Job Description

Lifecentre Clinical Lead

Summary:

To oversee the clinical services of the charity, managing and supporting the clinical staff and supervisors, ensuring Lifecentre policies and procedures are adhered to and kept up to date.

To uphold the best interests of our clients and mission as a charity, continuing to develop best practise in the way we deliver our services.

Responsibilities:

Face to Face Counselling Service:

·  support and oversee team of face to face counsellors for adult and/or under18s counselling

·  line manage senior counsellors

·  ensure all counsellors continue to work to Lifecentre’s policies, procedures and professional standards and are fit to practise

·  ensure that safeguarding issues are appropriately dealt with, including referral to Social Services and/or Police as necessary

·  revise, update and write new policies and codes of practice to ensure all team members are working to necessary ethical and legal standards

·  responsible for ensuring client needs continue to be met

·  conduct monthly team meetings for counsellors’ professional development and effective communication, including liaising between office and counsellors in regards logistical and administrative issues pertaining to delivering counselling. As part of the team meeting to lead a time of prayer for client and counsellor needs, seeking to be inclusive to all styles of church background represented.

·  conduct formal annual appraisals at the beginning of the year of all counsellors: reviewing effectiveness of their work against client evaluation forms, ensuring delivery of core objectives and identifying training needs

·  monitor use of CORE to evaluate what can be learned from it and develop counsellors’ and clients’ use of its feedback

·  head up the handling of any complaints in regards clinical services

·  oversee any student placements we decide to take on

Email Counselling:

·  ensure email counselling adheres to the same level of standards and is supported in the same way as face to face counselling

·  Develop this service to meet the on-going demand for email counselling.

Referral/Initial Assessments:

·  assessing the appropriateness of referrals for Lifecentre, advising Client Support Officers on potential client/counsellor match when needed, supporting the Client Support Officers in liaising with referrers as required and making decisions about the need for input from mental health teams

·  responsible for maintaining quality standards of the delivery of initial assessments

·  Responsible for monitoring with office staff the efficiency of our service to respond to referrals within our defined timescales. Responsible for monitoring of waiting lists with the Operations Manager.

Supervisors Team:

·  ensure all Lifecentre counsellors/therapists are allocated an appropriate Lifecentre supervisor, expanding the team as needed

·  provide an effective communication link between Lifecentre and the supervisors through tri-annual supervisors meetings as well as other specific communication as needed for the care of counsellors and clients

·  draw on the expertise of the supervisors to continually develop best practise within Lifecentre

·  ensure all supervisors are up to date in their knowledge of Lifecentre’s policies and codes of practise

·  review and respond to supervisors’ annual reports on the clinical work of the counsellors

Recruitment:

·  assess when we need to recruit additional counselors/therapists to keep up with the waiting list

·  be involved in the recruitment of new counsellors, their induction and positive establishment into working within the Lifecentre team

·  be involved in the clinical aspects of the induction of new counsellors, ensuring effective training in specialist knowledge required to see Lifecentre clients such as working to Pre Trial Therapy Policy

General:

·  other activities as required from time to time to ensure the effectiveness of Lifecentre clinical services

·  interfacing with partner and referral agencies on clinical issues

Reporting to:

Maggie Ellis, Lifecentre Director

Hours:

Flexible based on average of 8 hours per week, max 40 hrs per month.

Rate of Pay:

To be paid on a self employed basis, hourly rate to be negotiated dependent on level of qualifications and experience brought to this post.

There is a commitment from Lifecentre for this contract of services to be reviewed annually.

Place of Work:

This role will require a combination of:

·  home working

·  a weekly visit to the Lifecentre Chichester office to sign off referrals to be allocated for Initial Assessment or to first require mental health reports

·  running a monthly team meeting Mondays 9.30am – 12.30pm currently held at Chichester Baptist Church

·  meeting with counsellors as needed at a location mutually convenient

·  termly meetings with the supervisors in the Chichester offices held early evenings

Terms and Conditions of Service:

The appointee is expected to observe Lifecentre’s agreed policies and procedures and to work within the definition of its Trust.

Specifically the Clinical Lead will work within Sussex Child and Vulnerable Adults Safeguarding Procedures and in close liaison with Social Services, the Police and other relevant agencies.

All appointees must provide an up to date disclosure by the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Under provision of the Data Protection Act 1984, it is the responsibility of this post to ensure that all computerised and written personal information relating to Lifecentre’s clients, staff or volunteers to which he/she has access, is regarded as strictly confidential. Life Centre maintains confidentiality within the service, subject to its Confidentiality Policy.

It is a genuine occupational requirement of this post that applicants are female and subscribe to the Lifecentre Statement of Faith.Lifecentre is an equal opportunities employer.

1