Child Wellbeing and Play Support Advisor- remote - Volunteer

Child Wellbeing and Play Support Advisor – Remote – Volunteer

Join to apply for the Child Wellbeing and Play Support Advisor – Remote – Volunteer role at Ethiopian Hospital Schools
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Seeking an experienced advisor (3+ years in education, social care, counselling, or play therapy) to support our hospital teachers. Provide expert guidance on play‑based emotional support, trauma‑informed practice, and child wellbeing in medical settings.

The Child Wellbeing and Play Support Advisor will have a significant impact on our organisation by building the professional capacity of our hospital teaching team. While our teachers are compassionate and experienced educators, they have not had specialist training in child emotional wellbeing, therapeutic play, or trauma‑informed practice. Your expertise will bridge this gap, strengthening the way we support children facing long‑term hospitalisation.

By providing professional advice and coaching, you will help our staff develop clearer frameworks for recognising distress, managing emotional moments, and using play in purposeful, therapeutic ways. This will directly improve the quality of care and education we provide. Teachers will feel more confident preparing children for medical procedures, creating predictable routines, and responding sensitively to emotional cues—skills that will benefit every child we work with.

Your support also contributes to organisational development. With your insight, we will be able to design more structured wellbeing routines, build training materials for new volunteers, and establish play‑based strategies that reflect best practices in social care, therapeutic play, and children’s emotional health. This strengthens the long‑term sustainability and professionalism of our programme as we expand to more hospitals.

Your expertise will elevate our organisation’s overall capacity, ensuring that our emotional‑support practices are grounded in professional knowledge rather than goodwill alone. This helps us better meet the needs of vulnerable children who may be frightened, isolated, or coping with significant medical trauma.

Ultimately, your role empowers us to offer children genuine comfort, emotional safety, and moments of joy during their hospital journey. Your contribution will make a lasting difference to the way our team works—and to the wellbeing of every child we support.

We are looking for a volunteer who brings warmth, empathy, and a genuine desire to support children facing challenging hospital experiences. The ideal person will have experience in one or more of the following areas: play therapy, child psychology, emotional wellbeing, early childhood development, paediatric care, or therapeutic play in medical settings. However, we welcome applicants with broader experience supporting children’s emotional needs, as long as they feel confident offering guidance to our team.

A key quality for this role is the ability to communicate clearly and kindly. Because your support will be remote, the way you explain ideas, offer suggestions, and guide our teachers will make a significant difference. We are looking for someone who can translate professional insight into practical, age‑appropriate strategies that can be used in busy hospital wards with limited resources.

Equally important is a sensitivity to the emotional realities of children undergoing medical treatment. You should feel comfortable discussing issues such as anxiety, fear, withdrawal, or behavioural changes, and be able to help others understand how to respond with patience and reassurance. Experience working with children who have additional needs, trauma backgrounds, or chronic illnesses would be especially valuable, though not essential.

We would also value someone who is flexible and understanding of the unpredictable nature of hospital environments. Our teachers often work around medical procedures, sudden changes in a child’s mood, and the constraints of clinical spaces. A volunteer who can offer creative solutions and adapt ideas to different scenarios will be a wonderful fit.

Above all, we are looking for someone who…