Specialist counsellors jobs

35.5 hours per week / £34,475 per annum, pro rata / permanent / working pattern to be confirmed (can be discussed at interview)

YMCA DownsLink Group is the leading charity for children and young people across Sussex and Surrey. We offer safe homes, mental health support and trusted advice.

We believe that every child and young person has the right to be safe, heard and to shape their own future. We work alongside them to make that happen.

We are here for children and young people, many of whom face multiple challenges and need our support.

Our Values - we do what’s right, we work with heart, and we build real connections – guide us in all our actions.

We have an exciting opportunity for a qualified, experienced Wellbeing Counsellor – Global Majorities Specialist to join our innovative Children and Young People (CYP) Wellbeing Service, the central hub for all mental health referrals for young people in Brighton & Hove.

In this role, you will provide culturally responsive assessments, counselling (both face-to-face and online), and group work for children and young people aged 8–24 from Black, mixed heritage and Global Majority backgrounds. You will create safe, inclusive spaces where young people feel heard, understood and supported to explore their wellbeing.

Alongside this, you will contribute to wider service delivery by supporting assessments and therapeutic interventions for young people from all backgrounds, helping ensure a flexible and responsive service. You will also play an active role in triaging referrals, working collaboratively across the CYP service to promote equitable and timely access to support.

A key part of the role is building meaningful relationships with Global Majority-led and community organisations, helping strengthen partnerships across the city. You’ll also share your expertise with colleagues, supporting inclusive practice, co-production, and equitable approaches to service design, recruitment and delivery.

If you’re enthusiastic about this opportunity but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every requirement, we encourage you to apply anyway and demonstrate how your experience is transferrable. You may be just the right candidate.

You will hold a Graduate or Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling or Psychotherapy (minimum two years), alongside BACP accreditation (or eligibility for accreditation) or registration with a relevant professional body.

You will bring experience of working with children and young people aged 8–24 with mental health needs, including delivering evidence-based, low-intensity interventions. You are a confident and collaborative team player, comfortable working under supervision and within a multidisciplinary setting. You will have strong safeguarding knowledge, the ability to run groups or structured activities, and be able to communicate clearly and sensitively, both verbally and in writing.

You will have experience of supporting children and young people from mixed heritage or Global Majority backgrounds, with an understanding of the importance of culturally responsive practice. Knowledge of, or experience working alongside, local statutory and voluntary services will be important in helping young people access the support they need.

Above all, you will be able to work ethically and effectively with children and young people within a time-limited framework, building trust, promoting resilience, and supporting positive outcomes.

CLOSING DATE: Sunday 14 June 2026 at midnight. 

PLEASE NOTE: We are unable to provide work permits or visa sponsorship for this role, so applicants must already have the right to live and work in the UK independently.

An inclusive workplace We are committed to policies and practices of equity, diversity, and inclusion and to supporting our people to make sure our culture is consistent with this commitment. 

Accessibility If you require assistance or have questions regarding the application process, please do contact us.

YMCA DLG requires all staff and volunteers to be committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and to respond proactively to safeguarding concerns. 

Successful applicants will undergo a thorough background screening process, conducted by an accredited third-party provider. This includes an Enhanced DBS check (with Children’s and Adults’ Barred Lists) as well as comprehensive reference and activity check.

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.

About our organisation

For nearly 50 years, nia has provided high quality, women-led services across North and East London. nia has three main aims: to provide services for women, children and young people who have experienced male violence, working to end men’s violence against women and girls, and to inform and influence policy and public awareness.

nia’s values, and our commitment to upholding them, set us apart. We put women first – always and without hesitation: we believe women, we are run by women, for women. We leave no woman behind: we challenge inequality and discrimination and believe that uniting women of all backgrounds is essential to ending the sex-based oppression of women.

About our services

East London Rape Crisis provides free, confidential specialist support for women and girls who have been raped or experienced any other form of sexual violence or abuse at any time in their lives, regardless of whether or not they have reported to the police. We offer confidential and independent support. Services include advocacy, emotional and practical support, one-to-one counselling and group work.

About the role

In the role of Young Women and Girls Counsellor, you will provide one to one counselling and group therapy to young women and girl survivors of sexual violence aged 11-17 years old. You will specifically be championing the development of the counselling offer for young women and girls. You will work as part of a growing feminist Rape Crisis service that is developing to meet the needs of women and girls.

We’re looking for a highly organised and self-motivated woman who is passionate about ending violence against women, girls and children. You’ll have a ‘can-do’ approach and demonstrable commitment to nia’s feminist approach to supporting women and girls. We particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian and minoritised women, young women with lived experience and those who have experience of accessing services as a young woman/girl.

Job Title: Young Women and Girls Counsellor 

Hours: 14 hours per week

Salary: £12,600 – £14,000 per year (FTE £31,500 - £35,000 per year dependent  on experience and qualifications)

Team: East London Rape Crisis

CV’s will not be accepted.

The post is subject to an enhanced vetting and barring check and open to women only. Genuine Occupational Requirement (GOR), Schedule 9 (Work; Exceptions), Part 1 (Occupational Requirements), of the Equality Act (2010) applies.

Unifrog’s mission
 

We’re on a mission to level the playing field when it comes to young people finding and applying for their next step after school. We're achieving this by bringing all the available information into one single, impartial, user-friendly platform that helps students to make the best choices, and submit the strongest applications. We also empower teachers and counsellors to manage the progression process effectively.
 

Our outlook is global - we work with schools and universities all over the world, from the US to New Zealand, and from Italy to Hong Kong. We want to make it so that young people can compare every opportunity taught in English, wherever it is in the world, and have all the support they need to make successful applications.
 

We have a clear social purpose, and we’re hugely ambitious. We already work with over half of UK secondary schools, and more than a thousand international schools. We are growing rapidly in terms of the number of our customers, in terms of how much they use our platform, and in terms of the breadth of products we offer.
 

Our team is at the heart of our business and it is integral to our success. We work hard to foster a culture of openness, happiness and innovation, and we commit to helping every individual learn and grow so that they can reach their full potential. We want to hire talented people, whatever their background. If you are excited by our mission and are ready to work hard, please don’t hesitate to apply. We look forward to hearing from you!
 

We believe in the power of diversity. If you are from an ethnic minority background, we would like to strongly encourage you to apply. In advance of applying if you have any questions about working at Unifrog, please contact our Recruitment Lead (contact details on our Jobs page).

The Unifrog platform

Over the last 12 years, the Unifrog platform has grown enormously from its starting point as a simple tool to help students pick their UK university courses and apprenticeships. It now helps young people from 4 years old up to explore their interests, record the great things they’ve done, compare every post-16 and post-18 course in the UK and every undergraduate programme taught in English in the world, find and organise work experience, and draft their application materials. The platform also helps teachers and career advisers to guide students every step of the way, makes it easy for parents to explore the platform via their own accounts, and helps employer and university recruitment teams to interact directly with students. 

We have a long list of exciting projects for the platform, always aiming to get us closer to achieving our mission. We are looking for someone to join Unifrog’s team to help us continually improve the platform’s existing tools, and to also develop new ones. 

What you’ll do

You’ll work on improving the platform itself, mainly how data feeds into our platform and makes it work behind the scenes, as well as maintaining and improving the processes that drive our development cycles. 

Your responsibilities will include:

• Dev cycle administration

  • Owning our dev cycle administration from beginning to end, across Productlane and Linear. This includes:

    • Managing inbound product requests that have been logged on our Productlane account;

    • Updating Linear with developments that we aim to work on, are working on, or have launched;

    • Communicating updates to the team, including writing and sharing changelog posts, and creating clear documentation for changes that have gone live.

  • Testing functionality for upcoming or newly released changes to the platform.

  • Liaising with the team members for whom new developments are most relevant, to ensure that they have fed into plans for upcoming changes, and are happy with changes that have gone live.

• Troubleshooting platform functionality issues
  
  Investigating then answering questions about platform functionality that are raised by our partner-facing teams.

• Point person for two technical integrations
  
  Becoming the point person for questions about the platform’s technical integrations, specifically SSO, and Wonde (MIS integration).

• New data projects
  
  Supporting projects that improve how data feeds into the Unifrog platform, for example, scoping the requirements for changes to our tool that allows teachers to make bulk updates to student information.

You’ll become an expert in:

• How the Unifrog platform works behind the scenes, with a particular focus on how complex datasets feed into the platform and power our tools;

• Technical tools that are vital for school partners (e.g. SSO and Wonde);

• The needs of all our different user types, including students, teachers, school groups, universities, employers, and parents;

• How to navigate the platform as a user of each type;

• Finding opportunities to improve our platform, particularly when data processing is key to success.

