You have an understanding of drugs and alcohol and health related issues and experience of working with young people. All you need is the perfect environment to put your skills to great use. Welcome to Aquarius as a Complex Needs Practitioner.
Aquarius helps young people aged 5-18 overcome the harm caused by drugs and alcohol by working closely with the individual, family members and other professionals. But it’s only possible with people like you.
Right now, our Bedfordshire Young People’s service is looking for a Complex Needs Practitioner to join the team. This role will be in partnership with Bedfordshire Youth Offending Service and will require some co-location from the Youth Offending Offices around Bedfordshire to be an integral part of both teams.
Your challenge? To provide information and advice, brief interventions and long term structured support to young people who are using drugs and alcohol or being impacted by someone else’s use. You will be conducting assessments, risk assessments, care-planning and working directly with other services such as schools, social care, health provisions, alternative education providers and mental health services.The successful candidate must have exceptional organisational skills and the ability to work with other agencies both face to face, email and via telephone.
An energetic and confident self-starter, you will be required to hold a qualification in health/social care, youth and community work (e.g. NVQ Level 3 or above, DipSW, Mental Health Nursing, Counselling, Addiction Studies). Alternatively, we will consider candidates with experience of working in the substance misuse field with a commitment to complete NVQ Level 3 Health and Social Care. You will have a flexible approach, a commitment to the principles of confidentiality, excellent record keeping and a working knowledge of Microsoft Office.
As this role requires extensive travel around Bedfordshire, you will need to have a clean driving licence and access to a vehicle.
This is a permanent full-time role requiring the post-holder to work 37 hours per week.
This is a rolling recruitment process. Candidates will be interviewed as and when they are shortlisted.
We are committed to increasing our diversity and we would welcome applications from those with lived experience and/or who are from a BAME background.
Aquarius is a subsidiary of Richmond Fellowship, with both organisations being part of Recovery Focus, a national group of charities highly experienced in providing specialist support services to individuals and families living with the effects of mental ill health, drug and alcohol use, gambling and domestic violence. From 1st June 2024 Richmond Fellowship will be merging with the mental health charity Humankind to form a single organisation that provides the joined-up mental health, housing and drug and alcohol support we’ve all known has been needed for decades. At the same time, Aquarius will become a subsidiary of Humankind, with no impact to terms and conditions of employment. In October 2024, Humankind will then be renamed to reflect the new, bigger and better organisation, of which Aquarius will remain a subsidiary.
You have an understanding of drugs and alcohol and health related issues and experience of working with adults/young people in an addictions or social care setting. All you need is the perfect environment to put your skills to great use. Welcome to Aquarius as a Senior Practitioner.
Aquarius is a charity that helps people and communities overcome the harm caused by alcohol, drugs and gambling. Right now, we’re looking for someone like you to join our Bedfordshire Young People’s Team. We’re here to support anyone under 18 in Bedfordshire who is affected by substance misuse. Many of the children and young people we work with are also facing other challenges, such as school exclusion, homelessness, mental health, unemployment, or experience of the care system.
Your challenge? To undertake a portfolio of cases, generally incorporating the more complex situations, and deputise for Service Managers as and when required. Supervising the work of Practitioners and Support Workers will be important too, as will prioritising activities and monitoring service delivery, outputs and outcomes and providing guidance, training and clinical supervision. And, all the while, we’ll expect you to work in a way that recognises and values diversity and make the most of your understanding of the functional model of alcohol, the model of change and CBT.
An energetic and confident self‐starter, you have a qualification in health/social care, youth and community care (e.g. NVQ Level 4 or above, DipSW, Mental Health Nursing, Counselling, Addiction Studies). Alternatively, we’ll consider candidates with experience of working in the substance misuse field with a commitment to complete NVQ Level 4 Health and Social Care or equivalent. You should also have experience of partnership working as well as the ability to maintain constructive relationships with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders from a wide range of services and disciplines. What’s more, you have a flexible approach, a commitment to the principles of confidentiality and the ability to write client records and report and fulfil data requirements.
