5 Specialist counsellors jobs

Opoka is a subsidiary of Chrysalis Group and provides emotional support and guidance to women and children escaping domestic violence. Our services are delivered by specially trained bilingual IDVA’s, DV Outreach workers, Counsellors and Helpline & Crisis Response workers as well as a team of volunteers, peer-mentors, and community champions across the region.

We are seeking a Support Worker who will provide high quality practical and emotional support to women and children escaping domestic violence seeking refuge in our safe houses. You will oversee the smooth running of our safe houses and work alongside our Housing Team to provide an intensive housing management in our safe houses.

You will be bilingual in Polish and English and be able to converse fluently as organisational and communication skills are a key element to this role. You will have an understanding of safeguarding and domestic violence whilst bringing a trauma informed and a non-judgemental approach to this highly sensitive and confidential role.

High levels of time management skills and the ability to accurately enter highly confidential information into our databases so that your fellow team members can follow individual’s caseloads are essential.

As this role is working with women and children in extremely vulnerable situations, the post is only open to women applicants and as this role provides regulated activities under the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) candidate are required to undertake an enhanced DBS check.

You will hold a full UK driving licence as you will be visiting our safe houses daily.

As our Associate Director of Children’s Services, you have a key role to play in the leadership, operational management, and strategic direction of Chestnut Tree House. We are looking for an individual who shares our passion for excellence, innovation and continuous improvement. Whether through clinical leadership, service development, strengthening quality standards or supporting our workforce, this role offers a unique opportunity to make a significant contribution to our future.

At the heart of everything we do is a commitment to kindness, respect, integrity and collaboration. We want every colleague to feel valued, supported and empowered to reach their full potential while delivering the very best outcomes for those in our care.

As a leader within Southern Hospice Group, you will:

• Lead the planning, performance and delivery of Children’s services, holding accountability for quality, patient outcomes, financial control, income and contract compliance.
• Build and sustain strong partnerships with commissioners and system partners, developing and negotiating proposals that expand service reach and impact.
• Lead service improvement and innovation and share learning across the organisation.
• Provide visible, values-led people leadership, creating a culture of accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement across all teams.

You'll be

• Passionate advocate for babies, children and young people
• Child and family centred
• Significant experience in children's palliative/end of life care or children with complex care needs
• Compassionate but accountable leader
• Strategic but operationally grounded
• Professional curiosity, always seeing ways to innovate and improve
• Track record of effective performance management across quality, workforce, operations and finance
• Effective communicator, able to influence and build strong teams
• Experience of leading and supporting teams through change
• Builds effective relationships with key stakeholders across the group and externally
• Confidence in financial leadership, including budget management, income generation and commercial decision making.
• Proven ability to influence and partner with commissioners and system stakeholders
• Highly developed people leadership skills, with the ability to engage, motivate and develop the workforce and build strong teams.

As Innovation Strategy Manager you will lead in helping Battersea learn, experiment and develop new solutions to drive forward our strategic priorities, keeping us relevant, future-focused and generating ever greater impact.

All work is delivered through creativity, collaboration within and outside of Battersea and a deep understanding of our target audiences, balancing ambition and pragmatism.

Why the role exists:

This is a rare opportunity to lead in helping Battersea learn, experiment and develop new solutions to positively impact the lives of cats, dogs, and their owners for years to come. You’ll bring strong strategic thinking, innovation expertise, service design, and leadership skills to an environment focused on meaningful social impact, working alongside a team of smart, compassionate, and experienced colleagues.

This role focuses on broad, organisation-wide innovation - spanning our services, operations, supporter offering, and income generation - with a clear focus on delivering outcomes for animals and the people who care for them. It is not a specialist digital or fundraising role; instead, it centres on identifying the right problems and shaping effective responses. While some initiatives will involve digital elements (and an understanding of this is useful), delivery is carried out by specialist teams both in-house and externally.

Success in this role means identifying high-impact opportunities, aligning stakeholders around them, and ensuring they are taken forward effectively - supporting pilots and implementation where appropriate.

