Adult Services Counsellor Jobs in Ipswich, Suffolk
Administration and Systems Manager
£35k p.a.
Location: initially remote working but to be hybrid based in W/NW/SW London.
We are looking for an experienced Administration and Systems Manager to join our enthusiastic and friendly Operations team. Help Counselling is a small Mental Health charity providing one-to-one counselling, both in person and online to adults over 18. We are also a well-established clinical training placement provider for trainee counsellors and psychotherapists studying with prestigious training organisations in London.
About Help
Help Counselling is well-established Mental Health Charity with a heritage of over 50 years. We provide training placements for clinical supervisors, counsellors and psychotherapists who need to gain clinical experience to qualify (or further qualify) and be registered with one of the industry professional bodies such as, BACP or UKCP. For ethical reasons, the work trainee counsellors / psychotherapists do is unpaid, i.e., they must volunteer their time.
This volunteer model enables Help to fulfil its charitable aim of providing low-cost counselling services. It can take between 3-5 years to qualify, and our training placements are for minimum of 12 months meaning we can also provide clients with long-term help. Having consistence and continuity plays a pivotal role in building a safe, therapeutic, and trusting alliance between the counsellor and client.
The blend of low-cost and long-term talking therapy is much needed in a time of increasing demand for mental health support and increasing complexity of presenting issues.
About the job
The purpose of this role is to manage the daily administrative operations and a small administration team of 2 people. The objective being to ensure that we meet our monthly targets, are compliant with the requirements of BACP, run efficiently and deal with exceptions in a timely, ethical, and effective manner.
Currently our client volumes are between 250-350, we have approximately 90 counsellors and clinical team of approximately 20.
We operate a number of cloud-based IT systems and have outsourced HR and Finance functions.
Key responsibilities
Team management
Directing the team to make sure work is scheduled, fully completed and managed efficiently.
Line managing and coaching team members to achieve their objectives and develop their skills, confidence and abilities.
Systems management.
Managing the impacts and interactions between processes and systems which can be complex and far reaching.
Monitoring and ensuring all systems used are accurate and up to date, performing, interpreting and following up on system audits.
Information review, reporting and continuous improvement.
Create, review and report on operational data and use this information to solve potential problems or strengthen business performance.
Evaluate processes and policies, look for and make improvements as necessary. Ensure that processes and policies are easy to understand and up to date.
Stakeholder management
Provide a point of escalation and decision-making for queries arising from clients, counsellors, supervisors, training organisations and other stakeholders.
Quality of service
Ensure all queries and contacts are dealt with professionally, accurately and promptly.
Manage all aspects of the administrative tasks and process required.
The Candidate
Education & experience: 5-6 years’ administrative, operations, customer service and supervisory experience, ideally within the charity or not-for-profit sector.
Skills:
· Ability to analyse information and develop practical solutions.
Planning, critical thinking, problem solving, and task and time management skills.
· Interpersonal, line management, coaching, and verbal and written communication skills.
· Technical expert on MS Office suite and hands-on experience of CRM and / or clinical management system.
· Knowledge / experience of JotForm (Powerforms or equivalent), Stripe and DocuSign will be advantageous.
About you:
· Self-motivated and able to work on your own initiative.
· Well-organised with ability to analyse information and problem-solve, work at pace, work flexibly and prioritise effectively.
· Excellent attention to detail, thorough and accurate.
· Proven track-record in high quality customer service skills, confident on the telephone.
· Quick to learn new systems and proficient with technology.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
About us:
Action for M.E. is the only charity in the UK providing direct support including healthcare to children and adults with M.E.. We provide vital support services, campaign for change and invest in ground-breaking research to help put an end to the ignorance, injustice and neglect experienced by people with M.E.
Opportunity:
Having been paused to new referrals, Action for M.E.’s free, independent, Adults Advocacy service will soon be re-opening. It’s one of our range of free Support Services that work with adults, young people, and/or families living with M.E. We support colleagues across the team to take part in and share reflective practice, self-care, peer-support and training.
Our Adults Advocacy service offers non-statutory, single-issue, instructed advocacy for adults with a confirmed diagnosis of M.E. We encourage self-advocacy where possible, though many of our clients are too severely affected by M.E. to be able to take undertake this.
