Substance Misuse Early Intervention Worker (SO1)

Job Description

Job Title : Substance Misuse Early Intervention Worker (SO1)
Job Category : Social Care – Unqualified
Location : Thomas Hardy House, Enfield Council
Hours Per Week : 35.00
Start Date : Immediate Start
Start Time : 09:00
End Time : 17:30
Salary: £18.95

This post will require travel in the community to fulfill their duties, a valid Clean driver’s license would be an advantage, so they can also utilise the Youth Bus and Health and Well-being bus.
Experience of delivering psychosocial and harm reduction interventions to young people to support them in stopping their substance misuse. This includes Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Motivational Interventions and advice and information to prevent substance misuse related injure and risky behaviours. A qualification in Youth Work or equivalent to NVQ Level 3 or other relevant professional qualification. The candidate will need to be flexible and available to work during school hours, evenings, weekends and holiday periods.

To contribute towards Enfield achieving the National Drug Strategy aim of bringing about a generational shift in the use of drugs across society so that fewer people take drugs or feel drawn toward taking drugs, and today’s children and young people grow up in a safer and healthier environment. This project will contribute towards this aim by delivering interventions to young people aimed at deterring them from starting to use drugs and alcohol and to support those young people who already use drugs and alcohol to stop their use and reduce associated harms.
The post will be based in the Youth Development Service and will work across projects to increase the reach of substance misuse interventions to young people engaged with the service which include, but is not limited to, Youth Centres, Schools, the Youth Bus, Health and Well-being Bus, Peer Support Programme, Outreach Team and Summer University.
• Increase awareness of substance misuse through the universal delivery of information, advice and guidance to support young people in making informed and healthy choices.
• Deliver targeted support to young people who are at risk of substance misuse, or already engaged in substance misuse, aimed at helping them to reduce or stop their substance misuse and minimising the associated harms.
• Undertake substance misuse screening as appropriate and make referrals to Insight Enfield Sort It! ensuring continuity of care for the young person by supporting their treatment commencing with the substance misuse treatment service.
• Be able to provide structured care planned interventions to a small caseload of young people engaged with the Youth Development Service who require treatment but refuse a referral to Insight Enfield Sort It! The expectation is this will be small caseload of approximately 7 young people as the preferred approach to treatment is a referral to Insight Enfield Sort It! As part of this the post holder will need to report treatment caseload data to the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System.
• The definition of young people’s substance misuse treatment is ‘Young people’s specialist substance misuse treatment is a care planned medical, psychosocial or specialist harm reduction intervention aimed at alleviating current harm caused by a young person’s substance misuse’ NDTMS Young People’s Treatment Business Definitions, PHE.
• Support young people who are in receipt of substance misuse support to access Youth Development Service activities and opportunities as part of their intervention and upon exiting support.
• Alignment with the substance misuse treatment service
• Work in partnership with Insight Enfield Sort It! to ensure seamless referral pathways into and out of treatment. This is likely to include attendance at treatment service team meetings, some element of co-location and co-delivery, introduction of robust referral pathways between services as relevant, and accessing specialist training and expertise for the assessment of substance misuse and delivery of interventions from the Insight Enfield Sort It! service.

Skills, Experience, Knowledge, Behaviours

Essential:

1. As a regular and intrinsic part of this role requires you to speak to members of the public in English, the ability to converse at ease with customers and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential and consistent with the requirements of this role. This role also requires you to be polite and courteous when conversing with the public.

2. A minimum of 2 years’ experience working with children and young people aged 10-19 particularly young people who are vulnerable.

3. Experience of delivering substance misuse preventative and early interventions to young people to support them in making positive and healthy choices and reducing the risk of harm associated with drug or alcohol misuse. .

4. Demonstrable experience of assessing children and young people and managing a case load with complex needs and often challenging behaviour and working in partnership to deliver high quality interventions that challenge and change behaviour, support children and young people into a positive healthy lifestyle, prevent negative outcomes and achieve high quality outcomes.

5. Experience of delivering one to one and group work interventions, information, advice, and guidance for young people in a range of settings in response to their needs.

6. Demonstrable strong interpersonal communication skills such as active listening, empathy, ability to constructively challenge and resolve conflict, solution focused skills, facilitation skills and clear report writing and IT skills.

7. Ability to work effectively with other professionals in a respectful and collaborative manner.

8. Youth work skills and experience or transferable youth work skills and willingness to learn and develop youth work skills

Qualifications & Professional registration criteria

Candidates: Please ensure you address these qualifications in your responses to the essential criteria, you will be expected to meet these requirements of the role and they will be explored with you at interview.

A qualification in Youth Work or equivalent to NVQ Level 3 or other relevant professional qualification

Special requirements

Candidates: Please note you will be expected to meet these requirements of the role and they will be explored with you at interview.

1. The post holder must be flexible and available to work during school hours, evenings, weekends and holiday periods
2. The post holder will be required to travel in the community to fulfil their duties, a valid driving licence will be advantageous for this role