Hertfordshire County Council
Counsellor
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Safe Space Counsellor
Salary: £39,481 progressing to £43,149 pa pro rata (approximately £20,262 - £22,144 pa)
Hours: 22.2 hours a week (term-time only)
Location: Schools/colleges across Hertfordshire
Contract type: Permanent
Directorate: Childrens Services
About The Team
Safe Space is a counselling and therapy service which offers children and young people across Hertfordshire a creative, confidential and safe space in which to explore any issues affecting their everyday lives.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Safe Space within Hertfordshire. Our Service is unique in that, whilst being part of Hertfordshire County Council, we are a traded service which means our services are purchased by schools and other organisations across the county. Safe Space also supports Foster/Kinship carers and forms part of HCC’s Crisis Response support to schools following a critical incident. We work with children and young people between the ages of 4 and 25, usually within a school or college setting (and occasionally online).
Alongside our counselling and therapy offer, we have a very successful Mentoring programme, which supports young people (age 11 and above) across the county.
About The Role
As a Safe Space Counsellor, you will be part of a team of 25 Counsellors and Senior Counsellors and work alongside school colleagues and other health professionals to support 10 - 20 clients per week (offering between 8-12 sessions to each young person, although this can be longer). Sessions are usually held at the same time and day each week, in a school/college setting, and last between 40-50 minutes.
This is a dynamic role which involves excellent communication skills (with young people, parents/carers, school colleagues and other professionals) and good level IT skills.
Safe Space counsellors are largely school based and could be in a single school for a full day (or more) each week, or need to travel between schools, perhaps visiting up to 4 in one day. Diary and time management is a key skill for this role, and we offer flexibility, autonomy and any support required, when it comes to planning your travel and caseload (bearing in mind school hours and room availability).
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Safe Space is a county-wide service which may mean you will be required to travel to different locations depending on the needs of the service. For this reason, a driving licence and car (plus business insurance) is essential to the role.
As a Safe Space counsellor, you will be part of a highly supportive team, reporting directly to one of our Senior Counsellors, and will have access to clinical supervision (both individual and group).
About You
Essential:
- Diploma level qualification and proof of BACP membership (or equivalent body).
- Experience of how to manage safeguarding concerns.
- Driving licence with access to a car (with business insurance).
- Experience of delivering therapy to children and young people.
- Ability to use/develop Play and Creative Therapy skills.
- Ability to communicate well with a variety of stakeholders.
- Ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with a variety of professionals and school staff in order to take an holistic approach to working with children/young people.
- Ability to manage a clinical caseload within BACP or equivalent Ethical Framework.
- Good level IT skills to maintain your online diary and accurate case records on each child/young person using the Early Help Module (EHM) online system in accordance with Data Protection Act / GDPR.
If you are a qualified counsellor and see yourself as part of a team making a real difference to children and young people, then this may be the role for you and we would welcome your application.
Interview date(s): 4th and 5th November 2026
For an informal discussion please contact:
- Sally Gubb- Safe Space Manager, sally.gubb@hertfordshire.gov.uk, 01992 588251
- Debra Gee- Safe Space Clinical Manager, debra.gee@hertfordshire.gov.uk
We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.
This job role is Level 10. Please locate the job profile here:
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How To Apply
As part of your application, please upload your most recent CV. Ensure your CV is up to date with your employment history (including any employment gaps), and including any training/qualifications. We encourage you to include examples of where you have demonstrated the requirements/criteria in the advert / job profile to allow the panel to fully recognise your skills and abilities. You will have the opportunity to include a short covering paragraph within your application to give us a little more information about your skills, knowledge, and experiences.
Additional Information
We are changing
Hertfordshire County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). If you are employed by Hertfordshire County on 1 April 2028, it is expected that most roles will transfer to the newly-created unitary councils on existing terms and conditions under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings – Protection of Employment) principles.
LGR is one of the biggest changes we will face in a generation. It will reshape how we work and how services are organised and gives us a real opportunity to build something better. To find out more, visit https://www.hertfordshire-lgr.co.uk/
Disability Confident
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.
Safeguarding
This role has been identified as requiring a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.
Driving Required
You’ll need to have the ability to drive and/or travel around Hertfordshire, either using your own mode of transport or a company car to travel to other locations.
English Fluency
The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required). Further information about the legal requirement can be found here.
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