Counsellor

The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Part time

Job summary

The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Band 6 Counsellor to join the Maternal Mental Health Service within the Paediatric and Women’s Health Psychology service. The role is 0.7 wte in a supportive, family‑centred environment.

You will provide bereavement counselling for pregnancy loss, work within a bereavement team, and maintain confidential client records, with flexible working arrangements and opportunities for professional development.

Qualifications

• Diploma level qualification in counselling on a BACP/BICA accredited course.
• Eligible for membership of the BACP and/or BICA.
• Current professional registration to practice as a qualified counsellor (BACP/UKCP/BICA).
• Post graduate qualification in Counselling.

Responsibilities

• Provide counselling for women during or after pregnancy as part of bereavement pathway.
• Work within the bereavement team to support families in a busy tertiary unit.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date client records and CPD.

Skills

Counselling

Bereavement support

Communication

Education

Diploma in counselling (BACP/BICA)

Membership eligibility (BACP/BICA)

Professional registration

Postgraduate counselling qualification

Tools

Email

Excel

Electronic patient records

Job description

Main area 317 Paediatric Psychology Grade Band 6 Contract Permanent Hours Part time - 26.25 hours per week (26 Hours 15 Minutes/Week) Job ref 317-2026-37-010

Site Trustwide Town 317 Trustwide Salary £39,959 - £48,117 pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 12/10/2026 23:59 Interview date 25/11/2026

Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the busiest and largest NHS hospital trusts in the country. We have around 16,000 staff and an annual budget of £1.7 billion.

With strong history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation regionally, nationally and internationally, w e’re in the top five providers of specialised health services in the country.

As well as providing a wide range of hospital and community services, we support people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.

We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and recognise the benefit in providing an inclusive environment. We value and respect the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve, and is equipped to deliver the best service to our patients. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.

Newcastle Hospitals are proud to be one of the exemplar organisations across the NHS on sustainability, with a long history of delivering Sustainable Healthcare in Newcastle and the first healthcare organisation in the world to declare a climate emergency. Our strategy includes commitments to being Net Zero by 2030, for our direct carbon footprint, and Net Zero by 2040 for our footprint plus. Delivering these ambitions will not be possible without the help, support and action of every single member of our team.

Job overview

An opportunity has arisen for a substantive band 6 Counsellor post working in the new Maternal Mental Health Service within the Paediatric and Women’s Health Psychology service at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals Trust. The post is available on a 0.7 wte basis. The paediatric and women’s health psychology service is a thriving department, which is committed to child and family centred care. There are opportunities for professional development through regular CPD, involvement in service improvement projects, and supervision. The paediatric and women’s health psychology service is part of the wider department of Psychology in Healthcare, enabling collaboration and support with colleagues.

Main duties of the job

We are looking for a compassionate, creative and skilled individual to provide sessions around anticipatory grief and to those bereaved families following the loss of a baby during pregnancy or shortly after birth. The post holder will work independently but also be part of the bereavement team that provide care within a busy tertiary unit. The pregnancy loss might be unexpected or expected following confirmation of foetal anomalies. The post would suit someone who has some counselling experience following pregnancy loss. Counselling may be offered on a face-to-face/virtual meeting or over the telephone depending on the wishes of the family.

The successful applicant will become an integral member of the team. We offer flexible working arrangements, in return we ask for your flexibility in meeting service need. This role which will further enhance the bereavement care we provide to families. The post holder will have responsibility for maintaining accurate and relevant client records.

Working for our organisation

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.

With around 2 million contacts with patients every year, we deliver care from:

• Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria

These include a range of flagship services which deliver cutting-edge care (supported by state-of-the-art diagnostic services in both radiology and pathology) and are a catalyst for innovation to support pioneering clinical practice in the NHS.

We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.

Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under ‘Documents to download’ or ‘Supporting documents’.

For further information on The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust please visit: Careers | Newcastle Hospitals | NHS | Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post holder will provide counselling for women during or following pregnancy who have self-referred as part of a bereavement pathway or have been referred by healthcare professionals to the Maternal Mental Health Service. You will act as a mental health resource to women, birthing people and their families through difficult and emotional times. You will be part of the new NUTH Maternal Mental Health Service and work into the bereavement pathway. You will be working in a supportive team environment where you can benefit from flexible working whilst supporting families by providing specialist bereavement counselling support.

To be successful in this role you will be registered with the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). You will need to hold current registration to practice as a qualified counsellor. Experience of providing a counselling service within a healthcare setting and managing your own caseload is essential. Working with people experiencing trauma and anxiety is also essential. Experience of working in a maternity setting with couples and families would be desirable. The post holder requires well developed communication and relationship skills.

Appropriate IT skills to enable smooth working within modern NHS environment including the use of electronic patient records is essential to the role. Knowledge of the Clinical Governance agenda this role requires will help strengthen the bereavement care pathway the families find themselves engaged with. The bereavement counsellor will a have a unique role in providing psychological and emotional support for women, birthing people and their families.

Qualifications & Education

• Diploma level qualification in counselling on a BACP/BICA accredited course
• Eligible for membership of the BACP and/or BICA
• Current professional registration to practice as a qualified counsellor (BACP/UKCP/BICA)
• Post graduate qualification in Counselling

Knowledge & Experience

• Experience of providing a counselling service within a healthcare setting
• Experience of dealing with clients presenting multiple and complex issues
• Experience of prioritising and managing own caseload
• Experience of maintaining clear and up to date client records
• Evidence of recent/relevant CPD
• Experience of providing in house training
• Evidence of contribution to service development
• Awareness of and commitment to Clinical Governance agenda
• Experience or working in a Maternity setting
• Experience of working with groups
• Local healthcare/ mental health system, social and community networks
• Supervisor/mentor training relevant to professional practice

Skills & Abilities

• Well-developed communication and relationship skills
• Appropriate IT skills to enable smooth working within modern NHS environment including email and excel and patient information system
• Ability to meet the travel requirements

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.