Freelance Reflective Practice Facilitator - North West in Manchester

Contract type: Freelance

Location: North West England (Greater Manchester and surrounding)

Fee: Applicants are invited to propose a day or session rate as part of their application. The final fee will be agreed based on experience, the agreed delivery model and the overall scope of the contract.

Contract period: 12 months rolling

Commitment: You will facilitate two group reflective practice sessions each month, normally held on Wednesdays at approximately fortnightly intervals, following an agreed schedule. This includes appropriate preparation for each session and any necessary liaison or administrative follow-up, as agreed with the Head of People.

Application deadline: Monday 17 August 2026

Interviews: From Wednesday 19 August 2026 onwards

Who are we? Football Beyond Borders (FBB) is one of the UK’s leading education and youth organisations. We support young people from socio-economic disadvantage to thrive in school by building long-term, trusting relationships with adults who believe in them. Since launching in 2014, FBB has grown into a national organisation working with thousands of young people across schools in London, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. We combine relational practice, education, youth work and culture to help young people feel seen, supported and successful - both in school and beyond. We want FBB to be one of the best places in the country to do meaningful work with young people: a relational, developmental and deeply human organisation where high standards and deep care coexist. Reflective practice is central to how we support our practitioners to develop their craft and sustain the emotional demands of the work.

The opportunity: We are looking for an experienced freelance Reflective Practice Facilitator to lead regular group reflective practice sessions for FBB practitioners who work closely with young people vulnerable to school exclusion. The facilitator will create psychologically safe and appropriately boundaried spaces in which practitioners can reflect on their practice, emotions, relationships and decision-making. They will help staff process the emotional impact of the work, learn from challenging situations and provide thoughtful, trauma-informed support to young people. This is a facilitative and supervision-style role. The facilitator will use reflective questions and relevant therapeutic frameworks to deepen practitioners’ thinking, rather than directing their day-to-day work or providing clinical therapy.

What you'll do: You will:

• Plan and facilitate regular group reflective practice sessions for FBB practitioners.
• Create an inclusive, psychologically safe space, with clear agreements around participation, confidentiality, safeguarding and escalation.
• Support practitioners to reflect on their work with young people, including challenging experiences, relationships, emotional responses and professional decision-making.
• Use relevant frameworks: including attachment, trauma, adolescent development and emotional regulation to deepen reflection without providing clinical assessment or directing case management.
• Help practitioners recognise relational patterns and consider how their own emotions, identity, assumptions and experiences may influence their practice.
• Support practitioners to explore the influence of culture, power, inequality and wider systems on their relationships with young people.
• Encourage learning from successes, setbacks and difficult situations, enabling practitioners to identify insights they can apply to their work.
• Facilitate thoughtful consideration of professional boundaries, ethical questions, emotional impact and sustainable practice.
• Respond appropriately to safeguarding, wellbeing or professional concerns, escalating these through agreed FBB procedures where necessary.
• Share anonymised themes and organisational learning with the relevant FBB lead, within clearly agreed boundaries and without compromising the trust of the group.
• Complement FBB’s Practitioner Training Programme and wider approach to practitioner development.
• Review the effectiveness of the reflective practice offer with FBB and adapt the approach where appropriate.

Who we're looking for: We are looking for someone who:

• Is an experienced reflective practice facilitator, clinical supervisor or practitioner supervisor.
• Has experience supporting professionals who work with vulnerable young people.
• Can build trust and create psychologically safe group environments.
• Understands trauma-informed and relationship-based practice.
• Is skilled at facilitating reflection without becoming overly directive.
• Can hold emotional complexity, challenge and uncertainty with sensitivity and confidence.
• Understands professional boundaries, confidentiality and safeguarding responsibilities.
• Can recognise when an issue needs to be escalated beyond the reflective practice space.
• Is committed to equity, inclusion and culturally responsive practice.
• Is reliable, reflective and able to work collaboratively while retaining appropriate professional independence.

Experience and expertise that may help: You might have a background in:

• Reflective practice or clinical supervision.
• Counselling, psychotherapy or psychology.
• Youth work or social work.
• Education, mental health or therapeutic services.
• Trauma-informed practice.
• Supporting frontline professionals working with children and young people.

A relevant professional qualification and supervision or facilitation training would be advantageous. We are particularly interested in applicants who combine strong theoretical understanding with experience of facilitating groups in complex frontline environments.

Safeguarding and confidentiality: Safeguarding is at the heart of everything we do. The successful facilitator will be expected to understand and follow FBB’s safeguarding procedures, including the limits of confidentiality and the responsibility to elevate concerns appropriately. The appointment will be subject to appropriate safeguarding and suitability checks, including references and an enhanced DBS check where required.

Freelance arrangement: The successful applicant will be engaged as an independent contractor and will be responsible for their own tax, National Insurance, insurance and other statutory obligations. The facilitator will be expected to:

• Deliver the agreed number of sessions according to an agreed schedule.
• Prepare appropriately for each session.
• Maintain suitable professional indemnity insurance.
• Comply with FBB’s safeguarding, data protection and confidentiality requirements.
• Invoice FBB in line with the agreed payment arrangements.