Bereavement and Grandparent Support Worker

Location: Based in our office in Hampton Court, Surrey with travel to families, hospitals and external meetings across South West London, Surrey and parts of Sussex 

Hours: Part time 20 hours a week

Salary: £12,500-£13,500 (£25,000-£27,000 FTE) dependant on experience 

Application process: Please email CV and cover letter – stating the role you are applying for in the subject line – to Amy Odaro, Office Manager and PA to the Founder/CEO on Amy@momentumcharity.org 

Please note, applications will be reviewed as they are received, and interviews will be held throughout the recruitment period.

Momentum Children’s Charity supports families whose children have cancer or a life-challenging condition. The charity was founded 18 years ago by our current Chief Executive and has grown enormously over that time. We currently have partnerships with nine local hospitals, in SW London, Surrey and Sussex, who refer families to us for our support, ranging from therapies to respite and special family experiences. 

Should the unthinkable happen, our Momentum Echoes programme supports families through the heartbreak of losing a child. Each experience is different, and we work hard to identify the needs of each family and provide help where we can.  We may already be supporting a family through their child’s illness; a family may be referred to us by their medical team when their child is palliative; or a family may experience a tragic sudden death of their child and be referred to us by the local hospital.

Our vision is to expand our Momentum Echoes support service to meet the needs of even more families. To support this growth, we are recruiting for an experienced Bereavement Support Worker, within our growing team who will play a key part in helping us to develop our bereavement support across all the hospitals we partner with in South West London, Surrey and parts of Sussex. 

The Grandparent Support will engage with selected grandparents who are significantly affected by the loss of their grandchild.  Your role will be to grow this service, bringing other grandparents together to support each other as well as establishing and maintaining regular contact with your caseload and referring to services as needed.  

• Provide timely, meaningful, compassionate and non-judgmental support to all ages within allocated caseload of families, and report back on needs and recommendations for support referring to a series of relevant therapies and services, where needed 
• Work closely with the families from the point of referral to provide them with needs-led support through home visits, email, phone and texts 
• Input, update and maintain accurate records on database (Salesforce) in line with Momentum’s requirements 
• Develop a collaborative alliance with hospitals, community nursing teams, Child Death Review team to encourage and facilitate regular, prompt updates on both new and existing patients 
• Empower other professionals offering advice, resources and support through joint working when working with bereaved children, young people, parents, and families i.e., schools/colleges 
• Management of family referrals within agreed catchment area with assessment and delivery of ongoing support 
• Delivery of family support services in line with the budget and the overall charity Business Plan 
• Plan and manage Echoes events relevant to your caseload  
• Support the marketing and fundraising team through the provision of family updates, photographs and case studies 
• Relay supporter contact information to appropriate internal contacts 
• Attend Team meetings to share family information, discuss issues and recommendations, review processes for support, and monitor outcomes/impact 
• Attend relevant training appropriate to the post  
• Undertake regular supervision  
• Provide support to colleagues within the organisation and other professionals to inform and enhance their practice 
• Flexibility to attend events, which may involve evenings or weekends 
• Act as a professional representative of the charity for both internal and external audiences   
• Other ad hoc duties in line with your role 

• Experience of direct work with children and their families who have been bereaved or children who are anticipating the death of a significant family member 
• Knowledge and understanding of complicated grief and the potential impact of the traumatic response that may be experienced by bereavement. 
• Proven ability to work within a team, which may include a wider team, working collaboratively with relevant agencies, e.g. NHS services and third sector agencies. 
• Level 3 in Safeguarding 
• Ability to work professionally, independently, innovatively and diligently 
• Excellent communication skills both written and verbal 
• Ability to work flexibly and adaptable to evolving needs of service 
• Responsive and empathetic to others needs and concerns with an ability to work in a people oriented, emotional environment 
• Ability to work in partnership with families 
• Effective at managing resources and time  
• Confident using IT including Microsoft Office and databases 
• Experience of the charity sector (health) desirable 
• Work within Momentum’s Safeguarding and Code of Conduct policy 
• Valid UK Driver’s license with access to a car is essential for this role 
• Flexible hours, to accommodate family and team need 
• Have a good level of internet access at home to enable remote working where required 
• Enhanced DBS clearance 

Please email CV and cover letter – stating the role you are applying for in the subject line – to Amy Odaro, Office Manager and PA to the Founder/CEO on Amy@momentumcharity.org 

Please note, applications will be reviewed as they are received, and interviews will be held throughout the recruitment period.

We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates, as well as those with disabilities, as these are currently under-represented in Momentum Children’s Charity.