Counsellor Worcestershire

Hours 37.5 hours per week

Salary £37,196 per annum

Contract Permanent

Location Wildwood Drive, Worcester WR5 2QT

Are you a Counsellor seeking a new challenge and looking to take the next step in your career? Do you have a passion for working within palliative care and bereavement support? Are you keen to help shape the next generation of counselling professionals?

If so, we would love to hear from you.

St Richard’s Hospice has an exciting opportunity for an experienced, skilled and compassionate Counsellor to join a well-established and highly respected counselling team at St Richard’s Hospice, where you will combine clinical counselling with a leadership and supervisory role.

The St Richard’s Counselling Service sits within the Family Support Team and provides a specialist bereavement and pre-death counselling service to clients in South Worcestershire. The team also encompasses the Bereavement Support South Worcestershire Service, offering group support those dealing with a sudden or unexpected death.

Working within our Family Support Team, you will undertake comprehensive assessments and provide one-to-one counselling and therapeutic group work for people affected by life-limiting illness or bereavement. You will manage your own complex caseload while also recruiting, supporting and line managing our team of counselling students and volunteers.

Being a team player is essential to this role, as you will work within a dynamic, multi-disciplinary team to ensure the best possible care for our patients, their families and clients. You will also support the counselling allocation process and contribute to the delivery of education and training, both within the hospice and externally. You will also participate in the Family Support and Bereavement Referral Line rota.

We are looking for a confident and compassionate individual with a strong clinical background and a commitment to supporting others in their development.

The role is full-time (37.5 hours over 5 days) and may include occasional evening work.

This post requires an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check.

The successful candidate will have a recognised qualification in Counselling or Psychotherapy, hold membership of BACP (or an equivalent professional body), and be accredited or working towards accreditation.

Experience of working with patients with an illness that cannot be cured, along with their families and carers, is essential to the role. Substantial knowledge of grief and loss, and a deep understanding of the emotional needs of bereaved people, is crucial.

You will have a supervision qualification and experience facilitating therapeutic groups, alongside strong interpersonal and communication skills that enable you to work confidently with a wide range of individuals and professionals.

It would be advantageous if you hold (or are willing to work towards) a leadership qualification and have previous experience in leadership or line management.

Due to the nature of this role, a full, clean UK driving licence and access to a vehicle are essential.

We offer a competitive salary and a wide range of benefits including;

• Fantastic team where everyone is welcomed and empowered to give their best
• Generous annual leave (seven weeks including bank holidays)
• Benenden Healthcare offering diagnosis, treatment, 24/7 GP and mental health advice lines, discounts etc. or Cash plan giving cash back for day to day healthcare such as optical or dental costs
• Opportunities for flexible working
• Family friendly policies
• Fabulous subsidised on-site café
• Company enhanced sick pay (increased entitlement with length of service)
• Pension scheme and opportunity to continue NHS pension for clinical staff