Health and Wellbeing Practitioner - HMP Cardiff

Forward Trust; Cardiff; Hybrid; GBP 27,000 - 38,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Training and development opportunities

Cycle to work scheme

Blue Light Card

Job summary

Forward Trust Cardiff is seeking a Health and Wellbeing Practitioner to join the Integrated Substance Misuse Team at HMP Cardiff. You will support male service users with substance misuse and low-level mental health needs, delivering one-to-one and group interventions.

You will assess needs, develop care plans, provide wellbeing information, coordinate with partner agencies, and help measure outcomes while maintaining accurate records and safeguarding standards.

Qualifications

• Experience in substance misuse or health and wellbeing settings.
• Knowledge of low-level mental health and emotional wellbeing.
• Strong communication and interpersonal abilities.
• Ability to build trusting, professional relationships with service users.
• Experience managing a caseload and prioritising demands.

Responsibilities

• Manage a caseload and provide ongoing support throughout service users' journey.
• Deliver one-to-one and group interventions.
• Complete assessments and develop care plans with service users.
• Provide advice and information on substance misuse and wellbeing.
• Refer to specialist services when needed and coordinate with partners.

Skills

Substance misuse experience

Mental health knowledge

Communication skills

Interpersonal skills

Caseload management

Tools

Records management

Job description

Health and Wellbeing Practitioner - HMP Cardiff

We are looking for a Health and Wellbeing Practitioner to join our Integrated Substance Misuse Team. This is a rewarding opportunity to support male adults with both substance misuse needs and low-level mental health or emotional wellbeing difficulties.

As a dual-trained practitioner, you will work holistically with service users, helping them to make positive changes, improve their wellbeing and take steps towards recovery. You will work both one-to-one and within group settings, building strong relationships with service users and partner agencies.

We are committed to providing inclusive services that recognise and value individual differences, and we welcome people from all cultural backgrounds, ages, sexual orientations and walks of life.

What you’ll be doing

As a Health and Wellbeing Practitioner, you will:

• Manage a caseload of service users and provide ongoing support throughout their journey.
• Work with male adults experiencing substance misuse and low-level mental health or emotional wellbeing needs.
• Provide one-to-one, face-to-face support.
• Deliver and facilitate group interventions.
• Complete assessments and develop appropriate care plans with service users.
• Provide advice, information and guidance around substance misuse, health and wellbeing.
• Identify service users’ needs and make appropriate referrals to specialist services where required.
• Work collaboratively with service users to identify goals and support positive, sustainable change.
• Monitor progress and contribute to measuring outcomes.
• Work closely with colleagues and external agencies to provide coordinated support.
• Attend meetings with multi-agency partners when required, representing Forward Trust professionally.
• Share relevant service updates and information with partner agencies and colleagues.
• Contribute towards targets and outcomes set by Forward Trust and local commissioners.
• Develop positive and cooperative working relationships with partner organisations.
• Promote equality, diversity and inclusion throughout your work.
• Maintain appropriate records and ensure your work meets service and quality standards.

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for someone who:

• Has experience of working within substance misuse, health and wellbeing, mental health or a related support setting.
• Has relevant knowledge, training or qualifications in substance misuse and/or low-level mental health and emotional wellbeing.
• Is passionate about supporting people to make positive and lasting changes.
• Has excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Can build trusting, respectful and professional relationships with service users.
• Is confident delivering both individual and group-based interventions.
• Is able to assess needs, develop care plans and identify appropriate referrals.
• Can manage a caseload effectively and prioritise competing demands.
• Works well both independently and as part of a wider team.
• Is confident working collaboratively with external agencies and multi-agency partners.
• Understands the importance of measuring outcomes and working towards agreed targets.
• Is organised, reliable and able to maintain accurate records.
• Demonstrates a non-judgemental and person-centred approach.
• Is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, recognising and respecting people's different cultural backgrounds, ages, sexual orientations and life experiences.
• Is committed to safeguarding, confidentiality and professional standards.
• Shares our commitment to helping people achieve positive and sustainable change.

Our mission is to bring lasting change to people’s lives by delivering services that inspire the belief in a better life and provide clear steps to achieve this change.

As a Health and Wellbeing Practitioner, you will have the opportunity to work alongside people on their recovery journey, helping them to address substance misuse, improve their emotional wellbeing and build the skills and confidence needed for a healthier future.

If you are passionate about making a difference and want to be part of an inclusive, collaborative team, we would love to hear from you.

All prison-based roles are subject to enhanced DBS checks and HMPPS security vetting. These checks can take up to 5 months to complete. Any offer of employment will be conditional upon the successful completion of both checks.

Please note if you have lived overseas within the last 5 years then checks may take longer.

About Us

We are The Forward Trust, the social enterprise with charitable status that empowers people to break the often interlinked cycles of crime and addiction to move forward with their lives. For more than 25 years we have been working with people to build positive and productive lives, whatever their past. We believe that anyone is capable of lasting change. Our services have supported thousands of people to make positive changes and build productive lives with a job, family, friends and a sense of community. We are committed to our cause and the work we carry out as a charity. Equally the wellbeing and the employees who work for us are also important. Joining us an employee, we will offer you the following benefits -

• Support for Families – We support our employees through every stage of family life by offering enhanced maternity and paternity pay for eligible employees who have completed 26 weeks' continuous service, alongside family-friendly policies and a supportive, inclusive workplace. If you'd like more information about our family-friendly benefits, please contact our Recruitment Team at [e-mail]
• Training and development opportunities
• Simply Health Cashback Scheme (optional)
• Season Ticket Loan Scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Crisis Loan Scheme
• Electric Car Scheme
• 3 x Wellbeing Days (pro rata'd for part time employees)
• Access to Blue Light Card
• 25 days (rising to 30 with length of service) Annual Leave plus Bank Holidays
• Contributory Pension Scheme – Employer matched contributions of up to 6% in the first two years’ service and up to 9% thereafter
• Death in Service Payment (2x annual salary)
• Critical Illness Insurance (subject to qualifying criteria)

Please note that we may close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications.

Remote roles may require occasional travel for site visits, training and meetings.

Diversity at Forward Trust

The Forward Trust commits to providing opportunities to everyone. We want to ensure we have a diverse team with a range of lived and professional experiences. This includes those with ‘Lived Experience’ of addiction, offending, or homelessness. Some of our roles may require a minimum period of sustained recovery (normally around years). This is assessed on a case-by-case basis, and exceptions may be considered depending on the role and individual circumstances.

When we recruit, we welcome applications from everyone. This is inclusive of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion and/or belief, marriage and civil partnerships, pregnancy and maternity and socio-economic background. Where operationally possible, we will consider flexible working requests and make reasonable adjustments for all roles.

To find out more about Forward’s commitment to being an inclusive employer and our current EDI strategy click here .

We want our recruitment process to be accessible to everyone. If you require any reasonable adjustments at any stage, please let us know.

Employee Screening and Eligibility to Work Dependent on role you may be required to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service Check, details of which will be shared with you at interview.

If successful in your application, you will be required to provide eligibility to work evidence in line with the ‘Eligibility to Work in the UK’ requirements. Our Commitment to Safeguarding We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and adults at risk. Forward Trust follow safer recruitment practices and support a culture of openness and accountability.