Senior Support Advisor (Maternity Cover)

About NABS

We are NABS. And we’re here for you – for the great stuff, the tough stuff and everything in between.

The advertising and media industry is in our bones. We love it. We challenge it. We balance it. Because no matter how brilliant our industry is, it is human. Which means the road can be rocky, but we’re here for the ride.

As an independent charity, we’re set on advancing mental wellness within our industry’s culture and helping everyone find their way forward – wherever they’re starting from. With over a century of development ourselves, we know growth happens everywhere.

From hot tips when you’re ready to fly, to a helping hand when you’ve fallen down, we’ve got you. Industry events or networking? Check out our calendar. Group workshops or in-house training? Sign up to our sessions. Sounding board on promotions, redundancies, parental leave – life in general? We’ll help in ways no one else can.

Need a hand? We’re right here.

NABS is a registered charity: Charity registration number 1070556 

Job Purpose

A Senior Support Advisor helps people across the advertising and media industry feel heard, supported and able to find a way forward when work or life is difficult.

Through trusted, high-quality guidance they help people understand their options and get the support they need at the right time.

Senior Support Advisors:

• Enable people to better understand their options and make informed decisions around employee relations, wellbeing and wider life challenges.
• Connect people with practical, emotional and specialist support across NABS and beyond.
• Make thoughtful, well-informed decisions around grant-giving and wider client support.
• Contribute to a responsive, knowledgeable and compassionate Support Team, working closely with colleagues across Services and other teams to deliver the best possible offer for our community.

What you’ll be responsible for

Providing calm, informed support

• Providing compassionate, confidential and independent support to build trusted relationships that help people feel listened to, taken seriously and better able to understand what is happening.
• Offering clear, relevant guidance across employee relations, wellbeing and life challenges, enabling people to make informed choices about their next steps in and out of work.
• Using coaching skills, professional judgement and clear boundaries so people can explore their options, make informed decisions and identify practical next steps safely and confidently.
• Communicating effectively by phone, email, online and in person, respecting people’s preferred style of sharing and receiving information.

Connecting people to the right help

• Ensuring people access the right mix of NABS’ offer including workshops, coaching, therapy and grants so they receive support that fits their situation.
• Signposting to trusted specialist organisations when someone’s needs are beyond NABS’ expertise – making sure people feel that support is still within reach.
• Strengthening the support network available to people in the industry by building and maintaining relationships with relevant partners and service providers.

Managing grants and support responsibly

• Managing Support and Upskilling Grant applications from assessment through to recommendation and distribution to ensure funding decisions are in line with NABS’ policies, processes and financial guidelines.
• Working within agreed grant budgets and processes and exercising sound judgement to ensure NABS resources are used responsibly, fairly and where they can have the greatest impact.
• Maintaining clear, accurate and confidential case records and systems to ensure safe service delivery, effective follow-up and good governance.

Building knowledge and improving practice

• Staying curious about developments, pressures and trends within the advertising and media industry and using this insight to inform support, service development and organisational learning.
• Keeping up to date with changes in employment law and wider social, economic and cultural factors that can affect people’s wellbeing.
• Using supervision, reflection, service data and NABS systems to support consistent quality, learning, accountability and continuous improvement.

Working across NABS and Governance

• Working closely with colleagues across NABS and sharing ideas, insight and expertise to help us achieve more together.
• Keeping the bigger picture in mind, contributing to shared organisational priorities as well as their own area of responsibility.
• Bringing NABS’ Cultural Contract to life through the way they work, communicate and build relationships.
• Helping ensure our work is delivered responsibly with appropriate attention to quality, safeguarding, finances, risk management, data handling and governance.

Additional requirements of the role

This role will involve planned travel across London and, on occasion, elsewhere in the UK.

• From time to time you’ll be asked to work at NABS events or other key activities outside of normal working hours including some evenings and weekends. Where possible, we’ll provide time off in lieu in line with our policies.
• This role is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check including a check of the barred lists.

Skills and experience

Essential criteria:

• Strong experience of providing compassionate, confidential and independent support to people facing work, wellbeing or life challenges.
• Strong experience of offering guidance on employee relations matters including redundancy, grievance, disciplinary processes, bullying and harassment.
• Proven coaching skills, creating space for people to explore options, make informed decisions and identify practical next step.
• Good understanding of the factors that can affect wellbeing including pressure, stress, mental ill health, bereavement, financial concerns, work relationships and domestic abuse.
• Ability to apply advice-work principles in practice including confidentiality, objectivity, safeguarding and clear professional boundaries.
• Experience of managing sensitive information, maintaining accurate case records and using administrative systems in line with data protection requirements.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, capable of adapting tone and approach for different people and situations.
• A collaborative mindset, sharing knowledge and insight to support a consistent, high-quality service.
• Confidence using Microsoft Office and digital tools as an integral part of service delivery, collaboration and reporting.

Desirable criteria:

• Experience of working within the charity sector, advice services or other people-focused support environments.
• Experience of supporting people within the advertising, media or communications industry.
• Evidence of continued professional development or life-long learning such as coaching, wellbeing, HR, employment law or advice-related training.
• Familiarity with using Raiser’s Edge 7/NXT or another case management, CRM or database system.
• Knowledge of specialist support organisations and referral pathways that may be helpful for people facing work, wellbeing, financial or life challenges.

Diversity, equity and inclusion at NABS

We encourage applications from individuals from under-represented groups to apply for this role.

We believe everyone should feel able to be themselves at work, have access to opportunity and feel accepted as part of a community.

We know that difference brings creativity, experience, varying perspectives and that this enables us to collectively do our best work.

We put people first by championing, promoting and supporting the wellbeing of our teams and are a proud equal opportunities employer.

We are also on our own journey and are challenging our own culture and systemic behaviours and if you join our team, you will be part of an organisation that is working towards equitability and is committed to making an inclusive culture for everyone.

Reports to: Head of Support

NABS Team: Support Team – Services

Employment type: 12-month fixed-term maternity cover, 37.5 hours per week, hybrid working, London office-based (currently typically 1-2 office days per week).

How to Apply:

Send CV and cover email to Annabel McCaffrey -Head of Support; a.mccaffrey@nabs.org.uk

Starting: 9 November 2026

Application closing: Friday 18 September 2026

First Interviews: w/c 21 September 2026