Counselling jobs in Lowestoft

ABOUT THE ROLE

This post combines two connected workstreams in a single contract: a supervisory crisis text response role and one-to-one support for young people in Norfolk who are educated otherwise than at school (EOTAS). Three days a week you work from home as a crisis text supervisor on the NXG Thrive platform.

This is the supervisor-level advert for our Norfolk post and is open to accredited practitioners. If you do not hold accredited registration, please apply through our standard Crisis Text Responder and Wellbeing Practitioner advert (NXG - CTRWP - NORFOLK - 0610).

NXG Thrive is launching our 24/7, all-age crisis text support service, commissioned across the East of England. It gives anyone in a mental health crisis, or worried they are heading towards one, a free, confidential way to reach a trained practitioner by text, day or night, without needing to speak on the phone. Your primary assignment is the delivery of crisis text support in a supervisory capacity: providing live oversight, clinical sign-off and safeguarding accountability for the frontline responder team, while also taking conversations yourself. Every contact gets a human response within five minutes, and any sign of immediate risk to life is escalated straight away to you as the on-shift supervisor. You will work within NXG Thrive's clinical governance framework. It is fast, entirely message-based work, different in pace and format from your EOTAS sessions, but drawing on the same core skills: careful listening, sound judgement under pressure, and confident risk assessment.

The remaining two days a week you work on our Norfolk County Council EOTAS contract. Each young person has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and cannot currently attend school, often because of anxiety, school avoidance or health needs. Norfolk commissions an individual one-to-one package for each of them, of 3 to 15 hours a week over 38 term-time weeks.

You are the face of the project in Norfolk. You meet each young person and their family in person to introduce NXG and then stay with them as their named keyworker and main relationship for the whole package. You deliver their one-to-one Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) support, and in packages under 10 hours a week you also deliver their wellbeing coaching and Barclays Life Skills sessions. Most sessions are online. Face-to-face sessions take place at the young person's home, in a bookable Regus office or in a public space such as a library. There is no group work in this role.

Each package is designed and managed by our Package Coordinator, who plans the timetable, staffing and reviews. Your EOTAS days never fall on crisis text days, and they are never timetabled for the morning after an evening shift.

Both strands serve the same purpose: reaching young people in mental health crisis at the point they need support. The combination gives you clinical leadership in digital crisis practice and long-term one-to-one keyworking in one role, which is unusual in a single contracted post, and it opens progression routes that neither strand offers alone.Stepping beyond frontline response, this supervisory position combines direct community wellbeing delivery with team-level leadership. On digital shifts, you will be the point of clinical escalation—guiding practitioners through complex risk presentations, providing live oversight, and upholding safeguarding standards across the service.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Meet each young person and their family in person to introduce NXG, and act as their named keyworker throughout their package.
• Deliver one-to-one SEMH support, online or in person, helping young people manage their emotions, rebuild routine and confidence, and get back into learning.
• In packages under 10 hours a week, deliver online wellbeing coaching and Barclays Life Skills sessions, so the young person works with no more than two staff.
• Work to each young person's plan and timetable, agreed with the Package Coordinator, keeping the same days, times and places each week.
• Contribute to reviews at week 6 and every half term, and to the young person's EHCP annual review, including written progress reports.
• Record attendance at every session, including every cancellation and the reason for it, and report a young person's non-arrival at once so the commissioner is told within 30 minutes.
• Record every safeguarding concern and pass it without delay to NXG's Designated Safeguarding Lead, or to the Deputy DSL when the DSL is unavailable.
• Risk-assess every venue before first use, make sure an adult with parental or delegated responsibility is present throughout home visits, and work to lone-working procedures.
• Provide live supervisory oversight, clinical sign-off and safeguarding accountability for the frontline responder team on crisis text shifts.
• Provide timely, empathic and clinically appropriate text-based crisis support on the NXG platform, meeting a five-minute human first response.
• Assess and respond to crisis presentations within the scope of your professional training and the NXG Thrive clinical framework.
• Escalate risk presentations in line with NXG's safeguarding and risk management protocols.
• Maintain accurate and contemporaneous records of all interactions in line with data protection and clinical governance requirements.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