As an Adults Advocate, you will manage a caseload of clients, as well as inputting and contributing to the triage process along with your Advocacy colleagues. You will meet with clients by phone, email, Zoom and/or SMS; we can also facilitate communication by post if this is required. We are not able to offer home visits or face to face meetings.
What we can offer you:
We offer fully remote and flexible working with generous annual leave (30 days plus bank holidays, pro rata). The wellbeing of our staff is important to us, we offer a range of benefits to employees including (but not limited to) access to free counselling and voluntary wellbeing weekday sessions, examples of recent sessions include guided group meditations and a book club.
To view the full job description, download the job pack, and apply for this role, please visit our Recruitee site (please note that we only accept applications via Recruitee; any application sent directly to an Action for M.E. mailbox will not be considered).
Should you have any questions about the role, or require any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process, please don’t hesitate to contact our recruitment team, details of how to do this are contained in the application pack, "how to apply" section.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Main purpose of job: To lead and develop CARA, taking overall responsibility for the operational and financial management, generating income, working closely with the board of trustees to achieve CARA’s strategic and budgetary aims, whilst ensuring compliance with statutory, contractual, and regulatory requirements.
Start date: To be agreed with the appointed candidate (subject to Enhanced DBS Check and satisfactory references).
Salary: £55,000 - £60,000
Hours: Your hours of work are as required to perform the duties of your role, for a full-time employee this is normally 35 hours per week.
Contract: Permanent
Place of work: At least two days a week in the Colchester office, with some home working, regular travel across Essex and occasional travel in the East Region.
Holiday: 25 days per year pro-rata, plus additional closure days between Christmas and New Year.
To apply: Please complete the application form, which can be downloaded from our website, explaining how your skills and experience relate to the person specification.
Application deadline: 10am, Thursday 16th May 2024.
Interviews: Tuesday 4th June, in Colchester.
This post is restricted to women applicants under the Equality Act 2010, Schedule 9, Part 1.
Job Description
The post of Chief Executive Officer offers an exciting opportunity to steer CARA through the next stage of its development, providing leadership to the talented and committed CARA team. The role will involve building on the considerable growth and development that CARA has achieved over the last 10 years, securing funding to ensure it can continue to provide excellent specialist services to survivors of sexual violence and take steps towards CARA's vision of a world without sexual violence and child sexual abuse.
CARA’s CEO is responsible for leading and developing CARA, taking overall responsibility for the operational and financial management, generating income, working closely with the board of trustees to achieve CARA’s strategic and budgetary aims, whilst ensuring compliance with statutory, contractual, and regulatory requirements.
The main responsibilities of the CEO are:
Strategic leadership
·Work with the Board of Trustees and the Head of Operations, and consult with staff, survivors, and others, to develop and define a clear, strong vision and direction for the future of the organisation.
·Lead on and be responsible for the creation, ongoing development and implementation of the organisation’s strategic, business and annual plans.
·Foster, model and promote an inclusive, feminist, anti-racist organisational culture that reflects CARA’s ethos and values.
·Be accountable to the Board of Trustees for the overall financial health of the organisation.
Good governance
·Report and present to the Board of Trustees on the organisation’s progress against its budgets, plans, any risks, challenges and changes, and all information relevant and necessary to the effective discharge of the Board’s duties, including strategic decision-making.
·Develop and share proposals with the Board for the implementation of its objectives and the ongoing development of the organisation.
·Support the Board of Trustees in its ongoing process of self-assessment, development and improving its diversity and representation.
·Ensure the charity meets its constitutional, regulatory and legal obligations.
Business development
·Develop and implement an income generation strategy that ensures the organisation’s sustainability and enables its sustainable growth.
·Work in partnership with the Head of Operations to develop and implement the organisational structures needed for effective delivery of CARA’s objectives and sustainable growth.
·Generate new and various funding and income opportunities through networking, developing partnerships.
- To research and identify new funding and commissioning opportunities and complete bids and applications on an ongoing basis.
·Increase the unrestricted income of the charity, including developing, proposing and implementing new and innovative approaches to its income generation activities, including working closely with the CEO of Icena.
