Location

Farnham, Surrey with cross site working

Salary

£37,048 per annum (WTE £46,310 per annum based on 37.5 hours a week)

Application Deadline

Friday, May 29, 2026

Job Profile

Job Summary

Lead Counsellor (Patient and Family Support Team)Salary:£37,048 per annum (WTE £46,310 per annum based on 37.5 hours a week)Hours:30 hours per week, worked Monday – ThursdayLocation:Farnham, SurreyAre you looking for a job where you can make a real difference? At Phyllis Tuckwell, we pride ourselves on offering exceptional care to our patients and their families and carers.

Phyllis Tuckwell is seeking to appoint a Lead Counsellor to join our Patient and Family Support Team, working across both the Farnham and Guildford sites, with occasional community-based work. The role focuses on providing emotional and psychological support to patients and carers under the care of the hospice, as a core component of palliative care.

A key aspect of this role is leading and supporting a team of counsellors, ensuring a cohesive, effective, and responsive service. The successful candidate will be confident in coordinating workload, offering day-to-day guidance, and supporting the professional development and wellbeing of colleagues. The Lead Counsellor will be expected to bring strong leadership experience, including the ability to manage team dynamics, provide informal support and guidance, and contribute to service improvement and the ongoing development of psychological support within a multidisciplinary team, working alongside the clinical psychologist and other professionals.

While involvement in supervision is part of the role, a formal supervision qualification is desirable but not essential, as additional supervision support is available within the service. Experience of, or a good understanding of, working with children and young people is also important, given the needs of the service.

If you would like to feel part of a welcoming and committed team, benefit from strong peer and managerial support, and want to develop your career with excellent training and education opportunities, we would be delighted to hear from you.

About You:
A successful Lead Counsellor will have:

A qualification in Counselling to at least a diploma level
Experience of leading or coordinating a team of counsellors (essential)
A certificate in Counselling Supervision CPCAB Level 6 (desirable, not essential)
Experience in end of life and grief issues
Experience of working with adults and some knowledge or experience of working with children and young people
Experience in working with volunteers
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
A good understanding of safeguarding protocols and procedures
The ability to coordinate workload and support colleagues in day-to-day practice
Flexibility to work across both the Farnham and Guildford sites, with occasional community work
Experience of working collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team, including clinical psychology input where appropriate

For a full list of essential requirements, please refer to the job description and person specification document.

About Us:
We are based in Farnham and Guildford, and provide bespoke, compassionate palliative and end of life care for people living with an advanced or terminal illness, across West Surrey and North-East Hampshire.

Phyllis Tuckwell is a very special place to work. Our staff make a real difference to the lives of our patients and their loved ones, providing outstanding care at a time that really matters. Our Patient and Family Services staff are pivotal in helping deliver our vital services, ensuring ‘every day is precious’ for our patients.

The impact of our services on the lives of our patients and their families can be read about here:

https://www.pth.org.uk/our-care/helpful-information/patient-stories/

We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive culture, with the principles of fairness and equality at its core. We are an equal opportunities employer, who values and respects our employees’ unique knowledge, skills and experiences. We warmly welcome applications from all sections of the community. All appointments are made following a fair and equitable process, based on merit, job requirements and business need.

We Offer:Excellent Benefits

Six weeks paid holiday plus public holidays (pro-rated for part time staff)
Continuation of NHS Pension or Phyllis Tuckwell Gro...

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