Male specialist support workers jobs

Cranstoun is an independent charity and leading provider of specialist treatment, harm reduction and recovery services to those affected by drug and alcohol use. This is an exciting opportunity to become a Key Worker within our high performing psychosocial drug and alcohol service in HMP Birmingham.

We provide a range of services for those affected by drugs and alcohol. Our skilled and compassionate team work closely with people who use our services to change and save lives. We combine proven expertise in treatment and recovery with innovative approaches and actively involve those we help in improving the design of the services we provide.

You will be based in our psychosocial team working with adult males (over 18 years old). You will be responsible for delivering a range of elements of our substance use work including case management, assessments, care planning, the delivery of one-to-one interventions to include harm reduction and motivational work, group work, and engagement support as well as other associated duties. You need to be committed to supporting people who use our services to make positive changes in order to prepare them for release into the community, and you will arrange continuity of care. You will work in collaboration with the clinical team and integrated working is a key element of this role. You will work within the prison setting and contribute towards the wider prison drug strategy.

Having experience of supporting people with complex health needs including substance use, you will bring knowledge and commitment to deliver drug and alcohol treatment. You will have a non-judgemental attitude and a desire to support the lives of people who use our services to be healthier and safer by delivering a high-quality service.

Experience of working with drug and alcohol use is essential. You will be a competent communicator, with the ability to work independently and be comfortable and enthusiastic, both with the highlighted client group and working in partnership with other service providers. Previous experience or knowledge of working with individuals on opiate replacement treatment, and/or involved in the criminal justice system will be advantageous.

Unfortunately, we are unable to accept CVs.

Closing date: 18 May 2025.

We welcome applications from all sections of the community. Working towards equality.

About us: Tender works with children and young people to prevent domestic abuse and sexual violence through creative projects. Since 2003, Tender’s work has grown and diversified from a single workshop programme delivered to schools, into a broader range of programmes reaching both children and young people and professionals with a safeguarding responsibility such as teachers, youth workers, social care workers and foster carers. Tender’s programmes include Healthy Relationships projects delivered across England, projects delivered using online resources and technology, specialist projects for vulnerable children and young people, whole school and whole setting approaches, and training for professionals with safeguarding responsibility and in workplaces.

About the role: The main purposes of the Projects Coordinator role are:

• Coordinating the administration of all aspects of Tender’s training programmes for adults across the organisation, with a focus on the coordination of our INSET work with schools.
• Supporting the Head of Adult Services and Service Delivery Lead (Adult Services) to manage relationships with Tender’s internal and external stakeholders, including colleagues, workshop leaders, teachers/carers, delivery partners and other service professionals
• Monitoring and evaluating the impact of Tender’s training sessions

Success in this role would mean that, after six months, you will have:

• Successfully coordinated the delivery of our adult training sessions in schools and youth settings
• Built good working relationships with the schools and settings we work in, and the facilitators who deliver our work
• Supported and worked flexibly with the Head of Adult Services and other colleagues to ensure the high quality and continued improvement of our work
• Use Tender’s data management systems, such as Microsoft 365 and Salesforce, confidently and in line with Tender’s policies

Essential requirements:

• Level 3 qualification in developing and delivering domestic violence training, or equivalent experience and a willingness to undertake the Level 3 training
• Proficiency in office software, including Word, Excel, Powerpoint
• Ability to coordinate complex projects involving a range of internal and external stakeholders
• Demonstrate commitment to safeguarding and equal opportunities
• Ability to manage your own time and priorities to meet the agreed objectives
• Ability to work with colleagues across departments and organisations
• Ability to solve problems, working flexibly and collaboratively

Project Background

Come and join our award-winning place-based volunteering programme that works with residents living across Hackney and the City of London.

You will be based out in the community - the programme is based at GP practices - to engage, support and enable local residents and patients to deliver local services for themselves, to meet local needs. We support residents to come together, to share their skills and experience for the benefit of each other, to deliver local groups and activities such as a book group, film club, exercise classes or cooking group. Residents from diverse backgrounds and demographics attend these activities together and make new connections, building strong local communities, all working together to make their area a better place to live. People, many of whom are isolated across all ages, and who have difficult life circumstances, are brought together, providing each other with mutual support and encouragement to develop new skills and pursue life goals, and to feel better able to voice their concerns to services.

You will be joining a nationally recognised project - having won an award from the Royal Society of Public Health in November 2024 - to support residents to fulfil their personal goals, make connections with others, and design activities and services that meet local needs. You will also be supporting people to improve their mental and physical health through signposting them to appropriate services and encouraging them to talk to their GP if they have concerns; and will be working in partnership with GP practice staff to co-create volunteer roles to make the practice more efficient and a better place to visit.

Who are we?

Volunteer Centre Hackney is a medium sized charity (currently 30 staff) based in the London borough of Hackney, working to support local residents to realise their skills and passions through volunteering and social action, and to share these for the benefit of others.

Our mission is to build and strengthen communities across Hackney through supporting residents of all ages and backgrounds to volunteer and build projects together.