• How our development process works, our product tech stack, and what is needed to make sure it runs as efficiently and effectively as possible;

 

You’ll be part of the team that:

• Collates feedback on the platform, deciding which changes to move ahead with, and how;

• Translates user feedback into clear, actionable requirements;

• Investigates potential bugs and comes up with suggested solutions;

• Communicates platform changes to the Unifrog team;

• Answers queries about the platform from colleagues.

 

Working together

You’ll regularly be working with:

• The Platform and Data Manager, who will support you in your development administration and project responsibilities;

• The Data team, of which you will be a part, alongside whom you will work to maximise the impact of your projects;

• Unifrog’s two co-founders, who lead on the development of the Unifrog platform;

• User-facing colleagues, to understand what our users are asking for, as well to let them know what things have changed on the platform.
   

You will be line-managed by the Platform and Data Manager.

 

Skills and characteristics

We are looking for someone who is:

• An independent worker: You enjoy collaborating with others, but you also thrive taking charge of your own work and projects. You are proactive about getting things done, and update people on what you’re working on rather than needing to be asked for your news.

• A systems thinker: You enjoy finding ways to make processes work better and more efficiently. You would be able to quickly get comfortable using specialist tools like Linear and Productlane, and then use them to keep things organised.

• Great attention to detail: You’re the type of person who notices the small things, and takes pride in being accurate and specific. You are assiduous whether you are double-checking a data upload, or writing a full and precise set of requirements for a development request.

• Diligent: Our platform is complex and has many different sorts of users. You’re the type of person who enjoys getting to the bottom of issues, and meticulously testing things from all angles.

• Analytical and proactive: You’re comfortable looking at data to solve problems, whether that’s figuring out why an integration failed or evaluating which areas of the platform receive the most feedback.

• Straightforward communicator: At Unifrog we try to communicate as clearly and straightforwardly as possible, avoiding jargon as much as we can. You can explain technical issues clearly to non-technical colleagues and turn user feedback into clear requirements for our engineers.

 

Preferred Experience

2+ years of experience in any of the following roles (or similar) is preferred, but not required.

• Product Operations

• Technical Project Management

• Technical Support 

Benefits 

On our jobs page you’ll find a full list of the benefits we offer our team, including:

• Mission focussed
  Join one of Escape the City’s top 1% employers and help transform careers and destinations in schools.

• Growing company
  Become part of a committed, dynamic, and growing company. We want to build our team for the long term: if you do well, we will do our best to make sure you want to stay at the company for a long time.

• Growing individually
  Professional development is important at Unifrog. You will define your own 6-month objectives and will be supported by your line manager and the rest of the team to achieve them. You will have an annual training allowance to spend on what you need to grow and progress.

• Have impact
  Influence the company’s direction: we love to promote great ideas, wherever they come from.

Key details

• £40,000 - £45,000 per annum (Grade B), depending on experience.

• Full time.

• Work remotely or in our London or Edinburgh offices.

• 28 days paid holiday per year (plus bank holidays).

• Working hours are 9am to 5pm, Monday to Thursday, and 9am to 4:30pm on Friday.

• Start date: as soon as possible, though we will be flexible for the right candidate.

• This position is advertised as ‘Junior Product Operations Specialist’, though internally it will be referred to as ‘Product Operations Lead’.

• If you require reasonable adjustments, or want to discuss any details about the role before applying, please contact Mhairi (details on our website).

• We can only consider candidates who have the right to work in the UK.

Application process  

• Deadline: 10:00am (BST) on Monday 8th June 2026.

• We may need to close applications early if we receive a lot of interest. As long as you’ve already started applying, we’ll give you 48 hours’ notice of the deadline changing - so if you’re thinking of applying, please start an application so we can keep you updated. 

Stage 1: Application form (~1 hour) ✍️

• Visit our website to upload your CV and complete the questions and tasks below. 

Please note:

We do not review CVs at this stage of the application process so please be as specific as possible about your experience.

Do not use AI to generate your answers – we compare answers to AI generated answers, and through reviewing lots of applications we quickly spot what's been generated by AI.

• Tell us about a time you used data to identify a bottleneck, evaluate performance, or improve a process. (250 words)

• Tell us about a time you had to investigate a complex technical issue. (250 words)

• With reference to examples of your recent experience, what else would make you an excellent candidate for this role? (250 words)

Stage 2: Task

• 1 week to do a set of tasks that we’ll give you if you pass the first stage.

