About this role
Job summary
The Family Support Lead will provide leadership, management and operational oversight of the Family Support Service, ensuring high-quality emotional, psychological, spiritual, practical and bereavement support is available to patients, families, carers and those affected by life-limiting illness. The postholder will coordinate and develop a holistic support service for adults, children and young people, ensuring support is responsive, accessible and aligned with hospice values and strategic priorities.
The role will lead a multidisciplinary team of staff and volunteers, delivering both individual and group based interventions, supporting people before and after bereavement and promoting emotional wellbeing throughout the patient's journey. The Family Support Lead will work collaboratively with clinical teams, community services, schools, local authorities and voluntary sector organisations to ensure families receive timely and appropriate support.
Main duties of the job
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Provide day-to-day leadership and management of the Family Support Team.
Lead, supervise and support family support practitioners, volunteers and students.
Manage caseload allocation and service prioritisation.
Monitor service activity, outcomes and waiting times.
Develop and review operational procedures, policies and pathways.
Ensure services meet safeguarding, governance and regulatory requirements.
Lead service development initiatives in line with hospice strategy.
Contribute to budget planning and resource management.
Participate in hospice management meetings and operational planning.
About us
About Nightingale House Hospice
We are an ambitious organisation providing specialist palliative care services, completely free-of-charge, to patients and their families across a wide area stretching from Wrexham, Flintshire, and East Denbighshire to Barmouth and the border towns including Oswestry and Whitchurch. It costs £5.6m per year to run the Hospice, with only 20% of our funding provided by the government. Over 400 volunteers give their time to the Hospice helping us run efficiently and effectively as part of the local community.
We are looking for an experienced and motivated Family Support Team Lead to join our Family Support Team on a permanent basis.
Job description
Job responsibilities
RESPONSIBLE FOR
Social Workers
Counsellors,
Student Counsellors and Placements
Chaplain Group Facilitators
Volunteers
KEY RELATIONSHIPS INTERNAL
Head of Clinical and Patient Services
All members of the hospice MDT Hospice staff in all departments Hospice volunteers
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Manage caseload allocation and service prioritisation. Monitor service activity, outcomes and waiting times.
Develop and review operational procedures, policies and pathways. Ensure services meet safeguarding, governance and regulatory requirements.
Lead service development initiatives in line with hospice strategy. Contribute to budget planning and resource management.
FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICE DELIVERY
Provide oversight and coordination of services including: Emotional Support to Support patients and families adjusting to diagnosis, deterioration and end-of-life care.
Deliver supportive listening and emotional wellbeing interventions.
Assess emotional, psychological and social support needs.
Coordinate access to specialist counselling and mental health services where required.
Bereavement Support
Lead the hospice bereavement service.
Ensure provision of pre-bereavement and post-bereavement support.
Oversee bereavement assessments and risk screening.
Coordinate bereavement support sessions.
Develop bereavement pathways for adults and children.
Ensure timely follow-up of families after a death.
Children and Young People's Support
Coordinate support for children experiencing anticipatory grief and bereavement.
Manage referrals from schools, professionals and self-referrals.
Ensure support is available regardless of whether the bereavement is connected to hospice care.
Develop age-appropriate interventions and resources.
Build links with schools, educational psychologists and local children's services.
Carer Support
Develop services that support informal carers and loved ones.
Provide information, education and emotional support.
Facilitate access to respite opportunities and external agencies.
Promote carers' wellbeing throughout the illness journey.
Welfare Rights and Practical Support
Coordinate access to welfare benefits advice.
Support individuals with benefit claims and grant applications.
Ensure families are signposted to statutory and voluntary sector services.
Work closely with financial wellbeing and welfare rights advisors.
Spiritual Care
Coordinate holistic spiritual support for patients and families.
Support access to chaplaincy and faith leaders where requested.
Ensure spiritual needs are considered regardless of religious belief.
GROUP DEVELOPMENT AND FACILITATION
Lead and support the delivery of therapeutic and supportive groups including:
Bereavement Groups
Bereavement Group
Young Adults Bereavement Group
Children and Family Groups
Children's Bereavement Groups
Family Memory Making Sessions
Creative Therapy Groups
School Holiday Support Programmes
Family Grief Workshops
Carer Support Groups
Current Carers Support Group
Former Carers Transition Group
Carers Wellbeing Sessions
Wellbeing and Support Groups
Living Well Groups
Peer Support Groups
Coffee and Connection Groups
SAFEGUARDING RESPONSIBILITIES
Act as a safeguarding lead.
Ensure safeguarding concerns are identified and escalated appropriately.
Work closely with safeguarding champions and statutory agencies.
Ensure compliance with adult and child safeguarding policies.
Maintain accurate safeguarding records.
PARTNERSHIP WORKING
Develop relationships with:
Schools and colleges
Community mental health services
Children's services o Social services
GP practices
Hospitals
Faith communities
Citizens Advice
Local bereavement services
Charitable and voluntary organisations
Represent the hospice at external meetings and networks.
QUALITY, GOVERNANCE AND AUDIT
Use outcome measures to evaluate service effectiveness. Participate in audit and quality improvement activities.
Produce reports for governance committees and trustees. Ensure clinical records are maintained accurately.
Monitor service performance and patient experience.
Support inspection and compliance requirements.
COMMUNICATION
Communicate sensitively regarding illness, dying, loss and bereavement.
Manage difficult and emotionally complex situations.
Deliver presentations and education sessions. Promote awareness of family support services internally and externally.
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Previous experience in a supervisory or
- leadership role
- Previous experience of direct work with
- people experiencing emotional, personal or
- practical problems.
- Experience of working with people in a
- variety of settings e.g. Childrens service,
- older persons care
- Experience of working in partnership with
- other organisations
- Bereavement and loss experience from a
- service provider perspective.
Desirable
- Previous experience of
- hospice/palliative care work
Qualifications
Essential
- One of the following:
- Degree or professional qualification in
- Counselling, Social Work, Psychology, Family
- Support, Nursing, Occupational Therapy or
- equivalent relevant discipline.
- Professional bereavement qualification.
- Relevant management qualification or
- equivalent experience.
Desirable
- Accredited counsellor
- registration (BACP, UKCP or
- equivalent).
- Level 4 or above qualification
- in Bereavement Support.
- Safeguarding qualification.
- Coaching or supervision
- training.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Employer details
Employer name
Nightingale House Hospice
Address
Chester Road
Wrexham
Clwyd
LL11 2SJ
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.nightingalehouse.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)