We are committed to increasing our diversity and we would welcome applications from those with lived experience and/or who are from a BAME background.
This is a rolling recruitment process, shortlisted candidates will be interviewed as and when they apply.
Aquarius is a subsidiary of Richmond Fellowship, with both organisations being part of Recovery Focus, a national group of charities highly experienced in providing specialist support services to individuals and families living with the effects of mental ill health, drug and alcohol use, gambling and domestic violence. From 1st June 2024 Richmond Fellowship will be merging with the mental health charity Humankind to form a single organisation that provides the joined-up mental health, housing and drug and alcohol support we’ve all known has been needed for decades. At the same time, Aquarius will become a subsidiary of Humankind, with no impact to terms and conditions of employment. In October 2024, Humankind will then be renamed to reflect the new, bigger and better organisation, of which Aquarius will remain a subsidiary.
Job Title – Registered Manager - West Midlands
Pay - £52,939 per annum + £750 Homeworking Allowance per annum + £1,500 Out of Hours Allowance per annum.
Hours - 35 Hours per Week
Contract - Permanent
Location – Homebased - working with our team across West Midlands. Occasional travel will be required.
As a ‘not for profit’ organisation, TACT puts the needs of our children and carers first and look to appoint individuals who are as passionate about fostering as we are. TACT invests all surplus income into staff, carers, and child development. This means that we have been able to establish expert in-house support services such as our TACT Health and Education Services and create TACT Connect, our ground-breaking scheme for care experienced young people and adults. New staff will join us as we embark on a journey to become a wholly trauma-informed organisation with the aim of increasing our effectiveness and improving outcomes for the children and young people in our care.
We pride ourselves on our flexible working opportunities, an extensive wellbeing programme and our benefits package, all curated to support a healthy work-life balance for all our staff. We will also invest in your learning, supporting you to grow and develop during your employment with TACT. You will be encouraged to attend personal and professional development opportunities and will have access to learning and resources to empower you to advance your knowledge and skills.
We are currently the 4th Best Charity to work for and the 16th Best Mid-Sized Company in the UK according to The Best Companies criteria and our survey results have evidenced “outstanding” levels of engagement amongst staff in recent years. You can view our Best Companies summary video here.
Reporting into the Director of Children’s Services, the post holder has Registered Manager responsibilities for a wide-reaching geographical area which will have a staff team of Social Workers, Family Finding Worker, Engagement & Activity Practitioner, Consultants, Panel Members and Administration team. The post holder will prioritise trauma informed and therapeutic methodologies and actively support and encourage diversity and inclusion within all aspects of the role.
TACT offer an excellent employee benefits package including:
- 31 days paid holiday plus bank holidays (pro rata if part time).
- Flexible working arrangements (including compressed hours, flexibility around core hours, and volunteer days policy).
- Family-friendly policies.
- Homeworking ‘bundle’ including annual allowance of £750, IT equipment and a loan for home office set up.
- Stakeholder pension scheme (salary sacrifice) and life insurance from day one.
- Employee Assistance Programme (including free CBT counselling, remote GP appointments, physiotherapy, mental health support and second opinions).
- Fantastic professional learning and personal development opportunities.
An Enhanced DBS clearance is required for this role and will be processed by TACT on your behalf.
Closing Date: Midnight on Sunday 12th May 2024.
Interview Date: Monday 27th May 2024 (via Microsoft Teams)
Safeguarding is everyone’s business and TACT believes that only the people with the right skills and values should work in social work. As part of TACT’s commitment to safeguarding, we properly examine the skills, experience, qualifications, and values of potential staff in relation to our work with vulnerable young children. We use rigorous and consistent recruitment approaches to help safeguard TACT’s young people. All our staff are expected to work in line with TACT’s safeguarding policies.
TACT does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them. TACT reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so we advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment.