Job summary
Family & Bereavement Counsellor and Support Worker
Hours:part-time - 18 hours per week, worked over 3 days
Location: Helen House, Oxford
Salary:HDH Band 5 £33,636 - £40,483 per annum (pro rata), depending on experience
Closing date: 3rd March 2026at 12 noon
Interview date:11th March 2026
We have an exciting opportunity, due to retirement of the current post holder, to join our Family and Bereavement Support Team.
Main duties of the job
For family support, the counsellor and support worker will provide education, emotional support and
facilitate practical support via the wider multi-disciplinary team to parents of children who have been
referred to Helen & Douglas House for palliative and end of life care. The role will contribute to the
delivery of integrated, well-communicated care to parents through their childs illness and death.
The role provides bereavement support for parents where the child has died at Helen & Douglas House, in
their own home, and local hospitals, including parents whose child died suddenly. The role provides
emotional and psychological support level 1-2 (European Association of Bereavement Network) and work
with GPs and mental health services to provide level 3 support for those clients requiring this.
About us
Helen & Douglas House is a registered hospice charity based in Oxford, providing palliative, respite, end-of-life and bereavement care to life-limited children and their families.
We foster a climate where team members feel able to openly question, debate and appropriately challenge their own and the practice of others; as such, we welcome new ideas and strive to constantly improve our delivery of care to our patients.
Ready to bring your skills to a role that matters?
Applications will be reviewed and invited to interview as received. We reserve the right to close the advert at any time, therefore weencourageapplicants to apply as soon as possible.
Please note that everyone working for Helen & Douglas House are required to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service check. Helen & Douglas House is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We are an equal opportunities employer and value the benefits of a diverse workforce. We positively encourage applications from all areas of the community.
Job description
Job responsibilities
MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Provide family and bereavement support to parents through a mutually contracted therapeutic relationship enabling navigation through the experience of having a child with a life-threatening condition, and /or a child who has died and then into bereavement enhancing wellbeing and supporting parents to identifying their own goals, reaching their own conclusions and decisions. This may include support with GP liaison for formal mental and physical health support.
Add and maintain accurate new and existing client records, including sessions notes via electronic database.
Assess, objectively, using tools such as CORE 10 and the Grief Map to measure psychological distress and resilience and contribute to the evaluation and evolution of the caseload.
Provide client support through 1 to 1 and couples sessions, via face-to-face, video call or telephone.
Provide care in line with Helen & Douglas House values and behaviours: creative, resourceful, open and honest, caring, lead by example and commitment to partnership.
Participate in planning delivering and evaluation of the annual Remembrance Services and other Remembrance events.
Plan, deliver and evaluate group support programmes.
Develop and maintain links with other local and national bereavement support agencies.
Work closely with and supervise the volunteers to provide high quality support for pre and post bereaved Parents.
Signpost parents and colleagues to other services, as appropriate.
Comply with the requirements of Helen & Douglas House Safeguarding Policy and promote the wellbeing of children and adults.
Job description
Job responsibilities
MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Provide family and bereavement support to parents through a mutually contracted therapeutic relationship enabling navigation through the experience of having a child with a life-threatening condition, and /or a child who has died and then into bereavement enhancing wellbeing and supporting parents to identifying their own goals, reaching their own conclusions and decisions. This may include support with GP liaison for formal mental and physical health support.
Add and maintain accurate new and existing client records, including sessions notes via electronic database.
Assess, objectively, using tools such as CORE 10 and the Grief Map to measure psychological distress and resilience and contribute to the evaluation and evolution of the caseload.
Provide client support through 1 to 1 and couples sessions, via face-to-face, video call or telephone.
Provide care in line with Helen & Douglas House values and behaviours: creative, resourceful, open and honest, caring, lead by example and commitment to partnership.
Participate in planning delivering and evaluation of the annual Remembrance Services and other Remembrance events.
Plan, deliver and evaluate group support programmes.
Develop and maintain links with other local and national bereavement support agencies.
Work closely with and supervise the volunteers to provide high quality support for pre and post bereaved Parents.
Signpost parents and colleagues to other services, as appropriate.
Comply with the requirements of Helen & Douglas House Safeguarding Policy and promote the wellbeing of children and adults.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- For the full person specification please read the job description in the supporting documents
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- For the full person specification please read the job description in the supporting documents
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
