Head of Therapeutic Services 1 year fixed term (covering a maternity leave position)

Accountable to: CEO

The Southmead Project, BS10 6AS

Hours: 4 days per week (30 hours) between 9.00am and 5.00pm, with 3 days per week from the office

Contract: 1 year fixed term (covering a maternity leave position)

The Southmead Project is an equal opportunities employer providing free specialist counselling and support for survivors of abuse and addiction across Bristol and surrounding areas. Our recruitment is done in line with safer recruitment practices. We welcome people of any race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, class, ability, language, religion and cultural background.

We provide the following benefits to encourage a supported, well-rounded and enriched practice:

• Paid supervision for 1.5 hours per month, with an external supervisor of that person’s choice
• Line management for 1 hour per month
• Training budget of £500 per year to spend on relevant training of that person’s choice
• Employer pension contribution of 5%
• Generous annual leave allowance and paid sick leave
• Cycle to work scheme
• Optional private counselling for up to 12 sessions per year with an external counsellor of that person’s choice

The Southmead Project is seeking an experienced Head of Therapeutic Services to have the overall responsibility and oversight of the charity’s therapeutic work. They will manage a team of therapeutic staff and form an integral part of the Leadership Team, working collaboratively with the CEO and Head of Finance to develop the charity’s services. The Head of Therapeutic Services will also have a small caseload of one-to-one counselling clients.

Therapeutic Management

• To manage and support a staff team, including the Head of Active Recovery, a Counselling Lead, Nexus Counselling Manager, a Family Support Group Facilitator, and administrators.
• To oversee all of the charity’s therapeutic services and ensure that efficient and high-quality services are delivered.
• To ensure staff are sufficiently trained in adult and child safeguarding and that training records are kept up-to-date.
• To oversee the charity’s pre-trial therapy processes and be a point of contact for the police.
• To develop and improve the charity’s therapeutic services, including any expansion of the services.
• To manage therapeutic recruitment, inductions and training.
• To hold monthly staff meetings and service team meetings when needed.
• To oversee the individual and group supervision arrangements and reporting for all staff.
• To manage and have overall responsibility for the ongoing use of an online Case Management System, ensuring that data is inputted accurately for reporting purposes.
• To support the charity’s quality assurance and development of its services through monitoring and responding to client feedback and outcomes data.
• To develop the charity’s survivor voice work and ensure that the charity’s services are informed by survivors and their lived experience.
• To manage any complaints raised by clients.
• To work collaboratively as part of a Leadership Team to make decisions and resolve issues affecting the day-to-day running of the charity and management of its staff team.
• To strategically plan and develop the therapeutic services of the charity.
• To develop relationships with partner agencies and professionals to raise awareness of our therapeutic services and strengthen our work.
• To attend and contribute to trustee meetings and trustee working group meetings, reporting on the therapeutic services and any clinical matters arising.
• To provide one-to-one counselling for survivors of abuse of all genders, both online / by phone and face-to-face, with a small caseload of clients.
• To maintain confidential and accurate counselling notes of all sessions.
• To attend monthly one-to-one clinical supervision with a supervisor approved by the Southmead Project.
• To attend monthly one-to-one line management meetings.
• To work to the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy ethical guidelines.
• To work within the framework, spirit and ethos of the Southmead Project’s Equal Opportunities Policy, and actively engage in promoting the policy within the charity and in all dealings with clients and other agencies.
• All members of staff, paid and unpaid, are required to undergo the enhanced level of Disclosure and Barring Service check.

Qualifications and Experience

• Diploma in Counselling (British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) accredited course or equivalent);
• To be a registered member of BACP, UKCP, NCS or equivalent professional body, with over 5 years of supervised counselling experience.
• Significant experience of providing one-to-one counselling for survivors of abuse and carrying out initial assessments and risk assessments.
• Significant line management experience with the ability to effectively co-ordinate a team.
• Experience of recruiting staff, including inductions and training.
• Experience of managing safeguarding concerns and supporting others to act in accordance with safeguarding policies.
• The ability to work with clients online or by phone.
• Excellent organisational and planning skills.
• Excellent IT skills and experience of using Microsoft Word and Excel, with the ability to confidently use and support others with an online Case Management System.
• A commitment to identifying ongoing personal development and training needs and to take appropriate action to ensure these needs are met.
• Experience of and commitment to working with diversity.
• Training in trauma processing approaches, such as EMDR, Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET), trauma-focused CBT, and Rewind Technique.
• Experience of working within a community-based organisation.