Richmond’s Hope was founded in 2003 in the Craigmillar area of Edinburgh and is a charity that supports children and young people aged 4-18 who have experienced a bereavement. We offer tailored one-to-one support for children and young people once a week for an average of 12 weeks. Children and young people are seen in A neutral space which is adaptable for each age and stage of development. The children who come to Richmond’s Hope have experienced the bereavement of a significant person in their life that has significantly impacted their physical and mental health.

The successful candidate for this position should have experience of working in childcare, education, health, playwork or another relevant discipline.

Richmond’s Hope will provide a comprehensive induction and training programme in preparation for starting work with bereaved young people at Richmond’s Hope.

This role will be part of our wider team at Richmond’s Hope, the Therapeutic Grief Practitioner (Community Outreach) will provide direct bereavement support to children and young people aged 4–18 years across Fife through outreach delivery in schools, community settings, family wellbeing hubs, and other appropriate locations. The postholder will provide practical and emotional support to parents and carers while also offering guidance to help them support grieving children. The role will include developing peer support opportunities for parents and carers and older siblings, such as coffee mornings and informal group sessions

Applicants should have enthusiasm and vision for the work of the organisation, excellent interpersonal skills and be able to work as part of a team and on your own initiative.

Application Form, Job Description and Person Specification are all available for download below or you can request by email.

This post is part time for 24 hours per week. Working days to be confirmed.

About You: Are you an organised, compassionate and confident communicator who enjoys supporting people and making a real difference? Cruse Scotland is looking for a Helpline Co-ordinator to join our small but mighty staff team and help coordinate our national Helpline service, supporting bereaved people across Scotland. We are looking for someone who is organised, reliable and confident communicating with a wide range of people.

You will ideally have:

• Experience of working with people who may be vulnerable, distressed or in difficult circumstances.
• Strong communication and listening skills.
• Excellent attention to detail and accurate data-entry skills.
• Good IT skills and confidence using databases, email and other digital systems.
• The ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive information appropriately.
• The ability to work calmly and professionally when situations are challenging.
• Experience of supporting or working alongside volunteers would be an advantage.
• The ability to work independently while also being an active and supportive member of a team.

Most importantly, you will share our commitment to providing compassionate and accessible support to people experiencing bereavement.

About The Role: Working closely with the Helpline Manager, you will help ensure the smooth and effective day-to-day running of the Helpline.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Supporting and coordinating our dedicated Helpline volunteers.
• Taking Helpline calls during busier periods and providing a calm, compassionate and professional response to callers.
• Supporting volunteers when they are dealing with challenging or complex calls.
• Responding to clients and third parties via email.
• Processing referral forms and ensuring information is accurately recorded on our database.
• Maintaining accurate and timely records and completing regular data entry.
• Following established procedures to support the safety and wellbeing of callers, volunteers and colleagues.
• Contributing to team meetings, training and ongoing development.
• Supporting the wider Helpline team with day-to-day administration and coordination.

People contacting our Helpline may be experiencing significant distress, and on occasion may express thoughts of suicide or self-harm. You will therefore need to be able to remain calm and professional in challenging situations, follow agreed procedures and seek appropriate support when required. Full support, guidance and training will be provided.

About the organisation: Cruse Scotland is Scotland's leading bereavement charity. We provide bereavement support to anyone in Scotland who needs us, whenever they need us.

Our services include Helpline support, individual and group counselling, support for children and young people, bereavement support and training for workplaces – alongside a range of other services and resources.

Our services are delivered with the support of a dedicated volunteer workforce who are trained to professional standards. Their commitment, compassion and enthusiasm are at the heart of everything we do.

We are proud to invest in our volunteers through ongoing training, connection, support and development opportunities.

Our Helpline: Our Helpline volunteers provide an outstanding service to bereaved people across Scotland. They are home-based and located throughout the country, connecting regularly through virtual meetings, training and opportunities to meet in person.

The Helpline Co-ordinator plays an important role in creating those connections – supporting volunteers, helping them feel part of a team and ensuring they have the information and support they need to provide the best possible service.

The Helpline is also an important gateway into Cruse Scotland's wider services, while providing immediate emotional support to anyone in Scotland who needs someone to talk to about their grief.

Your new colleagues: Our volunteer workforce of around 250 people is based in communities across Scotland, working across our North, South, East and West areas. They are supported by a staff team of around 22 people.

Our staff team brings together a wide range of skills and experience across client services, volunteer management and support, training, income generation and charity governance.

Although we are a relatively small team, we place a strong emphasis on connection, collaboration and supporting one another. We meet fortnightly as a whole staff team and value the sense of community this creates.

Feedback from our staff satisfaction survey included:

“I haven't been here long but I can confidently say Cruse Scotland is one of the best organisations I have worked for, both from work and flexibility and overall organisation support from all staff and management”

“I find Cruse Scotland to be a very inclusive organisation with a great ethos, responsive to staff and volunteers”

If you are passionate about supporting people through bereavement, enjoy working as part of a supportive team and would like to play a key role in delivering an essential national service, we would love to hear from you

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

At Cruse Scotland, we believe that everyone should be treated with dignity, fairness and respect. We are committed to creating an inclusive organisation where our staff, volunteers and the people we support feel valued and able to be themselves.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly encourage applications from people whose experiences and perspectives are currently underrepresented within our organisation.

Our recruitment decisions are based on the skills, experience and qualities needed for the role. We are committed to ensuring that our recruitment process is fair, accessible and free from discrimination.

If you have a disability, health condition or other access requirement and would benefit from adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know. We will be happy to discuss how we can support you

Safeguarding

Cruse Scotland is committed to safeguarding the wellbeing of everyone who uses our services, as well as our staff and volunteers. All staff are expected to contribute to a safe and supportive environment and to follow our safeguarding policies and procedures.

This role involves contact with people who may be vulnerable or experiencing significant distress. Appropriate pre-employment checks will therefore be undertaken in line with the requirements of the role and our safeguarding responsibilities.

Right To Work

Candidates will be required to provide appropriate evidence of their right to work in the UK as part of our recruitment process.

Reasonable Adjustments

We want our recruitment process to be accessible to everyone. If you require reasonable adjustments at any stage of the application or interview process, please let us know and we will do our best to support you.