Therapeutic Practitioner - Academic Services - 105907 - Grade 7

University of Birmingham; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 31,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Birmingham is seeking Therapeutic Practitioners to deliver mental health support to students, providing structured sessions to enhance their wellbeing. This role offers the chance to work in a dynamic environment, addressing diverse mental health needs and facilitating personal development through therapeutic interventions.

Benefits

40 days paid holiday annually

Occupational sick pay

Pension scheme

Flexible working arrangements

Volunteering day

Qualifications

• Experience of managing large caseloads in mental health.
• Relevant professional body membership (e.g. NMC/RCN/HCPC/BACP/UKCP).
• Previous experience of supporting students in Higher Education.

Responsibilities

• Manage a caseload of students and deliver structured sessions.
• Conduct assessments of need and risk, and refer to services.
• Participate in the development of collaborative working partnerships.

Skills

Mental Health Support

Communication

Administration Skills

Organizational Skills

Education

Relevant qualification at a minimum of Undergraduate level

Tools

MS Teams

Word

Excel

Job description

Position Details

Academic Services

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,130 to £45,413 with potential progression once in post to £48,149. As this vacancy is 0.68 FTE the salary will be in the range £24,568 to £30,880 with potential progression once in post to £32,741.

Grade: 7

Term time only (30 weeks per year from October to June, 37.5 hours per week)

Perm

3 positions available

Closing date: 6th July 2025

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do.

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, andweare equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university.We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here todevelopthrough our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programmewhichprovides allprofessionalservices staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential.With almost 5,000professionalservices jobs in a wide-range of functionsin Edgbaston andin our campus inDubai, there are plenty of opportunities foryou to be able to develop yourcareer at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate.We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are,and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees andtothe success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer avarietyof flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working.In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 dayspaid holidaya year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site.On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops,places to eat and drink,our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Find out more about thebenefits of working for the Universityof Birmingham

Background

We have vacancies in our Therapeutic Practitioner team for a number of posts starting in October 2025. Ideally, we are looking for candidates who can work full time (37.5 hours a week) on a term time basis only (October-June) - this will be 0.68 FTE with an expectation that majority of annual leave is taken outside of these weeks.

If we cannot meet that demand we will explore other full and part time working patterns so would encourage applications from interested candidates who can specify working preferences on the application form.

This role may include the possibility of some hybrid working tailored to the demands of the Service.

Role Summary

The University of Birmingham Mental Health and Wellbeing Service is a busy Service that offers structured, short term therapeutic support to registered students. Students can register for up to 5 sessions of Counselling/therapeutic support – either in person on campus at the Aston Webb Student Services Hub or online. We are seeking Therapeutic Practitioners to join the team to support students who register for 121 structured sessions to improve their mental health, wellbeing and engagement with University.

We are looking to recruit Therapeutic Practitioners to work with students who are experiencing a wide range of mental health and emotional struggles to support them in engaging with University to their best potential and improve their wellbeing. We are seeking candidates with experience of managing large caseloads and working with diverse individuals therapeutically in a short term basis - this might include candidates from Mental health, Counselling or Psychology backgrounds. The post holder will need manage a caseload of students experiencing a diverse and complex range of mental health needs and provide structured sessions (maximum 5) to enable them to work towards their academic and personal development goals as well as signpost and refer to longer term services where necessary.

Therapeutic Practitioners main role is deliveringplanned face to face and online interventions to support students who are experiencing distress in common mental health areas such as anxiety, low mood, Intrusive Thoughts, Self Esteem and Stress. Therapeutic Practitioners also conduct rapid assessments for students based on need and risk presented and support those students accessing the most appropriate services. High levels of administration skills and organisation skills are required. There is some scope for design and delivery of psycho-educational workshops and mentoring to help studentsengage in developing skills for managing and maintain good mental health and wellbeing.

Responsibilities include working to embed innovative and inclusive practices across the University through networking and contributing to training.

