Counsellor

Counsellor

£35,277 pa FTE

15 Hours per week

If you’re a qualified counsellor who supports children, young people and families with compassion, sensitivity and respect through trauma, bereavement and anticipatory grief, while valuing each person’s unique experience, this could be the role for you.

As a Bluebell Wood Counsellor, you will provide professional, competent and ethical counselling to children and adults affected by life-shortening conditions, palliative care or end-of-life care. Working under the direction of the Family Wellbeing and Counselling Coordinator, you will help ensure that therapeutic support is safe, responsive and delivered in line with BACP requirements.

What you will do

You will hold a balanced caseload and facilitate therapy sessions in person or remotely according to client need. You will work autonomously within professional, national, organisational and local policies, remaining mindful of the limits of your competence and recommending specialist referral where needs are more complex.

You will maintain accurate, confidential notes and appointment schedules using The Care Database, monitor attendance and cancellations, and provide service data and reports as required. You will raise concerns promptly with the appropriate manager or Safeguarding Lead and handle information in line with data protection and GDPR requirements.

You will develop effective therapeutic relationships with children, young people and family members using their preferred method of contact. You will communicate and work in partnership with hospice colleagues, volunteers, service users, statutory and voluntary organisations, external stakeholders and multidisciplinary services, signposting appropriately where the primary need is not bereavement or anticipatory grief.

You will maintain professional practice through monthly individual clinical supervision, ongoing CPD and a relevant development portfolio, with a strong commitment to self-care. You will also contribute to research, service development and professional networks, and support colleagues through guidance and training on trauma, bereavement and anticipatory grief.

This is a snapshot of the role, not an exhaustive list. Please download the full job description and person specification for more detail.

What you will need:

We are looking for a qualified counsellor registered with BACP who has specific training in working with children and post-qualifying experience in a related area. You will be committed to safe, ethical and evidence-based practice and able to work independently while recognising when specialist referral is required.

You will have excellent interpersonal and communication skills, enabling you to build trust, communicate sensitively and work authentically with children, families, colleagues and external professionals. You will demonstrate strong professional credibility, take responsibility for your actions and decisions, and apply sound judgement when assessing needs, managing risk, responding to safeguarding concerns and deciding when specialist referral is required. Experience of providing bereavement counselling to children is essential; experience within a palliative care setting is desirable.

You will be IT literate, including confidence using Microsoft Office, and able to analyse service data and produce performance reports. You will maintain expert knowledge through recent professional development and understand how to assess the support needs of children and young adults in a racially and culturally diverse population.

Essential Criteria

• Qualified Counsellor registered with BACP.
• Specific training in working with children.
• BACP Accreditation, or actively working towards accreditation.
• Experience of responding proactively to safeguarding concerns.
• Experience of providing bereavement counselling to children.
• Ability to analyse data and produce performance reports.
• Expert knowledge within own profession, underpinned by recent professional development.
• Fully committed to the aims and objectives of Bluebell Wood Hospice and accountable for own actions, decisions and development.
• Legally entitled to work in this country.
• Willing and able to travel across our geographical regions to meet the needs of children, young people and their families.
• Car driver with access to a vehicle.

What else you need to know:

• Completion of a health assessment relevant to the role.
• An Enhanced DBS check
• Two references.
• All offers of employment are conditional on satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks.

Why join Bluebell Wood?

At Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, we’re committed to ensuring every baby, child and young person with a life-limiting condition can access specialist palliative care whenever and wherever they need it. Supporting families across South Yorkshire, North Nottinghamshire, North Derbyshire and parts of North Lincolnshire, we provide a wide range of expert services tailored to each family’s needs, including respite care, symptom management, counselling, therapies, home visits and end-of-life support. Delivering this vital care costs around £6.7 million each year, yet only around 17% of our income comes from government funding, meaning we rely heavily on fundraising, donations and community support. That’s why every role at Bluebell Wood matters.

In this purpose-driven role, you will provide compassionate, professional counselling that embraces individuality and helps children, young people and families navigate trauma, bereavement and anticipatory grief with specialist support tailored to their needs.

What we offer:

We know great work happens when people feel supported, valued and able to bring their whole selves to what they do — so here’s what
you can look forward to:

Time off 33 days’ holiday, including bank holidays, plus the option to buy and sell leave.

Wellbeing Employee assistance programme, including mental health support and out-of-hours GP access.

Pay and pension 5% matched pension scheme and enhanced night shift pay.

Family friendly Enhanced Bluebell Wood family leave pay, including maternity and paternity pay.

Development Ongoing commitment to your professional development.

Everyday extras Free parking, subsidised lunch, free tea and coffee, cycle to work scheme, NHS Blue Light Card eligibility and access to our rewards portal.

If you’re a qualified and compassionate counsellor who brings authenticity to your practice, takes responsibility and is committed to professional development and supporting children and families through difficult experiences, we’d love to hear from you. Apply now!

If you’d like an informal chat about the role, please contact Cathy Byrne – Family Wellbeing & Counselling Coordinator on 01909 393 243 or by email at cathy.byrne@bluebellwood.org

How to apply:

Please visit our website: HERE

Here you will find the Job Description, Person Specification, and Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form. Download the Job Description and Person Specification for full details of the role. If you feel you meet the criteria and would like to apply, please submit the following documents to recruitment@bluebellwood.org:
• CV
• Supporting Statement

To help us assess applications fairly and consistently, we will only be able to consider applications where both documents have been provided. We also encourage you to complete and return the Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form. This is optional and will not form part of the selection process, but it helps us monitor and improve the fairness and inclusivity of our recruitment.

Closing date: 2nd November 2026

Interviews: 13th November 2026

We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace that reflects the communities we support. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, experiences and identities, including people of different ages, disabilities, genders, sexual orientations, ethnicities, religions or beliefs, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
We want our recruitment process to be accessible and inclusive. If you need any reasonable adjustments at any stage, please let us know and we will do what we reasonably can to support you.