Triage Counselling Manager

Contract: 16-20 hours per week to be worked as set full days or half days

Salary: £40,000 FTE pa (pro rata dependent on hours worked)

Reports to: Counselling Service Clinical Lead

Location: Home working – one day per quarter at Petals Office, Cambridgeshire.

Petals is the leading UK charity providing specialist counselling for parents experiencing trauma and grief following baby loss. Our mission is to ensure that every parent affected by miscarriage, stillbirth, termination for medical reasons, or neonatal loss receives compassionate, high-quality psychological support at the time they need it most.

We work in close partnership with NHS Trusts, healthcare professionals and bereaved families to deliver evidence-based, trauma-informed counselling that is safe, timely and rooted in best practice.

As one of our Triage Counselling Managers, you will work within a small team of Counselling Managers. You will play a vital role in ensuring bereaved parents receive a compassionate, clinically robust first point of contact with Petals. This role sits at the heart of our counselling service, overseeing the assessment and triage process and ensuring that every referral is responded to with care, clarity and professional judgement.

You will be responsible for safeguarding emotional well‑being at the earliest stage of the counselling journey, helping parents feel heard, understood and supported, while also ensuring that risk is appropriately identified and managed. Your work will be central to maintaining the clinical integrity of the Petals model and supporting the safe, sustainable growth of the service.

We are looking for an experienced, thoughtful and clinically confident counsellor who is able to hold complexity with warmth and professionalism. You will be highly organised, calm under pressure and comfortable working across a varied and fast-moving caseload.

You will understand the importance of accuracy, confidentiality and reflective practice when working with highly sensitive information and will bring a compassionate, trauma-informed approach to every interaction. Strong communication skills, sound clinical judgement and the ability to prioritise effectively are essential.

This is a role for someone who takes pride in supporting both parents and colleagues, enjoys working within clear clinical frameworks and wants to make a meaningful contribution to a charity delivering specialist care at one of the most difficult times in people’s lives.

You’ll be joining a small, ambitious and supportive team where your expertise will be valued and your voice heard. You will work closely with the Clinical Lead, Head of Partnerships and Operation, Counsellors and the wider Counselling Operations Team, and you will see the direct impact of your work on parents and families across the UK.

We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace and warmly welcome applications from people of all backgrounds.

• Work collaboratively within the Counselling Managers team to deliver consistent, high-quality triage and initial assessments.
• Conduct timely, sensitive, and trauma-informed assessments for all referrals, evaluating clinical need, risk, safeguarding concerns, and suitability for Petals’ specialist counselling model.
• Make informed decisions regarding case allocation, referral pathways, and signposting to external services.
• Maintain accurate, confidential, and compliant clinical records in line with professional and organisational standards.

• Lead and oversee the triage assessment process, ensuring every parent is met with professionalism, compassion, and trauma-informed practice.
• Identify and assess clinical risk, including trauma responses, complex grief, and perinatal mental health concerns, escalating safeguarding issues appropriately.
• Act as a safeguarding lead within the triage function, liaising with statutory agencies and partners when thresholds are met.
• Ensure compliance with safeguarding legislation, organisational policies, NHS partnership requirements, and clinical governance…