a gym and a swimming pool, access to our fantastic staff networks including LGBTQ, Race Equality and Disability, and awards ceremonies to recognise your achievements. We believe we can offer support to all of our staff when they need it the most.

We welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of your education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, colour, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and beliefs. 

For more information, please see our  People and OD Strategy 2026