Job description

Senior Bereavement Family Support Worker

Role: Senior Bereavement Family Support Worker

Reports to: Family Support Manager

Location: Across South West London, Surrey and Sussex or from home. Occasional travel to Momentum Office in East Molesey

Contract: 1 year fixed-term contract

Hours: Up to 24 hours

Salary: Up to £29,000 FTE (dependent on experience)

BACKGROUND

Momentum Children’s Charity is a charitable organisation that supports families whose children have cancer or a life-challenging condition. The charity was founded 19 years ago by our current Chief Executive and has grown enormously over that time. We currently have partnerships with 10 hospitals over South West London, Surrey and Sussex, who refer families to us for our support, which ranges from therapies and counselling, to respite holidays and special family experiences. Should the unthinkable happen, the bereavement arm of our charity, Momentum Echoes, is there to support families through the heartbreak of losing their child.

OVERVIEW

The Senior Bereavement Service Support and Counsellor will be supporting families where a child or young person has died through illness, sudden death, or suicide. They will facilitate counselling sessions to family members and coordinate the Momentum Echoes service with the support of the Bereavement Family Support Worker.

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

· Facilitate individual and group therapy sessions.

· Input, update and maintain accurate records on database in line with Momentum’s requirements.

· In-depth knowledge of the psychology of loss and the stages of grief.

· Experience in collaborating with family members, healthcare professionals, and support groups in treatment.

· Ability to stay informed on developments in the field of bereavement counselling.

· Exceptional interpersonal, communication, and recordkeeping skills.

· Management of family referrals within agreed catchment area with assessment and delivery of ongoing support.

· Keep regular contact with key personnel within the Child Death Review team at the hospitals to encourage and facilitate prompt updates on both new and existing patients.

· Delivery of family support services in line with the budget and the overall charity Business Plan.

· Undertake regular supervision.

· Support with bereavement training activities and outreach – in hospitals and schools.

· Liaise with funeral services as required by bereaved families.

· Plan and manage Echoes events.

· Attend Echoes Team meetings to share family information, discuss issues and recommendations, review processes for support, and monitor outcomes/impact.

· Relay supporter contact information to appropriate internal contacts.Support the marketing and fundraising team through the provision of family updates, photographs and case studies.

· Deliver group supervision to the Family Support Team.

· Flexibility to attend family support events, which may involve evenings or weekends.

· Act as a professional representative of the charity for both internal and external audiences.

· Maintain sign-posting database to offer relevant links and support to families and other professionals.

· Other ad hoc duties in line with your role.

KEY SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS

· Experience of direct work with children and their families

· Experience of working with children who have been bereaved or children who are anticipating the death of a significant family member.

· Excellent communication skills both written and verbal.

· Supervision qualification.

· Experience of working with student counsellors.

· Responsive and empathetic to others needs and concern.

· Ability to work in a people oriented, emotional environment.

· Ability to work in partnership with families.

· Ability to plan own time and manage resources effectively.

· Confident using IT including Microsoft Office and databases.

· Experience of the charity sector (health) desirable.

· Work within Momentum’s Safeguarding and Code of Conduct policy.

· Valid UK Driver’s license with access to a car is essential for this role.

· Flexible hours, to accommodate family and team need.

· All staff have a responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and adults. The post holder will undertake the appropriate level of training and is responsible for ensuring that they understand and work within the safeguarding policies of the organisation

Job Type: Part-time
Part-time hours: 24 per week

Salary: £28,000.00-£29,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Company pension
• Health & wellbeing programme
• Sick pay
• Work from home

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Experience:

• counselling: 1 year (required)

Licence/Certification:

• Driving Licence (preferred)

Work Location: On the road