In 2021, we were awarded the Freedom of the Borough Award by Hackney Council for our efforts to support residents during COVID, which included mobilising over 2000 volunteers to deliver food, prescriptions and essential items, provide emotional support to isolated residents and support the vaccine rollout. 

We work with hundreds of diverse community organisations and deliver various programmes to help residents share their skills and deliver their own social action projects to improve people’s lives. These include a befriending programme, volunteering brokerage matching local people to volunteer roles based on their skills, interests and goals, a specialist mental health programme, peer research and multiple resident engagement programmes at GP surgeries and estates across Hackney.

Post holders need to be enthusiastic and engaging, bringing energy to the role, be self-motivating and confident to work primarily alone, albeit with some support from the team members based at other sites.

The successful candidate will be working with adults in a residential setting delivering assessments, group sessions and one-to-one therapy to those admitted to the service. The post-holder will offer an intensive, abstinent-based programme with high levels of group therapy and a strong emphasis on aftercare support. The role will include facilitating specialist psycho-educational groups, 12 step, relapse prevention therapeutic groups and individual counselling sessions.

You will work closely with our Supported Housing team and be required to participate in regular team meetings. You will also be required to liaise with external agencies and work creatively to provide the most appropriate treatment plans for clients with complex needs. You may be required to cover occasional evening Aftercare groups.

Main Responsibilities
•  Undertake assessments of people entering the service through various referral sources.
•  Develop, facilitate, and review a group work programme that meets the needs of our clients. These might include dual diagnosis, trauma, cross-addiction, criminal justice issues and various types of substance use.
•  Provide a holistic package of care to people which meets their needs and includes working with colleagues across other teams to help residents with diversionary activities, employment, training, and education.
•  Work with the Supported Housing team to ensure residents are safe, secure, and maintain their tenancies and are prepared to move onto independent living.
•  Provide a range of one-to-one interventions that might include MI, person-centered care, CBT, DBT and trauma work.
•  Manage a caseload of individuals with a wide spectrum of needs.
•  Assist residents to understand the effects and benefits of any medication prescribed for them and the importance of complying with treatment regimes. This might include liaising with pharmacists, doctors, and psychiatrists for monitoring purposes.
•  Provide psychoeducation to raise awareness and understanding of substances and their effects.
•  Provide onward referral and liaison with wrap-around support within SCT to enable our residents to achieve social integration and personal development.

Client Management
•Coordinate and carry out assessments of new residents and the referral and acceptance process, ensuring that each client has a programme appropriate to their needs.
•  Conduct joint 3 and 6-monthly reviews with Supported Housing team colleagues.
•Provide group and individual counselling as required by the service.
•Support residents from admission until completion of treatment.

Operational Support
•Comply with all monitoring and evaluation requirements.

General Responsibilities
•Engage with and inspire people in recovery.
•Ensure a safe and secure environment for residents, free from alcohol and drugs, and free from abusive behaviour and exploitation.
•Ensure that all SCT activities are carried out with due regard to Health and Safety legislation, SCT policies and procedures, as well as good practice.
•Work within the policies and procedures of SCT.
•Implement SCT’s Equal Opportunities Policy, understanding its implication in the development of services to clients.
•Attend regular supervision sessions, both internal and external.
•Attend meetings within and on behalf of SCT as appropriate.
•Undertake other tasks consistent with the post or as delegated by your line manager.

Strategic Excellence
•Be an effective role model, with the ability to inspire and motivate others.
•Work collaboratively with the Recovery Hub team.
•Ensure you are kept up to date with developments within the sector, thus enhancing your knowledge and practice
•Capture the outcomes of the therapeutic programme with all monitoring and evaluation methods that are required by your line manager, to capture the impact of SCT work, whilst ensuring the voice of SCT clients are heard.
Qualifications and Experience

ESSENTIAL
•   Educated to degree level or Diploma Level 4 in Counselling.
•Two years’ experience of therapeutic work with: people in recovery, people experiencing homelessness or people with significant trauma histories / adverse childhood experiences.
•   One year’s experience of one-to-one counselling.
•A solid working understanding of CBT, MI, Relapse Prevention techniques and/or other interventions applicable to working with people in recovery.
•Experience in delivering therapeutic group work.
•Experience in encouraging individuals to reflect on their behaviour (consequences and risks), recognise the benefits and potential for change and provide support and encouragement to help residents achieve change positively within an abstinent community.
•Using effective support systems and networks to develop own knowledge and practice.
•Adhere to the principles of confidentiality of information.
•The ability to understand and work with others’ points of view, values and beliefs.
•The ability to change working techniques based on new information or evidence.
•Able to encourage others to express their views, feelings and wishes.
•Contributes positively to debate within the staff team.
•Promotes SCT by their own standards of conduct.
•Encourages, values and respects contributions from other team members.
•Possesses good written and oral communication and IT skills.

DESIRABLE
•Knowledge of local services and geography.
•Knowledge of the addiction, homelessness sector, social housing and the benefits system
•Experience of working with people with complex needs.