Bereavement Support Services Officer
🤍 Bereavement Support Services Officer (BSSO)
🏢 Organisation: Sands (Stillbirth & Neonatal Death Charity)
📍 Location: Remote (UK)
🕒 Hours: Part-time – 26 hours per week
📄 Contract: Permanent
💷 Salary: £25,257 per annum (£34,000 FTE)
🏠 Home Working Allowance: £232 per year (£312 FTE)
💬 What this role is really about
This is a frontline emotional support role supporting people who have experienced the death of a baby. You’ll be a calm, compassionate presence for bereaved parents and families, primarily through the Sands Helpline and email support.
This role requires emotional resilience, excellent listening skills, and the ability to sit with distress without trying to “fix” it.
📞 Core duties
-
Providing telephone and email support via the Sands Helpline
-
Listening to callers with empathy, care and professionalism
-
Responding thoughtfully to written enquiries from bereaved families
-
Supporting other bereavement services (e.g. online community, memory-making resources, printed materials)
-
Working as part of a rota covering all helpline hours
⏰ Helpline hours (important)
You’ll work across all opening times on a rota basis:
-
Mon–Fri: 10am – 3pm
-
Tue–Thu evenings: 6pm – 9pm
-
Occasional extended hours for specific needs
Each shift:
-
Starts 30 minutes before the helpline opens
-
Ends 30 minutes after it closes
Some flexibility around external commitments can be considered, but rota coverage is essential.
🧠 Who this role is best suited for
-
People with experience in emotional support, helpline work, counselling support, or frontline services
-
Those who are emotionally resilient and able to hear traumatic stories regularly
-
Strong listeners who communicate with warmth and clarity
-
Comfortable working independently from home
-
Able to manage boundaries and self-care in emotionally heavy work
This is not a customer service role — it’s specialist, sensitive support work.
⚠️ Important to consider before applying
-
The content of calls can be deeply distressing
-
You must be comfortable supporting people in acute grief
-
This role will impact you emotionally — support is provided, but it’s still demanding
-
Evening work is required on a rota basis
If you’re looking for “quiet admin” or light phone work, this would not be the right fit.
🌱 Why people choose Sands
-
Purpose-led, values-driven organisation
-
High-quality training and support structures
-
Meaningful work that genuinely helps families
-
Remote working with structured hours