Counselling Service Manager in Bradford

At the University of Bradford, our focus is on creating the conditions for social, cultural, and economic impact. We are committed to social inclusion. Our work to expand opportunity and enable students to reach their potential has led to us topping the Social Mobility Index of English universities for the last two years. Our University Strategy sets out our ambitions for 2025, which we will achieve by using our proud heritage as a springboard and remaining steadfast in our commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Safeguarding

The University of Bradford is committed to safeguarding, protecting and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and Adults at Risk through robust safer recruitment practices. An enhanced DBS is required for this role.

Directorate

As part of the Student Experience & Teaching Excellence Directorate, our vision is to provide an inclusive, integrated, and innovative service to students, University staff, external partners and other stakeholders.

What You Will Be Doing

• You will provide professional and expert leadership for our BACP-accredited Counselling Service, ensuring alignment with accreditation standards and ethical frameworks.
• You will act as the clinical, operational and strategic lead for the service, maintaining consistently high standards of student support and service delivery.
• You will lead and manage a supportive team of counsellors, fostering a positive team culture and driving continuous service improvement.
• You will demonstrate excellent interpersonal and communication skills, alongside strong decision-making abilities.
• You will provide mentoring and clinical supervision for a cohort of volunteer or trainee counsellors, supporting their development and safe practice.
• You will hold and manage an individual clinical caseload, working within a brief, time-limited therapeutic model.
• You will have a strong working knowledge of relevant legislation and professional frameworks (e.g. safeguarding, GDPR, Equality Act), with experience of developing and implementing policies, procedures and strategies within a service context.
• You will work in partnership with colleagues across the University to deliver a high standard of support that promotes and enhances student wellbeing.

Qualifications/Experience

• Degree (or equivalent) plus a relevant professional qualification (minimum Level 4).
• Substantial post-qualification clinical experience.
• BACP accreditation (or equivalent professional accreditation).
• A recognised supervision qualification.
• Demonstrable experience of working with underrepresented groups, with a strong commitment to culturally sensitive and inclusive practice.
• Experience of working therapeutically in organisations or services.

Do not meet every single requirement? We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you are excited about this role but your experience does not align perfectly with everything in the job description or advert, we encourage you to arrange an informal conversation with the hiring manager. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Celebrating Diversity – The University of Bradford

We are committed to improving diversity within our Counselling Service and particularly welcome applications from underrepresented groups, including people from racially minoritised backgrounds and disabled candidates. At the University of Bradford, we recognise and embrace people that work in diverse ways so if you need any adjustments to our recruitment process, please speak to the recruitment team who will be happy to support you.

In Return We Offer

• 30 days and 13 statutory and customary days (taken at Easter and Christmas).
• Family-friendly policies.
• Great campus facilities including: Unique fitness centre, Eye clinic, Physiotherapy & sports rehabilitation, Counselling & mental health services, On site nursery, Food & drink outlets.
• Generous employer contribution pension schemes - Universities Superannuation Scheme.
• Generous benefit schemes, including car leasing, cycle to work, holiday purchase, home & technology scheme and shopping discounts.

Confronting Inequality: Celebrating Diversity. At the University of Bradford, we accept people for who they are regardless of age, disability, gender identity, sex, marital status, ethnicity, faith, sexual orientation or socio-economic background and whether you’re pregnant or on maternity leave. In line with the University’s commitment to equality charters including Athena Swan, Race Equality Charter, Disability Confident and Stonewall Diversity Champions Programme, we welcome applications from people identifying with these characteristics. The University has a number of staff networks which provide peer support and safe spaces for staff who hold these and other identities.