• Tasks will be sent out after the application deadline. 

Stage 3: Video call interview (1 hour) ��️
 

• Q&A from a panel of three, including questions about your experiences and how these relate to the role, and scenario questions based on common situations you might face (plus time for your questions)

• Video interviews will take place w/c 22nd June 2026.

Inclusion and diversity at Unifrog

How we communicate:

• Within the company we try to foster a culture of innovation, and a happy working environment, both because this is the right thing to do, and because we think this results in the most effective team. To this end we believe in open communication, celebrating successes, supporting each other, not being afraid to be wrong or to fail, and promoting good ideas wherever they come from.

Embedded EDI:

• As a platform that supports teachers and students from a huge variety of backgrounds it’s important that our team and leadership reflects this diversity. This is something we are actively working towards and prioritising. We embed diversity, equity and inclusion across everything we do, continually evaluating policies and practices to make sure they are inclusive and equitable.

• To make sure everyone’s voice is heard and people have the opportunities to learn to be better allies in the workplace, we encourage the team to share what they’re celebrating, facilitate training and group discussions, and seek regular feedback about what more the company could do to help people feel included.

Recruitment processes:

• To ensure that our recruitment process is consistent and fair, we anonymise your application and therefore do not see your name, personal, educational or professional background. We also randomise the order of responses so that it’s less likely that a candidate is advantaged or disadvantaged by where their answers appear compared to other candidates. 

Salary: £31,055.53 (pro rata)
Hours: 18.5/22.5 hours per week. Hours are negotiable but the minimum would be 18.5
Location: Worcestershire, the post holder may be required to support clients in Herefordshire and must be able to travel independently throughout both counties.
 
Making a real difference to the lives of children and young people across Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
 
West Mercia Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Centre (WMRSASC) is seeking compassionate and experienced part-time Children and Young People Counsellors to join our well-established and highly supportive counselling team.
 
In this vital role, you will provide face-to-face therapeutic counselling to children and young people aged 5 to 18 who have been affected by sexual violence, abuse and/or rape. Working within a trauma-informed, survivor-centred framework, you will help young people feel heard, supported and empowered as they move towards recovery.
 
You will join a skilled multidisciplinary team that places clinical quality, safeguarding, reflection and staff wellbeing at the heart of everything we do, with access to regular supervision, accredited training and ongoing professional development.
 
Main Responsibilities:

• Provide high-quality, trauma-informed one-to-one counselling to children and young people aged 5–18 who have experienced sexual abuse and/or rape.
• Complete and maintain initial assessments, risk assessments and risk management plans, reviewing these on an ongoing basis as required.
• Maintain accurate, timely and ethical clinical records in line with legal, safeguarding and organisational requirements, including pre-trial therapy guidance.
• Ensure that children and young people understand the counselling service and are able to give informed consent, applying Fraser Guidelines where appropriate.
• Support safe and effective professional practice through regular clinical and case supervision and ongoing CPD, in line with BACP requirements.
• Maintain professional membership and appropriate insurance, practising in accordance with the Ethical Framework of the relevant professional body.
• Engage in ongoing CPD and professional development, keeping abreast of best practice and emerging issues relating to sexual violence, abuse and trauma.
• Contribute positively to a safe, professional and accessible counselling service, working collaboratively with the Counselling Team, volunteers and service managers.
• Liaise appropriately with other professionals and agencies where required, maintaining confidentiality and professional boundaries at all times.
• Support the service’s monitoring and evaluation processes, including outcomes and feedback, to ensure quality, accountability and sustainability.
• Uphold the rights of the child, promoting autonomy, choice and participation within the counselling process while maintaining appropriate safeguarding boundaries.
• Actively promote equality, diversity and anti-oppressive practice, ensuring inclusive and respectful support for all service users.

 
WMRSASC is committed to supporting and valuing its staff. 
We offer:

• Salary: £31,055.53 (pro rata)
• Hybrid and flexible working
• 26 days annual leave plus 8 statutory holidays (pro rata), increasing to 31 days after 5 years’ service
• 5% employer pension contribution
• Benenden Health Scheme
• Accredited training and career development opportunities
• Regular management supervision and support

 
Safeguarding
WMRSASC is committed to recruiting with care and to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Relevant background checks and Disclosure and Barring Service checks will be required.
 
