Counselling and Mental Health Services Manager

The Registry

You will provide strategic leadership to contribute to positive student experience and outcomes by enabling students to manage their emotional, psychological and mental wellbeing.

Job details

Responsible to

Head of Student Services

Location

Kedleston Road, Derby Campus

Closing date

Sunday 16 February 2025

Salary

£50,129 to £62,662 per annum (for exceptional performers, there is scope for further progression up to £72,061 per annum)

Job grade

Leadership – E

Reference

0536-24

Contract type

Permanent

Post type

Full-time

Adaptive working type

Onsite
This role will be based on site, primarily in the named location.

We have one simple promise – to make a positive impact. Through our ground-breaking research, teaching excellence and commitment to sustainable living, we are changing lives for the better.

The University of Derby is a modern university with a modern outlook. Everything we do is driven by delivering excellence and opportunities for our students, our staff and our region.

We have some of the best university facilities in the UK and achieve outstanding results for our teaching and research and have been awarded Gold in the prestigious Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023 – making it one of the top universities in the country recognised for its outstanding student experience and student outcomes.

Financially strong and seriously ambitious we offer our employees an inclusive culture that centres itself around staff wellbeing, where you can be confident you will receive all the help and encouragement you need to build a rewarding career with lots of opportunities to enhance your skills.

The Registry supports all aspects of the student journey, right from initial enquiry and application, all the way through to final award and student completion. We strive to provide an outstanding service to all our users and to be thought leaders in our fields of expertise, developing research informed practise. Registry teams work collaboratively with stakeholders to deliver a high-performance culture that promotes wellbeing, diversity and opportunity for all, supporting excellent student experience.

Student Services at the University of Derby is committed to providing the best possible support services to our students, to enhance the student experience, to help students achieve their full potential and to meet the strategic aims of the University. These services are central to the student experience they are visible, seamless, effective and tailored to the needs of our student community. As part of this commitment, a transformational programme of work is underway in Student Services to ensure that the support we deliver not only meets the needs of our students but also enables delivery of a vision for a developmental and collaborative model of student services that supports a transformational educational experience for students. We are excited for this next chapter in our service and welcome applicants with vision, drive and a passion for supporting student success.

As Counselling and Mental Health Services Manager, you will provide strategic leadership for this multi-disciplinary team which contributes to positive student experience and outcomes by enabling students to manage their emotional, psychological and mental wellbeing. You will lead a core team supported by a wider group of volunteer associates and trainees. Working within the wider context of the Student Services Department, you will establish and maintain close links with related student and staff support teams, and will be the clinical lead for the team.

You will, in conjunction with the Head of Student Services, lead on embedding across the institution a clear, visible and positive strategy around mental health. In this role, you will also build effective networks with a range of other University services and teams, the Union of Students and external services, and make sure that the whole of the team is also building such networks.

The ideal candidate will possess a strong and proven track record of assessing and managing clinical risk with in depth knowledge and application of a broad range of counselling models,

In addition, you will have a demonstrable record of strong leadership skills in order to manage and develop a team and support staff working under pressure. This will be coupled with excellent organisational and problem solving skills and personal resilience in managing conflict. You will hold an honours degree and relevant post-clinical qualifications and will have the ability to conduct systematic evaluation of service provision to ensure a cycle of continuous improvement.

Strategy & Planning

  1. Assist in the strategic development of the Service, contributing to annual operating plans, and evaluating service delivery to ensure effective use of all resources.
  2. To identify and use management information to report on service impact and to inform strategic planning at both service and institutional level. In particular to focus on the impact of counselling and mental health support on key Institutional Success Measures (ISM’s).
  3. Continue to improve the quality assurance process to monitor service standards by using a variety of data to evaluate services. Lead a process of continuous improvement which ensures that opportunities to further enhance the work of the team are seized, that the resources of the team are used effectively in order to maximise the student experience.
  4. Keep up to date on current developments in the Higher Education (HE) sector, identify trends, research good practice, identify service shortfalls and anticipate service requirements accordingly, and then deliver innovative solutions to optimise service quality, efficacy and efficiency. This will include helping the university to ensure it meets and exceeds future sector recommendations.
  5. Hold overall clinical responsibility for the Service, ensuring that it operates in a clinically safe and ethical manner and in accordance with appropriate professional guidelines and ethical frameworks, undertaking risk assessments, and putting in place risk management strategies. The post holder will be accountable not only for their own practice but also that of the wider Service, particularly in relation to protocols related to clinical risk.
  6. To manage the Service in accordance with all relevant legislation including equal opportunities, data protection, safeguarding, confidentiality, and the management of volunteers.
  7. To ensure that the service complies with the BACP Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling.
  8. Work closely with the Head of Student Services on initiatives directly related to Student Services.

