Temporary jobs

This is a new role based on site within the Recruit Training School at RAF Halton, Buckinghamshire.  As an experienced and qualified Counsellor, you will work closely with recruits and staff at the school, supporting recruits to develop the required resilience to successfully complete their training. The focus of the role is to offer wellbeing and emotional support, including one-to-one sessions for recruits struggling with anxiety, low mood, or stress - and where capacity allows to offer these same services to staff.  You will work as part of a wider team of staff at RAF Halton, including military training staff, other pastoral support staff, and an on-site medical team. Importantly as a member of the RAF Benevolent Fund team, you will have access to a whole range of support and resources to call upon – for those you support, and for your professional development.

This role will require the post holder to be proactive and identify areas for enhancing and improving how the job operates.  Shaping strong relationships with the RAF team around you will be vital; as such, you will need to be a clear and confident communicator. Being able to understand the unique culture and challenges of a military environment is key – the Recruit Training School is an OFSTED inspected training school and is the entry point for all non-commissioned joiners to the RAF.  The youngest of these are aged 16, however trainees may also be older, and married with children. You will need to be flexible in your approach to supporting a range of ages and needs.

We are excited to be able to work in partnership with the RAF and offer vital support to new entrants to the service.  This role requires a flexible, experienced, and resilient practitioner who can work across teams, as well as delivering 121 support services.  If that sounds like you, then please get in touch if you have any questions or would welcome an informal discussion.  We offer an excellent package of benefits, and the salary for the role will be commensurate with your skills and experience.

Interviews will be held week commencing July 13th 2026.

We are embarking on a transformative moment for The OutHouse when we will begin to deliver our advocacy and wellbeing services into new target districts across Greater Essex over the next three years by co-producing with the community.  This role (maternity cover for 12 months) will be central to delivering services in collaobarion with our community to continue to the running of the existing service and support the successful expansion of our services.

We were founded as The Colchester Gay Switchboard and over the past 47 years we have continued to evolve to meet the needs of the local LGBTQ+ community. Today, The OutHouse is built upon the legacy of the hard work and dedication of the hundreds of local LGBTQ+ community members who came before us. This legacy drives us forward. 

Representing our Community 
We encourage applications from members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, non-binary and gender questioning community. 

About The Refugee Council

The Refugee Council is the nation’s refugee charity. Together with community groups, partners and volunteers, we help people who have escaped war and persecution to rebuild their lives, integrate into communities, and play their part in Britain. Born in the aftermath of World War II, our frontline services support over 14,000 refugees each year to find safety, get to know their neighbours, and enter education, training or work. We share our evidence and expertise with policymakers to help build integrated communities where everyone can contribute.

We have offices across the UK where our Services teams provide support to refugees at local level.

Inclusion and Accessibility

Ensuring that the Refugee Council is an inclusive and accessible place to work is important to us. We want to enable people from different backgrounds to apply and thrive with us. We believe our recruitment process enables that and are also happy to make adjustments on request.

Our Values

Our values underpin everything we do: 

• Inclusive: We are inclusive. We work with - not for - refugees and people seeking asylum, so they have an equal voice, co-producing projects and ensuring their expertise and experiences are at the heart of what we do.
• Collaborative: We are collaborative. Working with others is a priority in order to have the collective impact that is vital to achieve policy and practice reform. 
• Courageous: We speak out when we see injustice, cruelty and unfairness. We always stand up for what we believe is the right thing to do to transform the experiences of those seeking protection in our country. 
• Respectful: We are respectful of all those we interact with. We treat everyone – our staff, volunteers, beneficiaries, partners and people we disagree with – with the same respect, professionalism and understanding.

About the role

The Doncaster Therapeutic Service is based within therapeutic services in the Resettlement Team in South Yorkshire. The Resettlement team provides advice and support for resettled refugees to help them access services and mainstream provision and establish community links. Working closely with local stakeholders and in partnership with other voluntary sector agencies, the Refugee Council Resettlement team promotes both the integration and independence of this group.