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
As an equal opportunities employer, WMRSASC is committed to ensuring the fair and equal treatment of all current and prospective employees. We do not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership.
 
We aspire to foster a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join WMRSASC.
 
This is an opportunity to join a specialist organisation making a meaningful difference to the lives of survivors and communities. 
 
We welcome applications from individuals who share our values and are committed to delivering high-quality, trauma-informed practice.
 
The closing date for this position is 1st June 2026.  
 
REF-228 273

Release Counselling and Therapy for Women is entering an exciting new chapter. 

Founded in Brighton and Hove in 2013, Release has grown from a small local charity into a financially robust organisation with a growing national reach. Under the leadership of our outgoing CEO, the charity has been transformed—moving from a challenging financial position to one with strong reserves, clear sustainability, and ambitious plans for growth. 

We now provide affordable 1:1 online counselling to women across the UK, alongside specialist group programmes supporting maternal mental health and key life transitions. One-to-one counselling is a core offer and a vital income stream, enabling us to extend our reach while staying true to our values. 

This period has also seen Release grow to working with over 20 dedicated volunteer counsellors, strengthening our capacity and community impact. 

As our CEO steps down, Release is ready for its next phase—building on strong foundations, amplifying our national impact, and remaining firmly rooted in our purpose: being a charity that supports women’s mental health, run by women, for women.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join RSVP’s well‑established ISVA Team. We are seeking a compassionate and motivated professional to provide specialist support to adults impacted by sexual violence.

This 24‑hour‑per‑week role, worked across three set days (Monday and Friday 9am–5pm, and Thursday 11am–7pm), offers the chance to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those who have reported, or are considering reporting, their experiences to the police.

As an Independent Sexual Violence Advocate (ISVA), you will provide practical guidance, emotional support and clear, empowering information to help adults understand their rights, options and choices. You will walk alongside survivors as they navigate their next steps — offering consistent support whether or not they choose to engage with the criminal justice process.

Main Purpose of the Job:

•Support implementation of the HyPE programme across six key local authority Youth Offending Service areas in East London.

•Manage referral networks including Youth offending services, Youth Courts, Virtual school networks, local MASH networks, and social workers and Feltham and HMP ISIS YOIs.

•To manage a team of specialist support services and partners supporting key aspects of the HyPE scheme

Programme Delivery & Coordination

•Oversee and coordinate weekly HyPE Job Club and associated green-skills and personal developmental activities delivered at New City College and community venues.

•Coordinate and oversee our experienced free-lance delivery team and ensure they are contracted, supported and empowered to lead daily sessions

•Lead delivery partners, to ensure high-quality and consistent programme involvement overlays with renewable energy partnerships, workshops and visitations.

Title: Active Recovery Practitioner
Place of work: The Southmead Project, BS10 6AS and various locations around Bristol and Somerset
Interview date: Tuesday 9th June

The Southmead Project:

The Southmead Project is an equal opportunities employer providing free specialist trauma counselling and support for adult survivors of abuse across Bristol and surrounding areas. Our recruitment is done in line with safer recruitment practices. We welcome people of any race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, class, ability, language, religion and cultural background. We value the differences between people and affirming each person as an individual.

We value our team very highly and pride ourselves on being a supportive employer. We provide the following benefits to encourage every staff member to have a supported, well-rounded and enriched working experience:

● Paid supervision for 1.5 hours per month, with an external clinical supervisor
● Line management for 1 hour per month
● Training budget of £500 per year to spend on relevant training of that person’s choice
● Employer pension contribution of 5%
● Generous annual leave allowance and paid sick leave
● Cycle to work scheme
● Optional private counselling for up to 12 sessions per year with an external counsellor of that person’s choice

We also support employees with reasonable adjustments through the Access to Work scheme.

The Active Recovery Project gives adult survivors of abuse the opportunity to take part in community-based activities. It provides a safe and supportive space for clients to participate in a variety of group activities with others who share or understand their experience and develop peer relationships, resulting in increasing confidence and reduced isolation.

The activities are based on ideas from our members and include water-based activities (such as rowing, canoeing, sailing and kayaking), surfing, trips to community spaces and creative sessions (such as arts and crafts). Activities take place every week. Each activity will last approximately 2.5 hours each. Members can attend the group sessions for up to 18 months.

