Triage Counselling Manager in Cambridge

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.

About Petals

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.

About the role

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.

About You

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.

Working at Petals

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.

Key responsibilities

• Triage & Clinical Assessment: 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.
• Clinical Leadership and Safeguarding: 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 frameworks. Provide consultation and guidance to counsellors on complex assessments, risk management, and case formulation.
• Delivery of Online Triage Assessments: Deliver structured, time‑bound online triage assessments that are compassionate, focused, and clinically robust. Use trauma‑informed questioning and structured tools to assess presenting issues, emotional wellbeing, risk, and suitability for counselling. Maintain a calm, containing presence throughout assessments, ensuring parents feel heard and supported. Provide clear, sensitive explanations of next steps, including allocation, waiting times, or alternative support. Adapt assessments to meet accessibility needs, including working with language interpreters. Record all clinical notes, risk assessments, and decisions promptly and accurately.
• Collaborative Service Delivery Within Core Hours: Work closely with the counselling operations team to ensure triage delivery is consistent within core hours (9.00am–5.30pm). Coordinate triage scheduling using Calendly, balancing staff capacity, referral volumes, and clinical priorities. Communicate proactively with the operations team and Clinical Lead to manage pressures, redistribute workload, and maintain effective service flow. Contribute to a collaborative, compassionate team culture and participate in regular meetings, handovers, and planning sessions. Attend monthly meetings with the Clinical Lead and the monthly online Petals Team meeting. Share insights from triage activity, including emerging themes, risks, and capacity pressures, to inform service planning and decision‑making. Engage in reflective practice and service improvement discussions to strengthen clinical quality and consistency.

Person Specification

• Experience and Knowledge: Accredited counsellor/psychotherapist, or actively working towards accreditation (e.g. BACP, UKCP, NCS). Demonstrated experience in trauma‑informed work, including grief and bereavement counselling. A strong interest in, and understanding of, maternal and perinatal mental health. Excellent communication skills, emotional intelligence, and the ability to maintain clear professional boundaries. Ability to represent the charity confidently, sensitively, and professionally with internal and external stakeholders. Proven leadership and case management experience within a therapeutic or clinical setting. Confidence in delivering training, group programmes, and continuing professional development (CPD).
• Skills and Abilities: Highly developed organisational skills, with strong attention to detail and accuracy. Ability to manage competing priorities effectively and remain calm under pressure. Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey sensitive information professionally and compassionately. Confident IT skills, including Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams), with the ability to learn new systems quickly. Ability to work independently using initiative, while also contributing positively as a supportive and reliable team member. Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues, counsellors, and external partners. Experience contributing to service development, process improvement, or system implementation. Confidence supporting data collection, monitoring, and analysis for service evaluation or reporting.
• Personal Attributes: Compassionate, empathetic, and emotionally attuned, with a strong awareness of the sensitivities surrounding baby loss and bereavement. Calm, professional, and respectful in all forms of communication. Flexible, adaptable, and open to change as services evolve and grow. Strong alignment with, and commitment to, the values, ethos, and mission of Petals. Willingness to reflect on practice, learn, and engage in continuous improvement.

Additional Requirements

• Willingness and ability to work flexibly to meet service needs, including occasional evening or event support.
• Commitment to undertaking training relevant to the role.
• Demonstrated commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion.
• Enhanced DBS check (to be completed prior to appointment).

To apply for this position, please submit your CV and cover letter detailing how your experience makes you ideal for this role, to recruitment@petalscharity.org. We strongly encourage you not to use AI tools to produce your cover letter. The interview process will comprise two stages: 1st Interview - Online interview Friday 10th April 2026, 2nd Interview - Online interview Friday 17th April 2026. The closing date given is a guide only. There may be some occasions where we have to close a vacancy once sufficient applications have been received. It is therefore advisable to submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment as applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Petals is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable adults, young people, and children. This role is subject to an enhanced criminal record check, which is processed through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). All offers of employment are subject to pre‑employment DBS screening checks. If you have any additional access requirements during the recruitment process, please contact us at recruitment@petalscharity.org. We will make all reasonable adjustments to support your needs. Any information you share will remain confidential and used solely to meet our responsibilities to you, with no impact on the selection process. Thank you for your interest in this role with Petals.