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SalaryPosition: Counselling Officer
Salary Range (depending on experience): Pro rata of £24,000 to 26,500 incl. OLW
Hours: Part-time 10 hours per week *
Contract: Permanent, part-time
Location: from our offices in Teddington TW11 8HT
Closing Date: 11am on Tuesday 19th March 2024
Please note: Interviews will be held on an ongoing basis, we may close the position early if a suitable candidate is found.
About the Counselling Officer Role:
Our Counselling service is now an established service that has grown steadily over the years. We offer a low-cost counselling service with a sliding scale. You will work closely with our Counselling Manager that recruits and supports volunteer therapists and has overall responsibility for the smooth and effective running of the service.
The Counselling Officer will have responsibility for the day to day running of the service and ensuring all the administration functions are completed in a timely way. The role involves taking enquiries about the service, calling and speaking to clients over the phone, arranging assessments, getting forms completed, adding relevant information on our database, taking payments and using excel spreadsheets to enter data.
* We run our counselling service on a Wednesday evening and Fridays from our offices. It is essential you are available to cover reception on the Wednesday evening sessions from 5 to 8pm. The service may increase to another evening a Monday or Thursday. There may be potential for hours to increase as the service grows.
About you
You will act as the main point of welcome for clients accessing the counselling service. You will be based on reception for the current Wednesday evening session and if further evening sessions are arranged.
You will deal with telephone, email and face-to-face enquires efficiently and in a professional and supportive manner. You’ll be personable and able to communicate with clients that are feeling emotional and/or stressed. You will be confident at speaking on the phone and being able to gather information.
You'll also have knowledge of computer systems and programmes including MS Office. You will be able to organise your own workload whilst responding to ever changing priorities.
It is essential that the Counselling Officer is reliable, timely and accurate. They must be able to prioritise actions, understand what needs to be done to run a service effectively and be able to work independently.
If you’re a dynamic and organised person who shares our values and are looking for a new role in a supportive and inclusive environment, we would love to hear from you!
About Richmond AID:
Richmond AID provides a range of services including our benefits advice, money advice and information navigation service, a range of peer network social activities, counselling service, Spade gardening service, Connect to Tech digital training, and a Mental Health Peer Support service. We have over 60 volunteers and we currently provide services in Richmond, Kingston and Hounslow boroughs. We support more than 2000 people each year and it continues to grow. The charity has an excellent reputation and enjoys strong support from the communities it serves.
Richmond AID offers 25 days annual leave plus eight bank holidays (pro rata for part-time). You will be based at our offices in the Disability Action and Advice Centre, 4 Waldegrave Road, Teddington, TW11 8HT but may need to work from other locations as needed.
