Face to Face Counsellor in Runcorn

Reports to: Team Manager (Face to Face, IDP, CYP)

Location: Based in Halton

Hours: 21 hours a week (3 days)

Kooth is a fast‑growing business with a social purpose. Our mission is to provide welcoming and effective digital mental health support. Working in partnership with the NHS, we are already the UK's largest digital mental health platform for young people aged 10‑25 and adults.

Key Components

• Offering face‑to‑face counselling and emotional wellbeing support to 11‑25 year olds – 60%
• Clinical administration and CAMHS liaison – 20%
• Attending in‑house clinical support, supervision and training – 10%
• Attending management supervision and meetings including online meetings – 10%

Role Objective

Offer face‑to‑face counselling and emotional wellbeing support to children and young people and manage own caseload.

Responsibilities

• Providing face‑to‑face counselling or psychotherapy, support and advice to children and young people within the clinical and operational model.
• Working with young people with low and moderate mental health needs.
• Referring suitable young people to Kooth online counselling.
• Referring to services in the young person's local authority, particularly where specialist services are required or where safeguarding concerns are noted.
• Providing information for parents/carers and professionals wishing to refer young people to the Kooth service.
• Assessing and managing the risks and needs of each service user interacted with.
• Appropriately signposting and completing referrals as required.
• Managing own caseload.
• Providing short and mid‑term therapeutic structured support and interventions to help with physical, emotional and mental health issues and distress.
• Providing therapeutic structured support and interventions for those with low and moderate mental health needs.
• Working 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, particularly with regard to children, young people and adult safeguarding and protection, and data protection legislation.
• Maintaining accurate case notes and records using Kooth approved systems and processes.
• Liaising with other professionals/services either internally or externally around referrals and safeguarding issues and concerns.
• Attending external meetings if necessary with regard to a particular young person being worked with.
• Maintaining accurate information about shift duties and activity via the scheduling and rota system.
• Attending and effectively contributing to clinical supervision and other clinical support.
• Committing to mandatory in‑house training and continuing professional development opportunities.
• Attending and effectively contributing to team meetings and other key organisational meetings.
• Attending and effectively contributing to management supervision to review clinical work and overall performance against agreed work schedules (KPIs).

Requirements

Essential

• Relevant professional qualification in Counselling and Psychotherapy at level 4 or equivalent (minimum) recognised by BACP, UKCP, NCS, COSCA or equivalent.
• Registered status with the BACP (MBACP reg.) or equivalent level registration with a recognised UK Counselling and Psychotherapy awarding body.
• Accreditation‑eligibility with a recognised UK Counselling and Psychotherapy awarding body.
• Minimum of 450 completed supervised clinical practice hours as a qualified and clinically supervised Counsellor/Psychotherapist.
• Experience and knowledge of using psychological wellbeing assessment tools, outcome measures and questionnaires.
• Experience in providing counselling and/or mental health support to adults in face‑to‑face settings.
• Experience in safeguarding and child protection, and clear knowledge and understanding of adult safeguarding and child protection policies and legislation.

Desirable

• Suicide Prevention and Self‑Harm Mitigation Training.
• Safeguarding and risk management interventions training.

Benefits

• Competitive Salary: Dependant on experience £27,000 (FTE).
• Generous Annual Leave: 36 days (FTE) of annual leave, including public holidays.
• Professional Development: Yearly professional training programmes tailored to career aspirations.
• Financial Security: Pension contributions and annual company share option awards.
• Health and Well‑being: Comprehensive AXA plan and access to an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) offering 24/7 telephone mental health support and GP consultations.
• Life Assurance: Up to four times annual salary.
• Flexible Working: Remote working options.
• Incapacity Income Protection.
• Clinical Supervision and in‑house clinical support – all paid for and monthly.

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. 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.

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.