·Be responsible for maintaining and developing strong, long-term relationships with a diverse range funders and donors, both existing and new.
Representation
- To act as lead representative for CARA in the Synergy Essex Rape Crisis Partnership, developing strong working relationships with the other partners and negotiating CARA’s role, responsibilities and the financial allocations it receives from the partnership.
- To keep up-to-date with current developments affecting victims and survivors of sexual violence and ensure that CARA responds appropriately to these developments.
- To be the chief spokeswoman for CARA, responding to media and other enquiries as appropriate and playing a pro-active role in bringing relevant issues to the attention of the public, issuing press releases and initiating debate, as appropriate.
- Build, support and oversee strong relationships with individuals and organisations across the voluntary, public and private sectors, and in local and national government.
- To contribute to Rape Crisis England and Wales campaigns and other campaigns, as appropriate.
- To remain informed of national and regional Rape Crisis perspectives, drawing on Rape Crisis England and Wales expertise and resources as appropriate.
Organisational management
·Ensure policies and processes that support good communication, staff health and well-being, and safe and effective delivery of work are in place and adhered to throughout the organisation.
·Take overall responsibility for the staff team, its management and performance.
·Capture the organisation’s work through robust monitoring and evaluation, and ensure CARA’s impact and any learning is shared throughout the team and with the Board, survivors, funders and other partners as appropriate.
·Oversee and ensure robust financial management processes for the charity.
Other
·To oversee safeguarding at CARA, working with the Designated Safeguarding Leads to ensure effective policies and procedures are in place and communicated to staff, trustees, sessional counsellors and volunteers, and that CARA follows best safeguarding practice.
·To adhere to all CARA’s organisational policies and procedures.
·To be administratively self-servicing, and to share responsibility for a range of day-to-day tasks with the Head of Operations and other team members.
·To undertake other related activities as required by Board of Trustees.
This list is indicative only, not exhaustive. It is intended to reflect a range of duties the post-holder will be expected to perform but additional duties commensurate with the role may be required. The job description will be reviewed from time to time and may change in light of experience and changing circumstances, in consultation with the post-holder.
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's vision is of a world without sexual violence and child sexual abuse. As a step towards this vision, we do all we can to create a culture where victims and survivors are believed, supported and treated with fairness and respect.
CARA is a registered charity working with adults, 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 currently employs 39 full and part-time staff and has an annual income of approximately £1.6 million.
CARA's Aims
1. To provide high quality, specialist support to victims and survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse.
2. To increase awareness and understanding of sexual violence and child sexual abuse and the impact they have on victims and survivors, challenging myths and misconceptions.
3. To promote and represent the rights and needs of victims and survivors, including advocating for a fairer criminal justice system.
CARA's Values
Feminism. Respect. Empowerment. Equality
CARA is a women-led organisation and we work from an intersectional feminist perspective. We actively seek to ensure equality of women as a service provider and as an employer.
The core values of respect, empowerment and equality underpin everything we do.
CARA's commitment to diversity and inclusion
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. CARA is committed to anti-racism and are currently developing an Anti-racism Policy. Through this work, we will be aiming to dismantle barriers within CARA to ensure we do not continue to perpetuate institutional racism and can create a truly inclusive environment for our service-users and our workers.
You can read more about CARA’s commitment to diversity and inclusion here.
We encourage and welcome applications from candidates from Black, Asian, and ethnically diverse backgrounds.
About Synergy Essex
CARA is part of Synergy Essex – the Essex Rape and Sexual Abuse Partnership. We work 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 (PFCC) for Essex for services for victims and survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse across Essex, Southend and Thurrock. Synergy Essex also shares a number of other projects, funded by the Ministry of Justice, Essex County Council and the National Lottery Community Fund.
Our current PFCC contract ends in March 2025. Synergy Essex intends to submit a bid for the new contract, which is expected to be put out to tender in the summer of 2024.
About Icena
CARA is a founding stakeholder of Icena - a social enterprise offering training and consultancy to eradicate sexual discrimination and violence. The creation of Icena forms part of CARA’s sustainability strategy: Once Icena is generating sufficient profit, a share of this profit will be used to support CARA’s work.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.