Substance misuse jobs

We’re looking for an experienced and compassionate Senior Support Worker to join our Stopover Supported Housing service in Brighton & Hove.

Stopover provides women-only supported accommodation for young women aged 16–25, including young women who have recently become mothers. Our services provide different levels of support as young women move towards independence, helping them develop the skills, confidence and stability they need to sustain their own tenancy.

Working alongside the Head of Supported Housing, you’ll help oversee the day-to-day running of the project while providing trauma-informed support to young women who may have experienced homelessness, abuse, domestic violence, mental health difficulties and other challenges.

This is a varied senior role combining direct work with young women, staff supervision and partnership working. You’ll build trusted professional relationships, advocate for young women and help ensure our service provides safe, consistent and high-quality support.

You will:

• Build positive professional relationships with young women, developing individual support plans and helping them gain the skills and confidence to live independently
• Help oversee the day-to-day running of the service, including managing resident issues, risk and compliance with licence agreements
• Provide line management, supervision and development support to members of the staff team
• Advocate for young women and work collaboratively with external agencies and other professionals
• Help ensure the service operates safely and effectively in line with organisational policies, funder requirements and contractual agreements

We’re looking for someone who can demonstrate:

• Experience of working with young women or young people and a strong understanding of their support needs
• Experience in supported housing, residential services or a similar environment
• Confidence managing complex or challenging situations, assessing risk and delivering effective support planning or key work
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to advocate for marginalised young women and work effectively with other professionals
• The ability to work independently and as part of a team, alongside good administrative, IT and record-keeping skills

Knowledge of safeguarding, homelessness, benefits and external services available to young women would be an advantage. A Housing or Youth Work qualification is desirable but not essential.

Why join us?

Impact Initiatives is a Sussex-based charity supporting children, young people, adults with disabilities, families and older people to live healthy and fulfilling lives.

At Stopover, you’ll be part of a service built around consistent, positive relationships and trauma-informed support. You’ll have the opportunity to combine hands-on work with young women with leadership responsibilities, helping colleagues develop their practice and contributing to the quality and development of the service.

We’re committed to supporting our staff through ongoing learning, supervision and professional development.

Who can apply?

This post is open to women only, in accordance with Schedule 9, Paragraph 1 of the Equality Act 2010, due to the nature of the work delivering trauma-informed support to young women. We welcome applications from all women, including trans women.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974) and the successful applicant will be subject to an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.

Closing date: 5.00pm, Friday 11 September 2026
Interviews: Week commencing 14 September 2026

For further details and to apply, please visit Impact Initiatives website

ABOUT BRIGHTPIP

BrightPIP (Brighton Parent-Infant Psychological Therapy) is a specialist infant mental health charity supporting babies aged 0–2 and their families across Brighton & Hove and Sussex. We want every baby in our community to grow up feeling safe, healthy and loved. We provide early therapeutic intervention to strengthen relationships and prevent cycles of intergenerational trauma. We are a small, friendly and growing charity, supported by a dedicated clinical team and Trustee Board.

We have an exciting opportunity to join our team as a trainee Infant and Early Years Practitioner (IEYP), on a course run in partnership with the Anna Freud Centre and University College London (UCL). The post-holder will be training on the Children and Young People’s (CYP) Infant Mental Health (0-5) course, whilst carrying out clinical work in our service to complement their studies and use their newly developed skills.

ABOUT THE ROLE

This is a training role that is part of the NHS England (NHSE) funded CYP Psychological Trainings Therapy Programme (CYP-PT Therapy PGDip).  This intensive training post will equip practitioners with a comprehensive skillset to provide interventions to families using the latest evidence-based approaches. This will include training in Video-feedback Intervention to Promote Positive Parenting (VIPP) and supporting families where the child is experiencing regulatory difficulties.

Alongside the theoretical teaching of the training programme, the post-holder will have the opportunity to work within the BrightPIP service, providing practical interventions to families across Brighton & Hove. They will be integrated into our team of Clinical Psychologists and Psychotherapists and will take referrals as part of our service offer.

The successful post-holder will work in the BrightPIP service for 2.5 days per week and attend university for 2-3 days per week, with some study days spread throughout the year. During university holidays the trainee will continue to work with families.

FURTHER INFORMATION

This government-funded initiative promotes the growth and skill of the child mental health workforce to meet much needed demand. NHSE covers salary and training costs for a one-year full-time position, allowing services to employ trainees to support specialist pathways to bridge the gaps in CYP mental health support.

The role begins in January 2027 and the trainee will be both a fixed-term employee of BrightPIP and an enrolled student with UCL/Anna Freud. Upon completion, qualified trainees will receive a UCL Postgraduate Diploma. 

Training will be a mixture of in person, online sessions and self-study. Applicants must be willing to travel to Anna Freud in Central London (Rodney St, N1 9JH) to attend their lectures as needed. This is a unique opportunity that allows you to apply your learning week-to-week into practical clinical interventions making a direct impact on the lives of children and their families.

ABOUT YOU

We are seeking a highly motivated and enthusiastic practitioner to work and train within our service. The training post will equip the post-holder to provide interventions for children, young people and families using evidence-based intervention consistent with the course they are attending. The post holder will work with people with different cultural backgrounds and ages, using interpreters when necessary and should be committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

WHAT WE OFFER

• Being part of a pioneering, highly specialist team who are passionate about our mission and supportive of each other
• Weekly 1:1 supervision and the opportunity to join our monthly group reflective supervision sessions
• After successful completion of the course the fixed term contract will end, however we will provide support and advice to help you try to secure longer term opportunities; either within our service or other local authority services
• We are open to secondment opportunities from suitably qualified applicants within the area

HOW TO APPLY

Applicants are required to make two applications for this role. The first is a job application directly to BrightPIP. The second is a course application, which is made via the UCL portal. You will only be offered a UCL training place if you are successful in securing this post and you meet the university training requirements. 

1. For your BrightPIP application, please submit:

- Your CV; and

- A cover letter addressed to Dr Laura Williams, explaining your relevant experience, key achievements, and motivation for applying.

Please ensure that your CV/ cover letter clearly evidence the academic requirements for this role as well as relevant experience (please see job description and person specification for guidance). 

2. For your UCL course application, please read the supporting document 'UCL CYP PT Therapy - Application Guidance for Candidates August 26' and follow the instructions relevant to this role. There is a link under 'where to apply' to access the UCL uni application portal. Please do take the time to review the full details in this document which includes a list of everything you need to apply for the course. 

Interviews will be held at Moulsecoomb Family Hub - date TBC.

We encourage applications from groups that are currently underrepresented in the clinical team including: applicants from Black and global majority ethnic backgrounds, male applicants, applicants identifying as LGBTQIA+.

All appointments are subject to an enhanced DBS check.

PRIVACY NOTICE

Please be aware that the information on your application form (name, contact details, qualifications and prior relevant experience) will be shared with the university Course Team as part of the recruitment process. By submitting your application to this role, you are agreeing to your details being shared with Anna Freud / UCL.  They will review your information to ensure you meet the academic requirements for the course.