The Service

  1. Deliver leadership and management of the Counselling and Mental Health Service – including line-managing all practitioners in the team, coordinating recruitment activities within the team, managing team and individual performance matters, and planning and managing training and development for the team.
  2. To oversee the regular recruitment and management of Associate and Trainee counsellors, engaging core team members as appropriate. To ensure that Associates and Trainees are fully supported and provided with clinical supervision. To maintain quality standards while using this team to increase service capacity within a limited budget.
  3. Develop a culture within the team which respects and maintains therapeutic boundaries and takes proper account of the need for confidentiality when working with students and when discussing cases with staff but balancing this with a need to share appropriate information for the effective management of clinical risk and to support other University services in their work with students with significant mental health difficulties.
  4. To ensure the service is accessible to a diverse range of clients and that the work of the Service is responsive to the needs of different groups e.g., international students, LGBT+ students, postgraduate students, etc.
  5. Deliver one-to-one casework with students (including mental health assessments and one to-one therapeutic work), as required – with a particular focus on taking on some of the more complex cases, and, alongside other members of the team, covering appointments reserved for cases in which students need to see a practitioner urgently. This is anticipated to be no more than 25% of workload.
  6. Ensure the team is responding effectively to the needs of students by ensuring that the triage and risk assessment protocols in place are effective and make best use of available resources, reserving appointment slots reserved for urgent cases, making effective referrals of urgent cases, and ensuring the team is providing timely, high-quality and clear advice to members of staff across the University with concerns about individual students. The post holder’s role is to support and empower the team to manage high-risk and complex cases at practitioner level, whenever possible, rather than themselves taking on the clinical management of all such cases.

Essential Criteria

Qualifications

  • Educated to degree level
  • Holds a professional qualification (or equivalent experience) relevant to Counselling/Psychotherapy
  • BACP accreditation or equivalent

Experience

  • Demonstrable experience of managing staff and service provision in an HE or comparable setting, working both operationally and strategically
  • Substantial post-qualification experience working with a wide range of presentations, including mental health difficulties and assessing and managing risk
  • Experience of conducting initial assessments and allocating clients
  • Understanding of a variety of counselling theories and approaches and experience and commitment to working within a brief model
  • Experience in developing and facilitating group work and psycho-educational workshops
  • Experience of developing a service and improving processes, including use of data and technology to achieve this
  • Breadth of vision gained from extensive experience in field of expertise

Skills, knowledge & abilities

  • Knowledge of HE regulations
  • Highly developed knowledge of the principles, theory, and practice in the fields of counselling and wellbeing
  • Proven management ability, including an ability to motivate, support and encourage flexibility in a constantly changing environment
  • Knowledge and understanding of  relevant  legislation  and  codes  of  practice  (e.g. Equality Act, QAA code of practice)
  • Highly numerate and able to read and interpret financial information and work with metrics and KPIs
  • High level communication and interpersonal skills: emotional robustness; ability to liaise effectively with academic and professional staff and external agencies; strong interpersonal skills including motivational negotiating, influencing and relationship building
  • Ability to assess, analyse and manage risks and opportunities
  • Commitment to continuous improvement; the ability to set appropriate objectives and targets, manage implementation and evaluate impact
  • Able to demonstrate knowledge of the principles of effective policy development, advice and representation
  • Able to use data, research and intelligence to inform representation and campaign activity