Essential

• A degree in psychology, social work, counselling, mental health nursing or a closely related field.
• Current accredited registration with BACP (Accredited member or above), HCPC, UKCP, NMC, BPS (Chartered Member) or Social Work England, with no restrictions on practice.
• Three years' experience of crisis text, helpline or similar crisis support work.
• Three years' post-qualification experience with children and young people, including complex and high-risk cases and social, emotional and mental health needs.
• Competence in CBT, DBT, trauma-informed care or an equivalent evidence-based clinical modality.
• Living in Norfolk, within reach of the Norwich area, and able to travel independently and reliably across the county.
• Confidence building trusted one-to-one relationships with young people and their families, both online and in person.
• Safeguarding training at Designated Safeguarding Lead level (Level 3 or above) and current Prevent awareness, or the ability to complete both before your first session.
• Working knowledge of Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 and Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026, with experience of making statutory referrals.
• Lone-working training, or willingness to complete it before your first EOTAS session.
• A clear commitment to de-escalation and to avoiding restraint and restrictive interventions. Any de-escalation training you hold must be accredited.
• Excellent written communication. A significant part of this role happens in text, and you will write progress reports for reviews.
• Demonstrated team leadership, peer mentoring, or supervisory experience in a mental health or crisis environment

Desirable

Experience of supervising, mentoring or leading other practitioners, particularly in a crisis or helpline service; experience with EHCPs, EOTAS, alternative provision or children in care; knowledge of SEND; safer recruitment training; familiarity with Barclays Life Skills or ASDAN; a current first aid certificate; lived experience relevant to the role (see below).

LIVED EXPERIENCE

We value lived experience alongside professional qualifications. Personal experience of mental health difficulties, of using crisis services, of the care system, or of exclusion and education outside school can make you a more effective practitioner, and we would encourage you to apply.

Whether you tell us about it is entirely your choice. You can reference it in your application if you would like it considered, and you are welcome to say as much or as little as you wish. Choosing not to mention it will not count against you, and we will not press you for personal detail at the interview.

The health declaration we ask for at offer stage is about what support or adjustments would help you do the job well. It is not a screen for anyone with a mental health history.

WHAT WE OFFER

• Salary £32,000 to £36,000 annually.
• 28 days' annual leave including bank holidays.
• Funded training required by Norfolk County Council: SEND, trauma-informed practice, safeguarding and KCSIE, first aid, and health and safety, plus lone-working training.
• Clinical supervision from our Designated Safeguarding Lead, peer case review, annual appraisal and 24/7 debrief support, with development towards Norfolk's standard for clinical supervision.
• Travel costs will be covered for any travel beyond 20 miles from your base location, with mileage claims reimbursed at the HMRC rate of 45p per mile.

BEFORE YOU APPLY

We are commissioned to work with children and young people, and we follow safer recruitment. It is worth knowing the following before you start an application.

• Applications must be made on our application form. We cannot accept a CV alone, because we need your full employment history and other details required by Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE 2026).
• Appointment is conditional on verification of your professional registration and an Enhanced DBS check with children's and adults' barred list checks, obtained by us. A certificate issued to a previous employer is not sufficient. DBS checks are renewed at least every three years.
• Norfolk County Council needs your full details, including your Enhanced DBS, before you can work with any young person on the contract. All checks are seen and recorded before your first session.
• We will also need evidence of your right to work in the UK, two photographic identity documents, two references including one from your current or most recent employer, verified qualifications, a health declaration covering any adjustments you may need, and a self-declaration about any criminal record.
• We carry out an online search in line with KCSIE 2026. We will inform you before we do, and you will have the chance to comment on anything it raises.
• Interviews include safeguarding scenario questions.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

We welcome applications from all backgrounds and require a workforce that reflects the communities we serve.

Reasonable adjustments are available at every stage. Contact .

Altwork Global is the recruiting company for NXG Enterprises (Pty) Ltd.

Pay: £32,000.00-£36,000.00 per year

Work Location: In person