Head of Student Mental Health and Counselling

Closing Date: 19/10/2025

Location: Brighton

Salary: £49,920 - £51,000

Our client is more than just an educational institution - they are a vibrant community dedicated to nurturing creativity and empowering students to reach their full potential. With campuses across the UK, Ireland, and Germany, they offer a diverse range of courses in modern music, performing arts, filmmaking and creative technology. Their commitment to excellence in creative arts education sets them apart, providing students with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities they need to succeed in their chosen fields.

About the Role

As Head of Student Mental Health and Counselling you will lead and develop our client's counselling and mental health provision across themselves and associated partnerships. Reporting to the Head of Student Wellbeing, you will play a central role in ensuring their services are joined up, accessible, and aligned with best practice, enabling students to thrive both personally and academically.

This role will focus on strengthening early intervention, crisis support, and counselling services, while ensuring high standards of clinical governance, safeguarding, and equity of access. You will work closely with colleagues across wellbeing, safeguarding, and disability support, as well as with external partners such as the NHS, to deliver consistent, high-quality student support across all campuses.

What You'll Do:

- Lead and oversee the delivery of student mental health and counselling services, including triage, counselling, clinical input, and crisis support.

- Ensure services are accessible, inclusive, and of consistently high quality, aligned with sector guidance and professional standards.

- Develop and implement prevention and early intervention approaches across the student community.

- Maintain compliance with safeguarding, confidentiality, GDPR, and professional counselling codes of conduct.

- Manage service access pathways, waiting times, and referrals to ensure timely and equitable support for diverse student populations.

- Build and maintain strong relationships with external providers (NHS, primary care, local mental health teams) and internal partners.

- Support staff through training, professional development, and supervision of clinical and non-clinical teams.

- Monitor budgets and resources, ensuring services are efficient and cost-effective.

- Collect and analyse data to evaluate service outcomes and drive continuous improvement.

- Contribute to policy development and represent the service within the University and across professional networks.

What You'll Bring:

- A recognised professional qualification in counselling, psychotherapy, or mental health, with current registration (e.g. BACP, UKCP, BABCP).

- Significant experience in mental health, counselling, or a closely related field.

- Proven leadership and operational management experience within a multidisciplinary service.

- Strong understanding of safeguarding, risk assessment, crisis management, and data protection legislation.

- Experience of service design, delivery, and evaluation, with evidence of quality improvement.

- Familiarity with higher education or similar environments.

- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to engage confidently with students, staff, and external partners.

Why Our Client?

They are a values-led organisation, meaning their core values underpin all that they do:

Believe in Everyone. Challenge the Norm. Grow Together. Do the Right Thing. Own It.

In addition to joining a committed and dedicated team, you will have access to:

- 25 days holiday per year (FTE)

- SMART pension

- A comprehensive benefits package

They continually strive to create a culture of inclusivity so that they truly represent their diverse communities. They particularly welcome applications from people of colour who are underrepresented in their organisation.

They are committed to promoting the safety and welfare of their students therefore, all successful applicants are required to complete a basic DBS disclosure. Depending on the role, you may be required to complete an enhanced check / enhanced check with barred list if required by statute and internal policy.