The current Practitioner has said:

“The decision to leave this role has been so difficult, the team are so lovely, caring and supportive. In the role I have got to go surfing, walk alpacas and make a bowl on a pottery wheel. Sometimes I honestly can’t believe it’s my job. I have learnt so much and got to work with some of the most wonderful and inspiring people. There are countless moments at groups that I will never ever forget - some of my most amazing moments in life have come at work and that doesn’t happen very often!”

Job Purpose:

The Practitioner role requires working as part of a small team and they will help prepare and deliver two Active Recovery sessions per week, in Bristol and Somerset. The Somerset group runs on a Tuesday and the Bristol group runs on a Wednesday. During the sessions, the Practitioner will be responsible for using a trauma-informed approach to support clients who become dysregulated or need emotional support.

Principal Tasks:

1. Together with the rest of the Active Recovery team, to provide initial trauma-informed assessment phone calls and/or meetings with potential members as part of the registration process for Active Recovery. This includes assessing need, risk and suitability for the service using a trauma-informed approach.
2. To support the Active Recovery Lead in creating safety plans and tailoring activity sessions where appropriate. These will be informed through relationships with members and the initial assessment phone calls.
3. Support the Active Recovery Lead in planning trauma-informed sessions for members.
4. Support the setting up, delivering and debriefing about activity sessions with members and volunteers. Ensuring members are clear on each session's ground rules and safeguarding processes, using the Member’s Agreement.
5. Provide trauma-informed face-to-face support to members at sessions who may become overwhelmed or require help dealing with flashbacks and dissociation.
6. To support volunteers with safeguarding queries and ensure safeguarding procedures are followed, including being the Safeguarding Lead at activity sessions if the Active Recovery Lead is not there and escalating any onward safeguarding referrals and queries to the Southmead Project Designated Safeguarding Lead.
7. Support the Active Recovery Lead with management of volunteers for the project.
8. Develop and maintain an Active Recovery community through email, phone calls, texts and in person.
9. Be the key person in ensuring that members have all the information and resources needed to get to the sessions - building a relationship of trust with members, using Spond, email, texts and calls, creating Canvas, figuring out transport logistics.
10. Support the project’s aim to have the members’ voices at the heart of the project.
11. Contribute to the development of outcome processes in line with the Southmead Project and its funders’ requirements.
12. Maintain positive relationships with partnership organisations for the project.
13. The Practitioner will not have budget responsibility but will ensure that their own personal expenses (mileage/parking) is within the budget for the project, keeping accurate records.
14. Record data accurately and in a timely manner on Oasis.
15. Attend monthly one-to-one line management meetings with the Head of Active Recovery.
16. To attend monthly one-to-one clinical supervision with a Supervisor who is approved by the Southmead Project. Supervision is a requirement of this charity as an organisational member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy.
17. To work within the framework, spirit and ethos of the Southmead Project’s Equal Opportunities Policy, and actively engage in promoting the policy within the charity and in all dealings with clients and other agencies.
18. Follow the Southmead Project policies, procedures and professional code of conduct as outlined in the Staff Handbook.
19. All members of staff, paid and unpaid, are required to undergo the enhanced level of Disclosure and Barring Service check

Please see documents for full job description and person specification.

WORKING WITH US

The founder and sponsor of the Harris Federation, Lord Harris of Peckham, opened our first school in 1990. We have, over the past thirty years, implemented ideas and initiatives that have transformed the opportunities of pupils from working class and disadvantaged backgrounds. Harris academies are widely recognised as a force for social mobility. We are immensely proud of the role that our alumni are now beginning to play in the world and of what we believe our current generation of pupils will go on to achieve.

We now have over 50 schools educating more than 40,000 young people across London and Essex, and employ over 5,000 staff across our academies and head office. With the majority of our academies located in areas of high socioeconomic disadvantage, a high-quality education is key to the futures of the pupils we serve.

As a provider of employment and education, we value the diversity of our staff and students, and all our staff are equally valued and respected. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment for our students and staff.

Our work will impact many generations to come, and our staff come from all backgrounds and walks of life, coming together to inspire young minds. We promote an inclusive culture that embraces the valuable and enriching contribution that all of our community make. We continue to be proactive in uplifting and supporting all voices at Harris.

To discover more about our culture, ethos and what it is like to work here, visit the page.

ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY

We are looking for an Attendance and Wellbeing Practitioner to join the Harris Federation on a fixed-term basis from September 2026 to August 2029.

This role is part of an exciting project taking place in our Croydon secondary academies to improve school attendance by addressing barriers caused by poor mental health. The role involves working collaboratively with school attendance teams and external agencies to identify students at risk of persistent absence, using data-driven approaches and evidence-based interventions.

This role is term time only plus three weeks, and the actual salary will be £33,012-£35,000 (41 weeks per year, 37.5 hours per week).

Interviews will take place on 8th June 2026.

MAIN AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

By managing a caseload of students, delivering targeted one-to-one and group support, and working with parents, you will implement strategies that support attendance and wellbeing. You will also contribute to the research and evaluation of the project, in partnership with Maudsley Education Consulting Service (MECS), our partners in this work. Effective communication, safeguarding, and accurate record-keeping are integral to supporting students, families and schools in achieving positive outcomes.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

We would like to hear from you if you have:

• A qualification in CYP mental health e.g. Child Wellbeing Practitioner, Education Welfare Practitioner, counsellor
• A degree, or equivalent qualification
• Knowledge of the range of barriers to learning that students face
• Training in child protection and safeguarding procedures
• Experience of working in an inner-city school or educational establishment in a pastoral capacity
• Experience of working with young people in a one to one and/or group capacity on a range of mental health issues
• Experience of working with families
• Experience of working with challenging students and parents, and finding ways in which we can meet their needs more successfully
• Full working knowledge of relevant policies/codes of practice
• Willing to contribute knowledge and experience to the Harris Home Academy Liaison Officers
• Understanding of principles of student development and learning processes
• Ability to advocate for CYP and their families to get support within school and with external agencies
• Ability to plan effective actions for pupils at risk of underachieving due to poor attendance

For a full job description and person specification, please download the Job Pack.

APPLYING FOR THIS POSITION

If you would like to discuss the opportunity further, or if you have any questions, please contact us via email to arrange a conversation.

Before applying please ensure you download the job pack from our careers website, this will help with completing your application. Please note that we only accept applications submitted online before the closing date.

When applying, you will have the option to import your CV or use a LinkedIn profile which will auto populate the online application.

A reminder to check your junk mail for our email communications and add us to your safe senders list to ensure all future email communication is received.

OUR VISION & VALUES

Our vision, from the start, has been to provide the structure and services needed for our schools to amount to more than the sum of their parts, and to free-up our teachers and leaders to focus on one thing and one thing only: the outstanding education of all their pupils. Our young people and communities are at the heart of everything we do. Our core mission has always been to close the educational gap between young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers. Our ambition is one where every child in London, no matter their background, has equal access to high quality education, giving them the same opportunities and potential to succeed.

We know there are many challenges facing our young people and the communities we serve, and that’s why we need determined people like you to help us tackle those inequalities. Whilst each of our academies has their own unique cultures and values; as a whole Federation, we have four core values which are central to successfully achieving our vision: Excellence, Collaboration, Support, and Innovation. We are proud of our values because they guide us in how we work allowing us to achieve the best possible outcomes for our young people, communities, and colleagues.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Safeguarding Notice

The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, references, an online search, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed.

Equal Opportunities

The Harris Federation is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates. We value the diversity of our staff and students, and everyone at the Harris Federation is equally valued and respected. We aim to be an inclusive employer that reflects the communities we serve. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment.

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU

Harris has a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level.

You will also have access to a variety of benefits, support programmes and initiatives including:

• Excellent opportunities for continuous professional development and career progression
• Annual performance and loyalty bonus
• Pension scheme (Teachers' Pension Scheme or Local Government Pension Scheme) with generous employer contribution
• 26 days' annual leave (inclusive of our Christmas Eve closure day) plus bank holidays, rising to 27 days after 2 years' service, or equivalent for staff on term time contracts
• Harris Wellbeing Cash Plan including cover for routine and specialist healthcare
• Employee Assistance Programme for free and confidential advice
• Cycle to work salary sacrifice scheme
• Wide range of shopping, leisure, and travel discounts
• 20% off at Tapi Carpets, exclusive to Harris employees
• Interest-free ICT and season ticket loans

For most non-teaching staff based at our Head Office in East Croydon, we also offer lifestyle friendly working arrangements including flexible start and end times, and hybrid working with two days from home and three days on site.

