Jobs at GRIEF ENCOUNTER | Work In Charities

GRIEF ENCOUNTER

England and Wales

Part-time

Trustees Job Pack

Introduction:

Grief Encounter offers free, specialist bereavement support services to children, young
people and their families, who have experienced the death of someone close, through
support and counselling across England and Wales.

We aim to give every child and young person a voice for their grief and access to help when
they need it most, as we understand children grieve differently to adults. Our experienced
team of qualified bereavement therapists are passionate about providing individually tailored
support, to help work through the grieving process and find ways through what might be
some of their darkest moments.

Additionally, Grief Encounter brings the struggles surrounding childhood grief to the forefront
in schools, colleges and workplaces, through raising awareness, education and specialist
training.

Our Vision: A world where no child grieves alone.

Mission: To help bereaved children, young people and their families find hope and healing.

Our Values are:

Belonging

Through times of grief, we deeply understand the profound influence of community. We
honour heritage, diversity and the important bonds that nurture our sense of self and our
collective contributions to provide hope, healing and fulfilling lives.

Courage

We’re not afraid to face grief head on and tackle difficult conversations openly and honestly
with others. This gives everyone the courage to freely express their emotions and actively
participate in making a difference.

Dedication

We dedicate ourselves to the lives of bereaved children and families. With unwavering
resolve, we champion the needs of every child to shape hopeful futures with care, warmth
and positivity, nurturing the past, present and future lives.

Our Objectives are:

 To relieve some of the emotional distress caused to children and young people by the
death of a parent or significant other

 To improve the long-term emotional and psychological health and well-being of bereaved
children, young people and their families

 To raise awareness of issues for bereaved children and young people and promote the
value of bereavement support

What we are looking for:

Trustees with skills and experience in the following areas which we have identified as gaps
on our Board (you do not need to have held a prior Trustee position):

 Legal and statutory matters

 A strong personal commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion

 Schools/education and/or experience of working in a children’s charity

 Children’s services/mental health services and knowledge of current legislation in this field

 Experience of clinical counselling/or bereavement services

 Knowledge of the new initiatives in the Health Service, such as Integrated Health Boards

Grief Encounter actively promotes equal opportunity for all and encourages applications from
a wide range of candidates. To enable us to deliver our work to the best of our abilities and
to live our values, we particularly welcome applications from diverse backgrounds, with a
particular emphasis for people from Black, Asian minority ethnic backgrounds, women, the
LGBTQ+ community and disabled people, who are significantly under-represented on our
Board. In addition, we particularly encourage applications from those with lived experience of
childhood bereavement.

Role of our Board of Trustees:

The main role of the Board is to determine the charity’s mission and purpose and guard the
charity’s ethos and values.

Trustees are appointed for a four-year term and can serve consecutive terms. Trustees
serving on Grief Encounter’s Board would usually be expected to commit to the role for a
minimum of 10 days per year. Board members also take part in specific committee functions,
although this is dependent on individual Trustee experience and availability.

An Enhanced DBS clearance is required for this post, which will be processed by Grief
Encounter on your behalf. We provide a mandatory induction and on-boarding training
programme.

The role of a Trustee is not accompanied by any financial remuneration, although
reasonable expenses are reimbursed.

Trustee Role Description

Key responsibilities:

 Act as an ambassador for the charity

 Have a collective responsibility to help shape the strategic direction and provide leadership
to ensure that Grief Encounter is an effective and safe organisation

 To ensure they are informed and confident to establish sound, effective open and
supportive relationships with the Corporate Management Team and other staff

 Fulfil all legal duties and responsibilities of a trustee, ensuring good governance and
financial health

 Ensure Grief Encounter operates within its charitable objectives

 Support fundraising

 Promote clinical excellence and research based practice

Person specification:

 Commitment to Grief Encounter’s vision, mission and values

 An understanding of a Trustee Board and the charity sector

 Strategic vision

 Time commitment

 Ability to help build and strengthen collaborative partnerships

 Passionate, strong team player

 Understanding of legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of trusteeship

Application process

To apply, please send your CV and an expression of interest (max. 2 A4 pages), outlining
your interest in the role and how you meet the person specification to our Head of Human
Resources: Louise King: louise.king@griefencounter.org.uk. We welcome applications from
across the U.K. For further information on Grief Encounter, click here. For information on our
current Board members, click here.

View Apply Now

Bereavement Support Worker

GRIEF ENCOUNTER

30,000 per year

Mill Hill, London NW7 4ST

Full-time

JOB DESCRIPTION

Grief Encounter was set up in December 2003 to ensure that bereaved
children and their families receive the best possible support following the
death of a parent, sibling and someone close. We deliver both local and
national bereavement services. Please see our website for further
information: www.griefencounter.org.uk
______________________________________________________________

JOB TITLE:

SALARY:

Bereavement Support Worker

£30,000 per annum (FTE)

LOCATION:

Mill Hill, London NW7 4ST

CONTRACTED HOURS:

40 hours with a 1 hour paid rest break per
day including evening and occasional
weekends

RESPONSIBLE TO:
____________________________________________________________

Team Leader

Our Vision: A world where no child grieves alone.
Our Mission: To help bereaved children, young people and their families find
hope and healing.
Our Values: As a member of the Grief Encounter team, you will be expected
to hold these in your day to day work:

Through times of grief, we deeply understand the profound
influence of community. We honour heritage, diversity and
the important bonds that nurture our sense of self and our
collective contributions to provide hope, healing and fulfilling
lives.

We’re not afraid to face grief head on and tackle difficult
conversations openly and honestly with others. This gives

Job Description Bereavement Support Worker October 2025_V6

everyone the courage to freely express their emotions and actively participate in
making a difference.

We dedicate ourselves to the lives of bereaved children and
families. With unwavering resolve, we champion the needs
of every child to shape hopeful futures, with care, warmth
and positivity, nurturing the past, present and future lives.

__________________________________________________________

PURPOSE

To ensure bereaved clients receive appropriate, timely support. Tasks include
reviewing referral forms, completing administrative tasks and acting as the
first point of contact for referrals and enquires from both bereaved families
and third-party referrers. Supporting family programmes and volunteers. The
role will also require managing a small caseload requiring bereavement
support work.
____________________________________________________________________

JOB SUMMARY

• Providing written copies and helping to update and maintain literature

relevant to Grief Encounter.

• Development and maintenance of a list of reputable signposting

agencies/services for use by staff and Volunteers.

• Supporting the senior management, and other Grief Encounter teams

with the development and success of key projects designed to increase
the reach of and access to the service(s).

• Leading and supporting resources distribution.

• Any other duties commensurate with this post.

_____________________________________________________________________

MAIN DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Calling bereaved families and 3rd party referrers to discuss support and

to assess eligibility for Grief Encounter services.

Job Description Bereavement Support Worker October 2025_V6

• Attending and supporting events with children, young people and

families taking place evenings and occasional weekends.

• Supporting volunteers.

• Updating client records and ensuring required documentation/forms

are completed correctly.

• Holding a caseload of families, including delivering short term support

programmes.

• Signposting client to appropriate (external) services.

• General administrative support – including responding to calls, emails,

letters, and online.

• Managing submissions from bereaved families wishing to obtain
and/or more information about the organisations and service
provision(s).

• Ensuring the collection, collation, interpretation, and distribution of
accurate data (via online CRM systems) so that activities can be
analysed and interpreted for the purposes of funding validation,
reporting and service improvement.

• Promoting and representing Grief Encounter at relevant events and

meetings as agreed with the Senior Management Team.

• Providing guidance to external professionals to answer queries with an

emphasis on providing effective, timely support.

• Working with Grief Encounter’s management and supervision policies.

• Working within all policies and procedures, including the Charity’s

Safeguarding Policies; Equality and Diversity Policy; Data Protection
Policy and Health & Safety Policy.

_____________________________________________________________________

CANDIDATE PROFILE

Essential Skills & Experience

Job Description Bereavement Support Worker October 2025_V6

• Relevant experience of working with children, young people and

families;

• Knowledge and experience of working with a diverse client base;

• A good knowledge and understanding of the impact of bereavement
on families: or demonstrable transferable skills in a relevant field;

• Experience of meeting targets and key performance indicators;

• Experience of carrying out risk assessments, in relation to the

safeguarding of children and adults;

• Good listening support, and advise skills with the ability to assess the

needs of callers;

• Good IT skills, including confidence and experience of using data-based

systems;

• Experience in setting and maintain professional boundaries;

• The ability to deal with work pressures, exercise sound judgement,

manage time effectively, meet deadlines, to organise and set priorities
for your own work;

• Flexible to work agreed evenings and occasional weekends as required;

Desirable

• Experience of working in child bereavement field;

• Counselling Skills, social work qualification or other relevant

qualifications or experience.

Personal Attributes

• Proactive and solution-oriented, with a positive attitude;

• Empathetic and respectful when dealing with sensitive topics;

• A collaborative team player who is also comfortable working

independently;

• Willing to travel across London and occasionally attend events outside
of London and/or regular hours (Time off in lieu (TOIL) will be provided
as appropriate).

Job Description Bereavement Support Worker October 2025_V6

____________________________________________________________________

Data Protection / Confidentially

• All employees are subject to legal requirements to protect data in

accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018

• All staff are expected to maintain strict confidentiality in respect of

client and records and information.

____________________________________________________________________

Equal Opportunities

• All employees must comply with Grief Encounter’s Equality and

Diversity policies and procedures.

• This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service

check

__________________________________________________________

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• All roles at Grief Encounter are directly or indirectly involved in income
generation and supporter engagement. This may include attending
fundraising events, such the London Marathon, Royal Parks and our Bi-
annual Gala Dinner, either as a participant, cheerer, or to provide
support in other ways.

Job Description Bereavement Support Worker October 2025_V6

GRIEF ENCOUNTER

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