What we can offer you:

In return for your commitment to our cause and to recognise the value of our employees, Battersea offers a range of benefits to support the wellbeing of our employees. These include:

• 28 days of annual leave (plus 8 days paid public holidays) per year.
• Discounted gym memberships and cycle to work schemes.
• Employee Assistance Programme and access to Wellbeing Resources.
• Generous pension contributions - up to 10% employer contribution.
• Free healthcare cash plan, where you can claim for a range of treatment including dental, optical, physiotherapy, chiropody and acupuncture every year.
• Annual interest-free season ticket loans.

We are also committed to providing learning and development to our employees. During your time with us, we provide support for your professional and career development, including access to digital and in-person training programmes, leadership and management training, mentoring and much more.

Our hybrid working model:

We operate a 50% onsite hybrid working model, with our office-based staff splitting their time between site based and home working. This enables our office-based staff to balance the benefits of home working with onsite collaboration and maintaining a connection to our cause.

Diversity and inclusion:

We are committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive experience for all staff, volunteers and trustees and those hoping to join us. We operate an anonymised shortlisting process and actively seek to ensure our process is fair and equitable for all.

We understand the value of diverse voices, perspectives, and experiences to help us deliver even more for our dogs and cats, and we welcome applicants from all sections of the community.

As a Disability Confident Committed Employer we will ask about any adjustments you may need at application and/or interview stage, and if you are offered a role with us, we’ll talk to you about any workplace adjustments you may need to help you perform at your best. Greyscale copies of the recruitment pack are also available on request.

More about us:

At Battersea, we aim to never turn away a dog or cat in need of help. We give each one lots of love, expert care and get to know their characters and quirks so we can find them a new home that’s just right for them. Join us and help us be here for every dog and cat, wherever they are, for as long as they need us.

Acceptable use of AI:

At Battersea, we value expertise. We recognise each candidate that applies to us will have a range of expertise they can offer us, so we want to hear about this in your own words. We understand the support that generative artificial intelligence (AI) software can offer but it can also lead to numerous applications presenting as generic and impersonal. This makes it difficult to gain understanding of your unique experience.

To best showcase yourself, we encourage you to write your responses without the assistance of AI. If you require the use of AI software to aid in completing your application, we ask you use the generative responses as a prompt for writing your answers and avoid copying and pasting. You must also ensure the information presented in your application accurately reflects your experience. 

Closing date: 22nd September 2026

All applications must be submitted before the closing date advertised. We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a high volume of applications is received.

Interview date(s):
First Round (online): 30th September & 1st October 2026
Second Round (in-person): To be confirmed

For more information about the role, please download our Recruitment pack.

The role

Lead the growth and delivery of Cruse's External Training & Consultancy programme, combining business development, customer relationship management, and delivery oversight to make Cruse the leading provider of bereavement training in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

You will be responsible for managing our external training programme. The programme has been delivering high-quality grief and bereavement training to over 370 external organisations and thousands of individuals for the past ten years. This role will be responsible for sourcing, planning and managing customer engagements, and ensuring Cruse is the leading training provider for loss and bereavement in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

You will be responsible for developing a sales and marketing strategy, targeting relevant organisations and selling our training products. You will be overseeing the organisation of training sessions and then handing over to one of our trainers to deliver the sessions, providing support where needed, monitoring and acting on feedback, and always ensuring a consistently high standard of customer service.

How to apply

Your application must consist of a CV and covering letter, which outlines your suitability for the role with reference to the Job Description and Person Specification and should be no longer than two pages.  Please note that if your application does not include both a CV and covering letter, it may not be considered.

The closing date for applications is 16 September 2026 with interview taking place week commencing the 28th September 2026. We reserve the right to close the advert early as suitable candidates apply.

Please be advised that if you do not hear from us by 28 September 2026, unfortunately on this occasion you have not been shortlisted.

Cruse welcomes and encourages applications from all protected groups as defined by the Equality Act 2010. Appointment will be made on merit.

Criminal Record Checks

All staff are required to complete a Criminal Record check. Staff working directly with clients will be required to complete an enhanced check. We comply with the relevant codes of practice and they can be viewed online: 

· Applicants in England and Wales: DBS Code of Practice

· Applicants in Northern Ireland: AccessNI Code of Practice

Previous convictions will not prevent full consideration of your application to work with Cruse. Our Recruitment of Ex-offenders' Policy & Handling Criminal Record Check Data Policy are available on request by email.

We comply with all relevant data protection legislation and process your data fairly.