Main Purpose of Role:

· Devise and implement a mixed programme of community fundraising activities, to generate a sustainable source of unrestricted income to meet agreed targets.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Launch, implement and run innovative income generating projects to maximise donations to SWA, to look after relationships with existing donors and build on relationships created to ensure fundraising potential is optimised.
• Set up and manage a volunteer community fundraising team
• Organise and manage community fundraising activities (including digital) and events to maximise all fundraising opportunities and work to raise the profile of the SWA.
• Keep abreast of developments in the third sector relating to fundraising and have an awareness of the local competition for donations.

General Responsibilities:

Responsible for the Health, Safety and welfare of yourself and your colleagues, ensuring the duties and responsibilities are clearly understood and that legislative requirements are adhered to.

• Respect the confidentiality of all information obtained in the course of duties, perform and refrain from disclosing such information without written consent from management, except where disclosure is required by order of a Court of law.

• Maintain professional competence by complying, at all times, with the training and competence procedures set down by the Organisation. Generally, keep abreast of developments affecting your duties and responsibilities.
• Be aware of the Organisation’s Equal Opportunities Policy regarding both employees and service users to assist in eliminating all areas of inequality and discrimination.
• Become familiar with the aims, ethics and aspirations of the Organisation and to sustain and promote them. Participate enthusiastically in the growth and prosperity of the Organisation.
• Undertake any other business development/funding duties, as directed that can reasonably be accommodated within the salary range for the job and your expertise.

Job Description and Review

The job description reflects the present requirements of the post.  The description will be reviewed in consultation of the job holder as and when the duties and responsibilities change.  Such review will normally also take place at the Annual Appraisal Meeting.

Desirable

• Charity fundraising qualification
• Membership of Institute of Fundraising or other relevant professional body.
• Ability to speak Welsh

Essential

Experience 

• Minimum of two years’ experience in community fundraising with a proven track record of achieving funding target
• Experience in planning, organising and delivering fundraising campaigns, events and activities
• Developing and evaluating new opportunities for partnerships and community fundraising
• Raising funds via social media activities/digital marketing
• Experience of managing or working with volunteers to support fundraising activities

Knowledge

• Charity community fundraising
• Donations
• Proven knowledge of online fundraising tools, digital marketing and social media
• Regulatory knowledge to include Gift Aid, general data protection regulations and fundraising best practices.

Skills/Personal Qualities

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, and experience with Customer Relationship Management software systems.
• Numerate and attentive to detail, with the ability to maintain accurate records
• Good networking skills
• A proactive self -starter who is able to work on their own initiative, managing and prioritising their work to meet agreed deadlines and targets
• An excellent communicator, with persuasive, engaging and creative writing skills
• Understanding of, and enthusiasm for, SWA’s work, mission and values
• A passion to raise funds for SWA

Other

• Full UK driving licence and access to a suitable vehicle
• Able to lift and transport equipment
• Willingness to travel locally and to work occasional evenings and weekends

This role presents opportunity to work innovatively & responsively, creating new, unique, & informative LGBTQ+ affirmative resources, providing crisis support, prevention & wellbeing initiatives; along with having a developmental role in upskilling & supervising sessional staff, trainees, interns & volunteers. 

This is an exciting job opportunity to join a dynamic & committed team, in a key frontline role working directly within our Heads-Out mental health service, which provides individualised mental health plans, crisis safety plans and support, mental wellbeing workshops, varied mental health support groups including for those seeking asylum, a trans & non-binary group; LGBTQ+ mental health group, and LGBTQ+ social connections & activities group. 

Opportunities will include delivery of specialised interventions, taking direct referrals and helping to support & stabilise those at heightened risk and/ or living through mental health crisis, plus psychoeducation workshops and group programmes will further enable you to engage, empower & support participants to build confidence, develop skills, strategies & achieve goals to improve, maintain & best manage mental health, increase mental wellbeing, and reduce and/ or prevent future crisis.

elop is a well established thriving and award-wining London based community-led LGBTQ+ mental health & wellbeing charity offering a range of high-quality and professional mental health, counselling and wellbeingsupport services to lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBTQ+) communities. 

There will be one regular evening/ week and occasional other evenings and weekend working required.

NB: There will initially be both in-person office-based working with some remote home-based working required whilst we’re awaiting completion of building works and relocation to new premises

Interviews will take place Friday 26 June 2026 between 9.30am – 15.00 pm