Main Duties

• To manage a caseload of students (25 approx) and deliver up to 5 planned and structured sessions on a weekly or fortnightly basis that will enable those students to work on the emotional issues that they may be struggling with.
• Offer sessions both in person on campus (B15 2TT) and online and record notes after each session summarising work carried out.
• Sign post and refer students to more appropriate services where it appears that the need or risk is greater than the University can support.
• Conduct assessments of need and/or risk for students who register with the Service and triage to appropriate Services within the University as well as externally.
• Escalate any risk concerns as appropriate.
• Ensure all administration tasks are completed timely and to a high level including case notes, spreadsheets and sending of emails.
• Identify student needs and suggest and innovate new ideas and projects to support students through a process of design, delivery and review/evaluation.
• Occasional support of Service delivery through covering key aspects such as triage or referrals.
• Active participation in monthly Supervision as well as team meetings and adhoc events such as Welcome Week.
• To participate in the development of collaborative working partnerships within Student Wellbeing Services, staff across the University and with outside agencies to ensure a high quality experience for students and to embed best practice.
• To contribute to the development of new initiatives and ways of working to meet changing needs and demand of students, including development of online and digital self-help resources for students and staff.
• To work collaboratively with academic and professional service staff to ensure a delivery of accessible mental health and wellbeing support to students, and to ensure that best practice around inclusiveness is disseminated across the University, with a particular focus on mental health awareness.
• To contribute to the development of an ongoing and responsive mental health policy in conjunction with Service managers, drafting policy and procedures for delivery of mental health services within the University.
• To work collaboratively with Student Wellbeing and Partnerships Team and Wellbeing Leads across the Colleges to support student wellbeing and manage complex cases.
• To contribute to the wider work of Student Services and Academic Services work, including supporting, for example, Open days, Welcome, and Graduation activity.
• To work as an accountable member of the service, acting as a role model for colleagues by displaying enthusiasm and the values of inclusivity and professionalism expected of all staff in the Division.
• To work flexibly to support the delivery of wider Wellbeing service responsibilities by undertaking other tasks and duties as needed to meet the requirements of the service.
• To communicate effectively with students, University staff and outside agencies as appropriate. This communication will include verbal, written reports, case conferences and team and committee meetings.

Person Specification

Essential Qualifications

• Relevant qualification at a minimum of Undergraduate level as well as substantial experience in a related area where significant 121 support has been facilitated to improve client’s mental health and wellbeing. For example, substantial experience in supporting people and a qualification in Counselling, Psychology, Nursing, (RMN) Social Work (AMP).
• Membership of an appropriate professional body, such as NMC/RCN/HCPC/BACP/UKCP.
• All post holders are subject to a satisfactory and enhanced DBS check.

Knowledge and Experience

• Previous experience of support students in Higher Education and working in a short-term capacity.
• Significant demonstrable experience of working meaningfully with clients with a wide range of mental health and emotional issues including (but not limited to) Anxiety, Depression, Self Esteem, Intrusive Thoughts, Relationship issues.
• Experience of case management in supporting clients therapeutically in a short term basis (this may include Counselling, CBT, DBT etc).
• Experience of conducting risk assessments for clients who may be at risk to themselves or others.
• Experience of assessing the therapeutic support needs of people from diverse backgrounds.
• Good understanding of neurodiversity and knowledge and experience of Neurodivergent-affirming therapy practices.
• Experience of assessing and working therapeutically with people who self-harm and experience suicidal feelings.
• Experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team to deliver a service.
• Experience of designing and delivering training and workshops as part of health and wellbeing, e.g. personal resilience.
• Experience of developing effective working relationships with internal partners and external agencies.
• Experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team to deliver mental health and/or wellbeing services.
• Experience of working with mental health issues in a group setting, and an ability to deal with difficult and challenging group dynamics.

Knowledge and Skills

• Excellent IT skills and experience of using systems to manage work requirements including, but not limited to, MS Teams, Outlook, Word and Excel.
• Ability to keep thorough and accurate client case notes and records, and ensure compliance with confidentiality policies and procedures, professional standards, and Data Protection and GDPR legislation.
• Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of the mental health needs of HE students including an awareness of issues of diversity, the social context of their lives and of the different ways they may express stress..
• Ability to engage people individually and in groups in developing strategies and skills for managing their mental health and wellbeing by using creative methods, models and processes.
• Excellent communication skills and an ability to deal with people at all levels.
• Experience of developing and delivering training for a variety of audiences.
• Ability to plan, organise and prioritise own workload and manage time effectively in an environment of change and conflicting priorities.

Professional Commitment

• Ensuring that issues of equality and a respect for diversity are reflected in all aspects of work.
• Continued professional development through undertaking training and participating in other learning opportunities in line with role and service needs.
• Recognition of the need to be accountable for work through supervision, performance management and other relevant processes.
• Work as part of a multi disciplinary team.

OH/DBS required

The University is committed to safeguarding and we promote safe recruitment practice, therefore all associated pre-employment checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed.Due to the nature of the work undertaken in this role all successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory DBS clearance prior to appointment.

Informal enquiries to Susan Dalton, email: [e-mail]

View our staff values and behaviourshere

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website .