Children and Young People Counsellor in Manchester

Reports to: Team Manager

Location: Remote – Must be UK based

Hours: Full‑time 35 hours per week or Part‑time 26 hours

Start date: 23/2/26

End date: 12/1/26

Role Objective

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

Job Overview

Offering digital counselling and emotional wellbeing support to Children and Young People.

Responsibilities

• Providing text‑based online counselling or psychotherapy, support and advice to children and young people within the iRespond clinical and operational model.
• Assessing and managing the risks and needs of each service user you interact with.
• Appropriately signposting and completion of referrals as required.
• Management of your own caseload.
• Providing short and mid‑term therapeutic structured support and interventions to help with physical, emotional and mental health issues and distress.
• Providing 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.
• Performing 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).

Working Hours

We offer contracts of 26, 32 and 35 (full time) hours a week, which are available where you are willing to work further evenings up to 10pm and weekends. The service runs from 12pm to 10pm (Mon - Fri) and 6pm - 10pm (Sat - Sun), therefore all rota options will sit within our opening times. We offer a choice of 4 hour and 6 hour shifts, or split shifts Mon-Sun.

Qualifications

Essential:

• 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.

Desirable:

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

Clinical

• 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.

Personal

• Exceptional time management skills and the ability to manage your own clinical caseload and all administrative tasks involved, in addition to having the ability to communicate effectively with teams via online communication 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 that may present in distress.
• A ‘can‑do' attitude and ambition to work hard as part of a team to build something really special in line with our mission statement.
• A clear understanding of issues pertaining to equality, diversity, and inclusion and how an awareness of these informs your practice.
• Experience and ability to work collaboratively across multi‑disciplinary teams.
• The ability to work remotely with a good broadband connection installed in your home/place of work, a comfortable and safe home working setup, alongside a competent and confident use of technology.

Benefits

• Competitive Salary – Dependant on experience £26,513.
• Generous Annual Leave – Enjoy 36 days of annual leave, including public holidays.
• Professional Development – Benefit from our yearly professional training programmes, tailored to your career aspirations and designed to enhance your skills and knowledge.
• Financial Security – Pension contributions and annual company share option awards, giving you a stake in the success of the company.
• Health and Well‑being – Comprehensive AXA plan and access to an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) offering 24/7 telephone mental health support and access to GP consultations.
• Life Assurance – Provide up to four times your annual salary to your loved ones in the unfortunate event of your passing.
• Flexible Working – Remote working, allowing you to create a work‑life balance that suits your needs and maximises your productivity.
• Lifestyle Benefits – Incapacity Income Protection to safeguard your financial stability in case of unforeseen circumstances.
• Clinical Supervision and in‑house clinical support – All paid for and monthly.

Equal Opportunity Statement

At Kooth, we are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace that values and embraces the unique contributions of every individual. We believe in equal opportunities for all, regardless of race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression or sexual orientation. Our dedication to creating a fair and unbiased environment is reflected in all aspects of our recruitment, hiring, and employment practices. We strive to provide a work environment that is free from discrimination, where every employee is treated with respect and dignity.

Request for Reasonable Adjustments: We are dedicated to providing reasonable adjustments to applicants and employees with disabilities or individuals who require accommodations to participate in the application process, interviews, or job‑related tasks. If you require any reasonable adjustments to ensure your equal participation in our recruitment process, please inform our Human Resources team. Your openness will allow us to work together to provide appropriate accommodations and ensure a fair and accessible application and employment experience for everyone.

Kooth plc is committed to our responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We are committed to recruiting candidates who share this commitment to safeguarding, and therefore we apply robust recruitment and selection procedures to ensure that the people selected are right for the job, and that all candidates are appropriately screened prior to appointment. This will include an enhanced DBS, contact our Human Resources team.