NHS AfC: Band 8a

Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust (SCFT) is the largest community healthcare provider in Sussex.

• Over 8,400 full time, part time and bank staff members
• Medical, nursing and therapeutic care provided to over 10,000 children and adults a day
• July 2018 Care Quality Commission (CQC) rating of 'Good' with 'Outstanding' features
• Flexible working patterns offered across all services
• Thriving BAME, Disability and Wellbeing, LGBT+ and Religion and Belief staff networks
• Accredited Level 3 Disability Confident Leader

SCFT is an inclusive employer that promotes equality and challenges discrimination, and welcomes applications from people of all backgrounds. Applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates, disabled candidates and LGBT+ candidates are particularly encouraged, to ensure the Trust's workforce reflects the diverse communities it serves.

Job overview

Counselling/Psychology Professional Manager

22.5 Hours per week. Based at Midhurst Community Hospital but covering extensive rural location.

Band 8a

The Midhurst Macmillan Service was set up in 2006 in response to the sudden closure of a local hospital with a Macmillan Palliative Care Unit within it. This enhanced and unique model was developed to deliver high quality specialist palliative Care to patients within their own homes.

Main duties of the job

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced specialist counsellor/manager to lead, manage and develop a counselling and bereavement support service for patients and their carers. Providing high quality, pre and post bereavement specialist counselling and support services to patients, carers, family members from diagnosis through treatment/ palliative care and bereavement.

In addition to holding your own clinical caselaoad for patients with complex needs, you will be managing a team of counsellors and volunteer support workers and therefore need counselling and supervision qualifications in addition to training, leadership and mangement expertise. The service covers a 400sq mile area across 3 CCGs.

Specialist management and supervision is provided.

Working for your organisation

As the largest provider of community healthcare services in Sussex, our teams help people to plan for and manage changes to their health, supporting patients and their families to live more independently. We employ over 5,000 full and part time staff, and provide community services to a population of 1.3 million people.

Each year our dedicated clinicians see adult or child patients more than 2.6 million times, caring for people from their earliest moments right up to the final stages of their life.

Working for our organisation

As the largest provider of community healthcare services in Sussex, our teams help people to plan for and manage changes to their health, supporting patients and their families to live more independently. We employ over 5,000 full and part time staff, and provide community services to a population of 1.3 million people.

Each year our dedicated clinicians see adult or child patients more than 2.6 million times, caring for people from their earliest moments right up to the final stages of their life.

SCFT teams deliver a range of health and care services to more than 9,000 people every day, working in care homes, clinics, intermediate care units, people's own homes, GP surgeries, schools and other community venues across the region.

Our vision is to provide excellent care at the heart of the community and
achieving the highest level of service is our top priority.

We develop and nurture our staff, and recognise that they are our greatest asset. We give them clear career pathways, support their wellbeing, recognise and value their diversity and provide them with the leadership, skills and knowledge they need to deliver the best care for our patients now and in the future.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The Main duties will include:

1. To manage a Counselling Service Bereavement Support Service for the patients and carers of the Macmillan Specialist Care Team (Midhurst).This will include line management of counsellors and admin staff.
2. To provide a high quality, pre and post bereavement specialist counselling and support service to patients, carers and family members from diagnosis through treatment/palliative care and bereavement.
3. To co-ordinate and deliver pre and post bereavement psychological support for patients, their families and staff members.
4. To be responsible for the leading, planning and developing of pre and post bereavement services including the recruitment, selection, training and development of counselling staff and bereavement support volunteers.
5. To maintain a clinical caseload providing counselling to individuals, families and children who present with more complex needs, triaging

Please see the attached JD and PS for further information

Person specification

TRAINING & QUALIFICATION
Essential criteria

• Educated to degree level OR Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling or Psychotherapy or equivalent
• Accreditation with BABCP, BACP, UKCP or HCPC as a Counsellor or Psychological Therapist
• Training and Qualification in Clinical Supervision
• Driving Licence

Desirable criteria

• Training and/or experience in training
• Training and/or experience in management and leadership

Experience
Essential criteria

• Experience of working with Loss and Bereavement.
• Experience of providing individual and group supervision of counselling
• Experience of providing a range of Counselling and psychological assessments and treatments to patients across the whole life course, presenting with problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity, across the full range of care settings
• Experience of providing brief and longer term therapy.
• Ability to demonstrate client lead approach.
• Experience of maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems. Ability to self-manage work load demands.
• Commitment to a team philosophy.
• Experience of managing small scale development projects
• Experience of delivering group support.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working in the NHS.
• Experience of working with a multicultural framework.
• Experience of the application of psychological therapies in different contexts.

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS
Essential criteria

• Well-developed skills in evaluating the complexity of cases and in determining clinical priorities for clinical staff.
• Proven ability to assess, plan, deliver and evaluate care for specific client group
• Skills in the use of complex methods of counselling assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
• Ability to promote client centred approach within constraints of current resources
• Skills in providing leadership and problem resolution.
• Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional and non-professional groups.
• Evidence of continuing professional development as required by the relevant professional body.

Desirable criteria

• High-level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialist psychological therapies.
• Ability to collect routine data and use electronic audit and case management tools in an accurate and timely fashion.

OTHER
Essential criteria

• Good organisation and time management skills, ability to plan and priories own workload.
• IT literate.
• Ability to work as part of a team and independently
• Willingness to work flexibly and under pressure.
• Ability to act as an ambassador for service, with excellent presentation, facilitation and promotional skills

Desirable criteria

• Able to recognise personal stressors and to seek support when required.
• Recognise and appreciate the need on occasions to work out of hours to meet the needs of patients and families.
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.

This post may close earlier than the published closing date if sufficient applications are received.

Correspondence relating to this vacancy will be conducted electronically. If you have not heard from us within two weeks please assume that your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion. Please ensure that you check your emails, including your junk folder, on a regular basis. References will be requested electronically as well; please ensure you provide correct contact details for referees.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

Applications from job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the United Kingdom (UK) are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. Please note that from January 2021, to work in the UK all candidates who are not UK or Republic of Ireland (RoI) nationals require sponsorship unless you have permission to work via another route. Non UK / RoI candidates wishing to apply can self-assess the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship here . It is vital that you provide full and accurate details of your current immigration status on the application form. Overseas applicants applying for entry clearance into the UK must present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided in continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Guidance can be found here . Not everyone needs a 'Skilled Worker' visa. If you are applying for a vacancy in health or adult social care, check if you're eligible to apply for the Health and Care Worker visa instead. It's cheaper to apply for and you do not need to pay the annual immigration health surcharge

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

• Counselling/Psychology Professional Manager JD and PS ( PDF , 540.5 KB )
• Counselling/Psychology Professional Manager JD and PS ( PDF , 540.5 KB )
• Staff Benefits Brochure ( PDF , 484.5 KB )
• Easy Read Application Form ( PDF , 1.1 MB )