Lead Counsellor / Counsellor

Job Reference: ATR92836

Application deadline: 06/07/2026

Salary: £19,010.00 - £20,218.00

Job Description

Lead Counsellor / Counsellor

Location: Multiple sites

Hours and Weeks per Year: Lead Counsellor - 4 hours / 38 weeks; Counsellor - 26 Hours / 38 weeks

In the role of Lead Counsellor, you'll predominantly be based at Waterfront centre, whilst providing support across Kirklees College campuses as required. Your focus will be on delivering a high-quality counselling service to students, promoting positive mental health and wellbeing, and providing professional leadership for the college counselling team.

Responsibilities

• Delivering one-to-one counselling and therapeutic support to students.
• Managing and prioritising referrals into the counselling service.
• Providing professional leadership and guidance to counselling colleagues.
• Supporting quality assurance, service monitoring and reporting.
• Working collaboratively with safeguarding, wellbeing and external agencies.
• Promoting mental health awareness and wellbeing initiatives across the College.

Qualifications

Ideally, you'll have a recognised qualification at Level 4 or above, accreditation or registration with a recognised professional body such as BACP (or eligibility to receive accreditation) and substantial experience of delivering counselling services to young people and/or adults.

You'll have experience of managing complex cases, working within safeguarding frameworks and maintaining accurate confidential records. Previous experience of providing leadership, mentoring or supervision within a counselling setting would be advantageous.

Personal Skills

It's important that you're able to communicate effectively with a wide range of people, build positive relationships, work professionally under pressure and demonstrate our college values of Kindness, Unity and Excellence.

Due to the nature of our work, it's essential you're committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.

Benefits and Development

Staff development opportunities include a mentoring scheme, financial contributions for external qualifications and skills development for current and aspiring managers. You'll also have access to a range of staff benefits including an employee assistance programme, retail and leisure discounts and reduced Metro travel.

Equality and Diversity

As an employer we are committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and welcome applications from all sections of the community, regardless of an individuals' sex, age, religion, race, marital status, disability status, sexual orientation, maternity or care leaver status. We are committed to exploring opportunities for flexible working and ensuring the work-life balance and wellbeing of our workforce. Please note that any job offer is subject to pre-employment checks including a DBS check, online searches and references from former employers, in line with guidance from Department for Education.