Special Seating Clinician

Special Seating Clinician Ref EIJB0809

Location: Dublin

Contract Type: Permanent full time

We have an exciting opportunity for a Special Seating Clinician to join the manufacturing team based at our Enable Ireland, SeatTech, Sandymount Avenue, Dublin 4, D04 T959.

Contract Status: Permanent full-time

SeatTech is a leading national provider of special seating systems for people who use wheelchairs as their primary means of mobility. Our mission at SeatTech is to work together with the people who access our services, to provide the best possible seating, wheelchair and positioning aids, designed to meet their individual needs. We aim to achieve this by working together as a specialist multidisciplinary team of caring individuals, who understand that our success is always determined by the quality of the service we provide to each person.

SeatTech provides a range of services, including clinical assessment & advice, mobility equipment recommendation & prescription, and in-house manufacture of custom and custom contoured wheelchair seating systems.

We are seeking to recruit people with a positive attitude and a capacity to show initiative. Applicants for this role will need to be experienced in service delivery in the field of wheelchair and special seating assessment, prescription and provision.

We invite applications from people from occupational therapy, physiotherapy and clinical engineering backgrounds who are capable of delivering a high-quality service on a daily basis, but with an eye to the future and a drive to help improve the ways in which we provide our services.
The Role:

SeatTech is a leading national provider of special seating solutions to wheelchair users with complex needs. This role provides an exciting opportunity to work with a multi-disciplinary clinical, engineering and technical team to provide a user-focussed service.

The primary function of this role is to work in partnership with SeatTech colleagues in the delivery of a clinical seating service that involves wheelchair and special seating assessments, equipment selection, prescription and provision. The Special Seating Clinician provides special seating expertise, informed by a rich understanding of clinical need.

Training delivery is an inherent part of the SeatTech service, and the Special Seating Clinician will participate in the development and delivery of training packages designed for both professionals and lay-people with a professional and/or personal interest in postural management. The Special Seating Clinician will also contribute to current and future developments of the SeatTech service.

Overview of Duties & Responsibilities

Service Delivery (Approximately 70-80% of the role):
In supporting the provision of a high-quality special seating service, the Special Seating Clinician independently carries a clinical caseload. This involves:
• Delivery of a quality clinical service as it relates to the assessment, prescription, delivery, handover, and review of posture positioning and related mobility equipment, to meet individual service user requirements
• Working in partnership with colleagues and service users, taking into account the service user’s ability, needs and preferences
• Communicating effectively with colleagues, service users, relatives, carers and other related professionals
• Being accountable for documentation of service user intervention according to the norms of their profession and the requirements of SeatTech
• Delivering clinical services to the service user in the location assigned – this will include off-site service delivery, which will entail an element of off-site travel and might necessitate overnight stays on occasion

Service Development:
The Special Seating Clinician plays a pivotal role in the development of the service as a whole, and contributes to the formation of a strategy for the service to help ensure its sustainability into the future. Specific highlighted developmental tasks include:
• Supporting the review, further development, and promotion of the SeatTech suite of seating assessment training courses
• Establishing collaborative research partnerships with third-level education institutions
• Transitioning to digital technologies to help advance service provision practices

The successful candidate will have:

Essential Criteria:

• An honours degree (NFQ Level 8 or higher) in Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, or Biomedical Engineering. NB: It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide written proof of their qualification(s) – Ref. wwww.nfq.ie
• Significant experience working in a special seating environment with experience of working with bespoke custom seating
• Knowledge and understanding of the social model of disability and its implications to service delivery
• Experience of selecting, prescribing, commissioning and making adjustments to wheelchairs
• Willingness to assist in the ongoing professional development of other staff members
• Experience of liaising with and fostering relationships with different organisations and third-level institutions 
• Demonstrable ability to work in a diverse team environment with competing priorities
• Experience of assessing for, prescribing, and fitting special seating systems
• Demonstrable commitment to continuous professional development
• Ability and willingness to learn new skills in a self-directed fashion
• Experience of working in a service user-centred environment
• Significant independent seating assessment experience
• Ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team
• Ability to substitute for colleagues at short notice
• Good networking and leadership abilities
• Ability to work in off-site environments
• Clear, consistent communication skills
• Training in anatomy & physiology
• CORU Registered (if an OT or PT)
• Ability to work independently
• Strong presentation skills
• Report writing experience
• Full, clean driving licence
• Attention to detail
• Strong IT skills
• Flexibility

Desirable Criteria:

• Involvement the Irish Posture and Mobility Network, or equivalent special seating special interest group
• Understanding of the principles of postural management and trans-interdisciplinary working arrangements
• Experience of delivering and assessing CPD training courses and/or seminars
• SeatTech Level 1 and Level 2 Seating assessment training course attendance
• Knowledge of the European Medical Devices Directive/Regulations
• Ability to undertake critical analysis and evaluation
• Demonstrable project management experience
• Experience in the supervision of students
• Training in the supervision of staff
• Postgraduate research experience

We would love to hear from you if you have a passion for working with our organisation and have the relevant experience/skills required for the role.

To apply, please download the job description, person specification and application form below and forward completed applications to John Tiernan by email at jtiernan@enableireland.ie . For informal queries, please contact John Tiernan on 01 261 5921.

Closing date for applications: 12pm on Wednesday 20th October 2021   

(Applications must be made on the Enable Ireland Application Form only. CV’s will not be accepted)

Enable Ireland is an equal opportunities employer.
• The post will be subject to reference checks and may be subject to Garda vetting/police clearance, as relevant.
• Due to the large volume of applications, we are not in the position to provide individual feedback to applicants who are not shortlisted for interview.
• Applications are invited from suitably qualified applicants from all sections of the community.
• The above information serves only as a guide to the advertised position. Enable Ireland, at its discretion, reserves the right to change this prior to appointment.

Please review the Enable Ireland’s External Data Protection Notice available at https://www.enableireland.ie/privacy-policy for details on how Enable Ireland processes applicant’s personal information. Please note if you are invited for interview, we will share your personal data with: 1) Any virtual service provider we use to host the interview; and 2) the interview panel (if applicable). Your information will be stored for this purpose in line with our retention policy.

The link can be accessed by clicking on the highlighted blue words ‘Privacy Policy’ when it is open in soft copy. Alternatively it can be accessed via the internet by searching: https://www.enableireland.ie/privacy-policy