Associate Counsellor – Permanent, Full Time/Part Time/Job Share – Thanet & Canterbury – £29,441 per annum (pro rata)

Why Work for Us

Do you have experience of counselling in a variety of settings?

Do you have experience of bereavement counselling and/or experience of counselling clients with serious medical illnesses?

Do you want to develop your skills into a specialist role and be part of a pro-active multi-disciplinary and professional team, who put excellent patient care as their priority?

Do you have a passion for working collaboratively in an environment of thriving on positive change and making a difference to those with palliative and end of life care needs?

If so, then the role of Associate Counsellor at Pilgrims may be just the job for you!

We are seeking to recruit an Associate Counsellor to work at our Thanet and Canterbury hospices.

The post holder will work closely with the Hospice Counsellor and Multi-disciplinary Team to deliver a range of counselling services, including individual and group work, to patients and family members under the care of the Hospice both before and after bereavement.

The ideal candidate will undertake a range of duties including:

• Assess the psychological needs of hospice patients and family members and provide appropriate counselling/therapeutic interventions
• Coordinate and facilitate client focussed therapeutic programmes and groups
• Provide advice, information and guidance to families regarding communication with and psychological support for children and young people, facilitating therapeutic interventions where appropriate
• Ensure that Multi-disciplinary Team is appropriately informed about patients and family members
• Keep appropriate electronic records

Recognising the need to support employees working within this particular field, we provide an extensive range of physical and psychological support measures through our health and wellbeing programme, to ensure your success, including:

• A supportive and friendly working environment
• Regular quality interactions with our clinical and medical teams
• Strong working relationships with other members of the multi-disciplinary teams
• On-going training and CPD/career development
• Access to a range of resources to ensure our staff have access to help and support where and when they need it; and
• Regular self-care and development sessions

About us

As an award-winning employer, Pilgrims provides end-of-life care services to patients and their families across east Kent.

Our commitment is to provide open, compassionate care and expertise for patients and their families – both in the community and in-patient units.

Our Vision

“Of a community where people with a terminal illness and their family and friends are supported and empowered to live well in mind and body until the very last moment of their life”.

We recognise that our workforce is integral to the delivery of our Vision and our charitable aims. Pilgrims Hospices continues to create a highly skilled, motivated, engaged and healthy workforce by providing an environment where staff and volunteers feel highly motivated to perform their roles to a consistently high standard, and actively role model our charitable behaviours and values.

To achieve our Vision, we have a shared set of values and behaviours that enable us to be the people and the charity that patients and their loved ones need us to be. They form our CODE, which guides us in our daily working and decision making:

Compassionate We treat everyone with compassion and care

Open We communicate openly, honestly and effectively

Dynamic We are dynamic, improving and developing our service

Empowered We empower people to achieve their outcomes

Other benefits

As an Employer of Choice, our commitment to supporting our employees and volunteers is a key priority.

Our Health and Wellbeing Strategy is an important step in ensuring the sustainability of our workforce, and clearly outlines our strategic intentions to improve employee capability, resilience, and engagement, to adapt to and embrace change as the health sector continues to develop.

Our hospices offer:

• Modern, friendly and highly professional working environments
• Opportunities for professional development through a range of extensive learning
• Alignment with NHS pay rates and continuity in membership of the NHS pension scheme
• A sense of achievement in supporting a worthwhile cause
• A sense of wellbeing
• A good work-life balance
• Locations across well-populated areas of east Kent – all providing very good road and rail links
• NHS and financial discounts i.e. Blue Light Card
• Cycle to Work Schemes
• Free hospice parking

We invest in our employees, which is one of the key things that makes us an award-winning employer of choice.

If you think this is your ideal role and want to join us and contribute to providing high quality patient care and support to those at the end of their life, please apply now.