Psychological Therapist ( Part Time)

St Christophers Fellowship; Croydon; On-site; GBP 16,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading charity for children and young people in Croydon seeks a part-time Psychological Therapist to support emotional well-being for children in care. You will provide direct support and training to staff and foster carers. Ideal candidates have a relevant degree and experience working with children. This role offers flexible hours and a competitive salary of £16,000 for part-time work, along with a friendly environment and comprehensive training.

Benefits

25 days holiday plus Bank Holidays

BUPA Employee Assistance Programme

Discount shopping scheme

Contributory pension scheme

Qualifications

• Minimum three years working directly with children and families.
• Experience dealing with crisis situations.
• Ability to work outside normal hours as required.

Responsibilities

• Facilitate Reflective Practice for residential staff.
• Provide direct support to Children in Care and Care Leavers.
• Consultative training to foster carers and residential staff.

Skills

Crisis management

Therapeutic interventions

Interpersonal skills

Communication skills

Time management

Education

Degree in Social Work, Psychology, Counselling, or Therapy

Job description

Psychological Therapist (Part Time)

Salary: Equivalent of £40,000 per annum for full-time (40 hours / week). The part‑time role of 16 hours / week will be paid pro rata.

Hours: 16 hours per week (flexible).

Contract: Permanent.

Location: Croydon.

About Us

Our vision is for every child and young person to be safe loved and happy to achieve their potential and have a bright future.

St Christophers is a leading charity for children and young people. We are proud of our history of providing fostering childrens homes and innovative leaving care services across the UK & Isle of Man. We have a passionate commitment to our young people placing them at the centre of everything we do. We provide positive life experiences for young people who are unable to sustain a placement in their parental or foster home.

We are an equal‑opportunity employer keen to develop an inclusive workforce where people feel they belong. We hope to attract applications from under‑represented groups including people from different cultures nationalities socioeconomic backgrounds ages disabilities religions faith sex orientation childcare responsibilities and gender‑diverse identities.

St Christophers Academy

When you join St Christophers we will set you up in your career with a tailored development plan. Whether you want to move across to a different service become a Manager or just explore further your current role we will support you to map out your career trajectory and help you achieve your professional ambitions. If you want to learn more about St Christophers Academy please click here

We are proud that 84% of all our Team Leaders Deputies and Managers are internal promotions.

About This Role

This is an exciting new opportunity to be part of a new project within our Wraparound Service in the UK. As Psychological Therapist key aspects of your role will be :

• Facilitation of Reflective Practice for residential staff to help support therapeutically informed practice staff resilience and emotional wellbeing.
• Direct support to Children in Care and Care Leavers to improve their emotional health and well-being and to provide any additional support identified as needed by statutory services to those with mental health needs.
• Working with children residential carers and social workers where care arrangements are at risk of breaking down.
• Consultative support and training to foster carers and residential staff where there are children in placement who have complex needs.
• Support the development of the UK Therapeutic Service to help meet the needs of staff and young people across the organisation.

Qualifications

• Degree in a relevant discipline (e.g., Social Work, Psychology, Counselling, Therapy)
• A minimum of three years working directly with children, young people and families
• Experience of dealing with crisis situations and working with emergency services
• A minimum of one year experience of delivering therapeutic interventions
• Previous experience of delivering therapeutic interventions to children and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties
• Experience of working in a multi‑agency setting
• Knowledge of UK Legislative framework
• Good interpersonal and communication skills
• Knowledge / Experience of Care Planning and Care Management
• Ability to manage caseload and to work on own initiative
• Responsive to deadlines
• Excellent IT report writing and presentation skills
• Ability and willingness to work outside of normal office hours as required

In return we offer:

• Competitive salary of £16,000 per annum for part time work.
• A friendly working environment a fun open and honest culture.
• Industry Leading training programme including childrens right and participation CSE empowerment mental health and Social Pedagogy.
• 25 days holiday rising to 27 days after 3 years service plus Bank Holidays.
• Contributory pension scheme Enhanced Maternity and Company Sick Scheme.
• BUPA Employee Assistance Programme offering counselling financial advice and legal support.
• Interest‑free season ticket loan cycle to work scheme.
• Discount shopping scheme.
• Discretionary Funding Training Programs.
• Employee Awards based on performance and length of service.

Recruitment Process

St Christophers is committed to the safeguarding of all children and young people in our care including the principals of Safer Recruitment. During the recruitment process you will be expected to complete an online application form to ensure we capture essential information to meet legislation best practice and vetting requirements to assess your suitability to work with children and young people.

Applicants will ideally already be on the DBS Update Service; if this is not the case St Christophers will carry out a DBS (police) check prior to your start date.

Your application must include a supporting statement addressing the criteria given in the Person Specification. Please note CVs will not be accepted.

For the full Job Description for this role and more detail about what will be required please click here.

It is against the law to apply for work with Children / Young People if you are barred from working in Regulated Activity and if your name is added to a Children Barred List.

All shortlisted candidates invited to interview will be asked to submit a Self‑Declaration and Disclosure form which will need to be returned prior to an interview being booked.

St Christophers Fellowship has a minimum age requirement of 21 for roles working directly with children and young people in our residential and semi‑independent Homes.