The Psychological Therapist role is designed to provide one-to-one psychological therapy to resettled refugees presenting with mental distress. We have adopted a psychosocial perspective and use a specially tailored care model to address the needs of our clients. The team have supported resettled adult refugees in South Yorkshire by providing short-term one-to-one therapeutic support since September 2017.

Contract and hours: Fixed term, part-time, 7 hours per week.

Staff Benefits

To reward our staff for the value they bring, we offer a variety of enhanced terms and conditions and a wide range of benefits, including:

• Training & Development
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Pension Scheme
• Work Life Balance Policies
• Employer-Sponsored Volunteering
• And more.

Let’s work together to improve the lives of refugees in the UK - apply on our website today.

Closing date: 14 June 2026.

Ensuring that the Refugee Council is an inclusive and accessible place to work is important to us. We want to enable people from different backgrounds to apply and thrive with us. We believe our recruitment process enables that and are also happy to make adjustments on request.

Our specialist children's practitioners provide child-led play therapy sessions on a weekly basis, usually for 6-16 weeks. Sessions give children the opportunity to process what has happened to them and make sense of the complicated and confusing emotions they may be experiencing.  Our practitioners work from our purpose-designed therapeutic playroom in Colchester or from some of our outreach premises in other areas, using a range of techniques including sand tray, art and imaginative play.

What we expect from our Sessional Counsellors/Play Therapists:

· Support up to eight CARA clients each week

· Maintain and update accurate database records of clients

· Diploma in Counselling or equivalent, with a minimum of 400 counselling hours.

· Certificate in Counselling Children, Play Therapy qualification or equivalent

· Experience of working therapeutically with children with psychological and behavioural problems.

· An understanding of how trauma affects children both physically and emotionally.

· An ability to work creatively to enable children to process their conscious and unconscious emotions.

· An ability to work collaboratively with parents, while protecting children’s confidentiality.

· To liaise with other agencies including social care, Children and Adolescent Mental Health service (CAMHS) and schools, and attend meetings and provide reports, where required.

· Attendance of one CARA Meeting per month and attendance of monthly point of contact meetings.

· Attendance of clinical supervision, provided by a CARA-approved supervisor.

· Attend annual safeguarding training and other relevant training

· An open and non-judgemental attitude.

· Demonstrable understanding of safeguarding, both in relation to children and to vulnerable adults;

· Sessional Counsellors/Play Therapists will be working with clients on behalf of CARA and not on a private basis.  As such, they will be bound by CARA’s processes, policies and procedures.

· Commitment to the feminist ethos of CARA

· Willingness to commit the necessary time to supporting vulnerable clients

· Membership of BACP, UKCP or equivalent professional body

· Abide by BACP’s Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy

· Owing to the nature of the role, we are only able to take on female candidates

What the Sessional Counsellor/Play Therapist can expect from us:

·Training and support

·Ongoing training opportunities

We welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds and those with additional language skills, including BSL.

About CARA

CARA (Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse) works with victims and survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse, providing independent, specialist support and promoting and representing their rights and needs. 

CARA is a registered charity working with adults of all genders, young people and children from across mid and north Essex.  We have a head office in Colchester and outreach premises in Braintree, Chelmsford, Clacton-on-Sea, Great Dunmow and Harwich.  We also provide remote services.

CARA seeks to be an inclusive organisation that actively encourages, supports and values diversity amongst both our service-users and our workers.  We wish to create a culture in which discrimination, in all its forms, is recognised and addressed.

You can read more about CARA’s commitment to diversity and inclusion on our website.  We encourage and welcome applications from candidates from diverse backgrounds.

About Synergy East

CARA is part of Synergy East. We work closely with SERICC Rape and Sexual Abuse Specialist Service and Southend-on-Sea Rape Crisis (SOS Rape Crisis) to deliver the contract for the Office for the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex for services for victims and survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse across Essex.