Desirable Criteria

Qualifications

  • Holds a Master’s degree or further post-graduate award in a related area
  • Generous annual leave entitlement of 42 days inclusive of bank holidays and concessionary days (pro rata)
  • Local Government Pension Scheme
  • Suite of holistic wellbeing benefits and support including family-friendly policies, generous sick pay provision and comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme
  • Access to a variety of staff discounts at high street retailers
  • Discounted onsite gym
  • Discounted access to Devonshire Spa
  • Access to employer-funded Private Health Insurance
  • Holiday purchase
  • Cycle to Work scheme
  • A flexible working environment
  • A commitment to personal and professional development

Find out more about rewards and benefitsFind out more about rewards and benefits

For further information and informal enquiries regarding the role, please contact Sarah Richardson, Head of Student Services via s.richardson@derby.ac.uk

For enquiries regarding your application and for sponsorship eligibility, please contact the recruitment team via recruitment@derby.ac.uk.

Visa Sponsorship Eligibility

This role is eligible for sponsorship by the University, however, your individual circumstances must meet the criteria set out by UKVI; this includes meeting the English Language requirement and earning a salary that meets the highest of either the going rate for the SOC code or the minimum salary threshold for the Skilled Worker route (£38,700 per annum).

If the role is eligible, but the offered salary is less that the going rate for the role, you may still be able to apply for a Skilled Worker visa if:

  • Your job is on the Immigration Salary List

  • You’re under 26, studying or a recent graduate, or in professional training

  • You have a PhD level qualification that’s relevant to your job

  • The role you are applying for is a postdoctoral position

Please note that the University cannot confirm your eligibility for sponsorship until an offer is made and your individual circumstances have been considered.

For more information, visit Applying from Overseas.

 

DBS check

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974 and is therefore subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Any information you provide will be treated in confidence and only used when considering your suitability for the post.

To enable us to process your DBS check please ensure you are able to supply the documentation listed on the DBS website at interview stage.

 

Equity, diversity and inclusion

The University of Derby is committed to promoting equity, diversity and inclusion, regardless of age, disability, trans status, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief (or none), sex and sexual orientation.

We are Disability Confident Employers, demonstrating our commitment to disability inclusion, and invite applicants to highlight adjustments they may require to ensure equitable participation in our recruitment processes.

Further, we are committed to ensuring an environment which is trans and non-binary-inclusive for all our staff, students, partners, and visitors, and continuously review our policies, guidance and training.

When applying to join the University, you can choose your preferred title, including the gender-neutral title 'Mx'. We also ask our candidates if they would like to share their preferred pronouns. This is voluntary but demonstrates our commitment to inclusivity for trans and non-binary candidates. Once employed, you can add pronouns and preferred names onto our system.

The University of Derby undertakes anonymised shortlisting during the staff recruitment process. This means that, when shortlisting, panel members will not be able to see an applicant’s name and will see an applicant number instead. This demonstrates the practical steps we are taking to remove barriers to recruitment by minimising the possible impact of our unconscious bias.

However you identify, we actively celebrate the knowledge, experience and talents each person brings. Our students come from a wide range of backgrounds; therefore we are particularly interested to hear from applicants who will help our leaders and teams be more reflective of our student population.

For more information on equity, diversity and inclusion at the University of Derby, please visit our website.

 

A university that celebrates you

Environmental Sustainability

At the University of Derby, we are passionate about embedding sustainability into everything that we do. We aim to bring environmental sustainability into all aspects of the University, including teaching, research and operational activities. In line with the University's strategic framework, we expect all our staff to embed sustainability into their working practices and support the University's objective to reach net zero carbon by 2040.

 

Environment and sustainability

Lead with purpose, apply now to make an impact.

How to apply

You can apply by submitting an online application. Once you have signed in or registered with us you will be able to begin your application. If you are creating an account for the first time, please ensure you provide an email address that you access regularly as this will be our main means of contacting you regarding your application.

If you require any assistance, including the provision of any documentation in an alternative format, please contact the Recruitment team at recruitment@derby.ac.uk.

Please note all applications must be submitted online by Midnight GMT on the closing date of the vacancy.

 

Further details

Download Counselling and Mental Health Services Manager job descriptionDownload Counselling and Mental Health Services Manager job description

The University of Derby is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all our staff, students and children. At the University of Derby, safeguarding is everybody's concern.

Please find our Safeguarding pages including our Safeguarding Policy.