Candle CYP Bereavement Worker
Department: Candle Children and Young People's Bereavement Service
Hours: 2 days, 0.4 FTE
Location: Primarily Sydenham, some working at Orpington site and in local schools
Salary: £17,319.60 rising to 19,267.20 per annum (for 14.4 hours per week)
Closing date: Sunday 20th September 2026 midnight
Interviews: Thursday 1st October 2026
About us:
Founded in 1967, St Christopher's is a world renown leading Hospice supporting individuals at end of life and those close to them across five London boroughs; Bromley, Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark.
Candle Children and Young People's Bereavement Service is passionate about providing support to bereaved children, young people and their families as they navigate their grief and attending losses. We provide one-to-one and group support for children and young people experiencing loss through death, both anticipated and sudden death. We also run a helpline service to parents, carers and professionals and offer specialist training to those who may support bereaved children and young people in their roles.
Your new role
We have a truly rewarding position that has arisen for an experienced child professional to join our warm, supportive and dedicated team.
As a Candle CYP Bereavement Worker, you will play an integral part in the team providing time limited one to one bereavement counselling to children, young people and families referred to the service by parents, carers and professionals. You will assess the bereavement needs of children and young people within their family context, and suggest or make referrals on to other agencies as appropriate. You will participate in, and when required lead group sessions. You will need to maintain professional boundaries as well as be able to respond with empathy and understanding to families who are managing the death of someone close to them.
To succeed in this role
- You will possess significant post qualification experience of working therapeutically with children and young people in a context that includes families.
- It is important that you have experience of working in a health care, social care or school setting.
- You will show curiosity, warmth and sensitivity at all times and ideally have experience of working with bereaved children and their families.
- You will have the ability to communicate and liaise effectively with parents/carers and professionals concerning bereaved children, both verbally and in writing.
- It is important that you demonstrate a flexible working style to accommodate individual differences in children according to age, culture, family context and nature of death.
- You will be team-oriented, while having the ability to work well under your own initiative.
If this sounds like you, we will be excited to hear from you!
Benefits of joining St Christopher's
- You will gain a stimulating and rewarding career with an opportunity to influence and make a real difference in the community
- Access to excellent training and development opportunities
- Season ticket loans
- Cycle to Work Scheme
- A number of health and wellbeing schemes
- A competitive contributory pension scheme and life assurance scheme with generous beneficiary plan
- An onsite staff canteen at Sydenham
- Access to plenty of free local street parking.
For an informal discussion about the role, please contact 0208 768 4534 and ask to speak to Emma Lupton, Candle Bereavement Operational Lead. To apply for this position, please click the 'Apply Online'.
