Lead Counsellor (37.5 hours)NHS

Job summary

Are you an experienced and compassionate counsellor with a passion for supporting people facing life-limiting illness, loss and bereavement? As our Lead Counsellor, you will lead and develop our counselling service, ensuring patients, families, friends and the bereaved receive timely, responsive and high-quality psychosocial support. You will provide clinical leadership to our counselling team, supervise staff and volunteers, and play a key role in shaping and developing counselling and bereavement services across the hospice. If you are an accredited counsellor with leadership experience and a commitment to person-centred care, we would love to hear from you.

Main duties of the job

Provide counselling and psychosocial support to patients, families, friends and those who are bereaved. Manage counselling referrals and assessment processes, ensuring a timely and effective response in line with organisational standards and key performance indicators. Triage incoming referrals and allocate support appropriately across the counselling team. Lead, supervise and support qualified counsellors and volunteer counsellors. Recruit, train and develop volunteer counsellors to meet service needs. Provide counselling supervision and professional guidance to members of the counselling team. Oversee the coordination and ongoing development of bereavement support groups and identify opportunities for additional group services. Participate in multidisciplinary team meetings and contribute to holistic patient care planning. Deliver psychosocial and counselling-related training to colleagues and external stakeholders as required. Maintain accurate and contemporaneous records using designated electronic systems. Ensure counselling practice adheres to professional standards, codes of conduct, policies and procedures. Lead on service development initiatives and contribute to the review of clinical guidelines and working practices. Work closely with the Head of Supportive Care to monitor service performance and development. Support audit, evaluation and research activities to promote evidence-based practice.

Job description

Lead and manage the counselling and bereavement support service, providing psychosocial support to patients, families and those who are bereaved. Oversee referrals, assessments and service delivery, while supervising and developing counsellors and volunteers. Contribute to multidisciplinary care, deliver training, maintain professional and clinical standards, and support service development, audit and evaluation to ensure a high-quality, evidence-based service.

About us

We are a highly regarded hospice team dedicated to delivering outstanding specialist palliative care. We offer a supportive working environment, opportunities for professional development, involvement in education and service improvement projects, and the chance to make a meaningful difference to patients and families when they need it most.