Children and Young Counsellor

Role Objective

Offer digital counselling and emotional wellbeing support to children and young people.

Providing text‑based online counselling or psychotherapy, support and advice to children and young people within the iRespond clinical and operational model.

• Assess and manage the risks and needs of each service user you interact with.
• Appropriately signpost and complete referrals as required.
• Manage your own caseload.
• Provide short‑ and mid‑term therapeutic structured support and interventions to help with physical, emotional and mental health issues and distress.
• Provide digital therapeutic structured support and interventions for those with complex mental health difficulties.
• Work within the professional ethical frameworks laid out by the BACP or equivalent.
• Perform all duties in line with relevant compliance, legal requirements and internal policies with particular reference to children, young people and adult safeguarding and protection, and data protection legislation.

• Maintain accurate case notes and records using Kooth approved systems and processes.
• Liaise with other professionals/services either internally or externally around safeguarding issues and concerns.
• Maintain accurate information about shift duties and activity via the scheduling and rota system.

• Attend and effectively contribute to clinical supervision and other clinical support.
• Commit to our mandatory in‑house training and continuing professional development opportunities.

• Attend and effectively contribute to team meetings and other key organisational meetings.
• Attend and effectively contribute to management supervision to review clinical work and overall performance against agreed work schedules (KPIs).

We offer contracts of 26, 32 and 35 (full‑time) hours a week. All rota options will sit within our opening times:
Mon‑Fri 12:00 pm‑10:00 pm and Sat‑Sun 6:00 pm‑10:00 pm. Shifts available are 4‑hour and 6‑hour, or split shifts Mon‑Sun.

• A relevant professional qualification in Counselling and Psychotherapy at level 4 (minimum) recognised by BACP, UKCP, COSCA or equivalent.
• Hold registered status with the BACP (MBACP reg.) or equivalent level registration with a recognised UK Counselling and Psychotherapy awarding body (e.g. UKCP, COSCA).
• Accreditation‑eligibility with a recognised UK Counselling and Psychotherapy awarding body (BACP, UKCP, COSCA, etc.).
• Child protection and adult safeguarding training.

• Qualification in Online Counselling.
• Suicide Prevention and Self‑Harm Mitigation Training.
• Safeguarding and risk management interventions training.

• A minimum of 450 completed supervised clinical practice hours working as a qualified and clinically supervised Counsellor/Psychotherapist.
• Experience in conducting risk and needs assessment, referrals, and providing effective short‑term and long‑term counselling/psychotherapy to adults.
• Experience in risk management interventions.
• Experience in adult safeguarding and child protection, and clear knowledge and understanding of safeguarding and child protection policies and legislation.
• A willingness to learn and keep up to date with mental health research, issues and theories around psychological change.
• A belief that clinical outcomes matter and have to be measured.

• Exceptional time management skills and the ability to manage your own clinical caseload and all administrative tasks involved, with effective communication via online platforms.
• Sensitivity and understanding of the social, environmental and economic factors that impact people's mental health.
• Be resilient, empathetic and mentally equipped to help people who may present in distress.
• Be motivated by a ‘can‑do' attitude and ambition to work hard as part of a team to build something special in line with our mission.
• Have a clear understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion issues and how awareness informs practice.
• Experience and ability to work collaboratively across multi‑disciplinary teams.
• Ability to work remotely…