Are you an experienced, qualified counsellor? The AXA Health Support Team is a medical information helpline staffed by counsellors, nurses, midwives, and pharmacists, providing help to our members whatever their healthcare needs. Our team provide a fantastic personal service to our valued members and are available day and night. When our members have a health question, it’s good to know there’s someone to talk things through with. Whatever the need, our medical professionals are here to put minds at ease, so they are not worrying a minute more than they must.

You’ll provide one off supportive counselling telephone calls to members in varying levels of psychological distress. Your role doesn’t include delivering on-going therapy, however, the call will be crucial to the member, so we expect high standards of ethical codes of practice. You’ll use your clinical knowledge to provide health information, wellbeing guidance and signpost health benefits.

At AXA we work smart, empowering our people to balance their time between home and the office in a way that works best for them, their team and our customers. You'll work at least two days a week (40%) away from home, moving to three days a week (60%) in the future. Away from home means either attendance at one of our office locations, visiting clients or attending industry events. When working from home, you’ll need a private space to work from when you won’t be overheard.

Working Hours & Shift Pattern: Our counsellor service operates between 8.00am to 8.00pm, every day, all year round. We’re looking for cover on Thursday 8.00am - 4.00pm and Friday 12.00pm - 8.00pm and Sunday 10.00am - 6.00pm, with the option to have 1 in 4 weekends off with other shifts extended. These shifts include a 30-minute unpaid break. You’ll work 22.5 hours per week to suit your obligations elsewhere. Shifts usually last 7.5 hours and include both Bank Holidays and public holidays.

Induction & Training: Comprehensive 3-week paid induction. For the initial 2 weeks, you’ll spend around 3 days, each week in our Tunbridge Wells office (8.30am – 5.00pm) with the rest of your induction done remotely.

What you’ll be doing:

Providing high quality, empathetic guidance to members over the phone and through the online system, whilst strictly adhering to the BACP professional standards.
Using the latest medical evidence to inform clinical practice.
Maintaining service levels by offering callers relevant help and information.
Building and maintaining stakeholder relationships providing specialist knowledge and assistance.
Knowing required systems, processes and procedures, including complaint handling procedures, data protection, and medical confidentiality.
Owning and continuously developing your professional skills.
Coaching other clinical peers as needed.

Due to the number of applications we expect to receive for this role, we reserve the right to close this advert earlier than the listed closing date to ensure we’re able to effectively manage interest. Therefore, if you’re interested in joining us at AXA, please don’t hesitate to apply.

What you’ll bring:

You’re required to have at least one of the following qualifications:
Counselling qualification (minimum level 4) degree or post graduate diploma with BACP, BABCP, UKPC, NCS, COSCA or IAPC membership. Counsellors must have 200 hours or more current or recent counselling experience, post qualification.
Psychotherapy / Psychotherapeutic Counselling qualification with eligibility for UKCP Registration.
Medical and healthcare professionals who have additional qualifications in mental health or counselling.
Psychology degree plus a post-graduate qualification in counselling, therapy or applied psychology.
Practitioner Psychologist registered with the HCPC.
Registered Mental Health or Learning Disability Nurse.

Please note: Psycho-Drama or Art therapy qualifications are not appropriate on their own, but can be suitable if in addition to the above essential criteria.

Previous telephone counselling or time-limited assessment experience would be advantageous.
Experience of working in an Employee Assistance Programme, corporate environment or large organisation is desirable.
Robust IT skills with the ability to work with multiple systems is essential.

As a precondition of employment for this role, you must be eligible and authorised to work in the United Kingdom.

This position has been defined as an Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD) role under the IDD regime which means that in addition to pre-employment screening checks, the successful candidate will be subject to background screening every 4 years with an annual declaration in interim years.

What we offer:

At AXA UK, we’re appreciative of the people who work for us and our rewards package is reviewed regularly to reflect that. You can expect to receive:

Competitive annual salary of up to £30,000 dependent on experience (full time equivalent)
Annual company & performance-based bonus
Contributory pension scheme (up to 12% employer contributions)
Life Assurance (up to 10 x annual salary)
Private medical cover
25 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays
Opportunity to buy up to 5 extra days leave or sell up to 5 days leave
Wellbeing services & resources
AXA employee discounts

To apply, click on the ‘apply for this job’ button, you’ll then need to log in or create a profile to submit your CV. We’re proud to be an Equal Opportunities Employer and don’t discriminate against employees or potential employees based on protected characteristics. If you have a long-term condition or disability and require adjustments during the application or interview process, we’re proud to offer access to the AXA Accessibility Concierge. For our support, please send an email to yasmin.conrad@axa-uk.co.uk.

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Who we are:

At AXA Health, we’re passionate about helping our members to put their health first, whether that’s individuals and families, small businesses, or huge corporates. From fast access to diagnosis and treatment, to guidance and tools that can help them manage their health every day, not just when there’s a problem, our members can be confident we’ll guide them, every step of the way.

Health & Wellbeing jobs

Part Time Counselling Advisor