Youth Counsellor (Future Youth Zone)

We are seeking two dedicated, empathetic and highly skilled Youth Counsellors to provide essential wellbeing support to young people within the trusted and vibrant Youth Zone environment.

As Youth Counsellor, your role is to deliver drop-in and one-to-one counselling sessions for children and young people, helping them build resilience, confidence and emotional wellbeing. You will work closely with youth workers and the wider Future Youth Zone team to shape an innovative, community-based counselling service for young people in Barking and Dagenham.

About the Role

This is an exciting opportunity to play a pivotal role in an established Youth Zone that has been a “go-to destination” for young people since opening in May 2019.

Future Youth Zone is a state-of-the-art, multimillion-pound facility offering an affordable, universal youth offer for young people aged 8–19 (up to 25 with additional needs). Relationships sit at the heart of everything we do, and we pride ourselves on being open when young people need us most — evenings, weekends and school holidays.

You will help strengthen our wellbeing offer by providing accessible counselling support in a familiar, safe and inclusive setting, working within the OnSide Network principles and Future Youth Zone performance framework.

Key responsibilities include:

• Providing drop-in and one-to-one counselling sessions tailored to young people’s emotional, behavioural and developmental needs
• Building trusting, consistent relationships that promote resilience, self-esteem and emotional wellbeing
• Collaborating with youth workers to design and deliver engaging, wellbeing-promoting activities
• Using creative approaches (e.g., art-based work, interactive games or digital tools) to support engagement in both the Youth Zone and therapy spaces
• Supporting workshops with youth workers on topics such as emotional regulation, identity, conflict resolution and healthy relationships
• Identifying and responding to safeguarding concerns in line with Future Youth Zone and OnSide policies, including timely referrals where needed

Read the role profile.

About You

We’re looking for someone who is passionate about young people’s wellbeing and mental health, with a strong understanding of child and adolescent development.

You will have:

• Experience working with young people in community or educational settings
• Experience supporting young people from diverse backgrounds and with challenging needs
• A recognised qualification in counselling, psychotherapy or creative therapies (Level 6 or above preferred)
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to work collaboratively in a multidisciplinary environment
• A strong understanding of counselling ethics, confidentiality and professional boundaries
• Clear safeguarding knowledge and experience using reporting procedures to protect children and young people

In accordance with our Child Protection and Safeguarding procedures, this position requires an Enhanced DBS check.

Closing Date: Monday 29th December 2025