A senior-level occupational therapist CV should demonstrate clinical depth, leadership, and measurable impact from your interventions within the NHS and wider UK health system. This guide explains how to present your experience so hiring managers and recruiters recognise your readiness for advanced roles.
You will find concrete UK-specific examples and phrasing you can adapt to highlight outcomes and career progression within the British health environment.
Building a Occupational Therapist resume?
Skip the blank page. Start with a template built for this role, then tailor it for each job you apply to.
Occupational Therapist CV Template
Preview the template, then edit it in JobCopy for your experience.
Tip: use the template as a starting point, then swap in your own numbers and project names.
Headline and Summary for a senior-level occupational therapist CV
Begin with a concise headline stating your role and speciality, for example, Senior Occupational Therapist, Adult Neurorehabilitation. Follow with a 2-3 sentence summary focusing on NHS experience, leadership scope, and the patient groups you serve.
Use the summary to set context for the rest of the CV by listing one or two core strengths such as programme development or interdisciplinary leadership.
Clinical Experience on a senior-level occupational therapist CV
Structure each post with the job title, organisation, location, and dates in a single line to keep it scannable. Under each role, include 3 to 6 bullet achievements that start with an action verb and end with a measurable outcome where possible.
Focus on UK outcomes such as reduced length of stay, improved activities of daily living independence rates, or percentage gains in functional outcome measures to show impact.
Leadership and Programme Development
As a senior practitioner you should demonstrate programme-level contributions such as launching clinics, training teams, or leading quality improvement initiatives. Describe the scope of your leadership, for example number of staff supervised, budget responsibility, or committees chaired.
When listing programme changes, include the outcome, such as patient satisfaction improvements or protocol adoption rates within NHS pathways.
Skills, Qualifications, and Clinical Tools
Create a targeted skills section rather than a long laundry list to improve readability and ATS match. Prioritise high-value clinical skills, assessment tools, and UK-relevant qualifications such as HCPC registration, Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCEs), LSVT, NDT, or other advanced credentials.
Also list electronic patient record systems (e.g. SystemOne, RiO, EMIS), outcome measurement tools, and any languages that help you serve diverse populations.
Education, Registration, and Continuing Professional Development
List your UK degrees or qualifications, HCPC registration, and graduation year, followed by CPD highlights. Include information on GCSEs and A-levels if early in your career, UCAS points, and any Russell Group university degrees if applicable.
Mention NHS safeguarding training, and any relevant clinical placements or fellowships. Include right-to-work status if relevant and ensure references are available on request.
Additional Tips
- 1Quantify achievements using NHS/clinical metrics (e.g. percentage improvements in patient outcomes or caseload managed) to show impact clearly.
- 2If you led a service change, present in one compact sentence the problem, your action, and the outcome.
- 3Naturally weave 6-8 keywords from the job description into your CV's 'Experience' and 'Skills'.
- 4Aim for two A4 pages for most senior NHS occupational therapy roles; prioritise the most recent 10-15 years.
- 5Include a LinkedIn profile URL if up to date and aligned with your CV.
- 6Be mindful of right-to-work status, DBS checks, and NHS safeguarding requirements when applying.
- 7Reference NHS pay bands where relevant when discussing remuneration or job expectations.
- 8Mention pension auto-enrolment and basic benefits where appropriate to show long-term suitability.