Inpatient Treating Tobacco Dependency Advisor

NELFT NHS Foundation Trust; Ilford; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A community healthcare provider in Ilford is seeking a passionate Tobacco Dependence Advisor to join their team. In this crucial role, you will support patients in improving their physical health by delivering interventions for tobacco dependence within inpatient mental health settings. The ideal candidate will possess a Level 3 qualification or above in Health and Social Care, excellent communication skills, and experience in delivering assessments. The organization promotes a supportive work culture and offers flexible working arrangements.

Benefits

Supportive working environment

Proactive health and wellbeing support

Flexible working opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience of delivering 121 and group assessments to a range of targeted groups and individuals.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Experience of accurate case recording / appointment booking using electronic systems.

Responsibilities

• Deliver brief advice and structured interventions for tobacco dependence.
• Engage with patients admitted to inpatient wards, identify current smokers.
• Manage a caseload of patients independently, delivering structured support.

Skills

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

Experience of delivering 121 and group assessments

Experience supporting pharmacotherapy interventions

Education

Level 3 or above in Health and Social Care or equivalent

Job description

Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London, Essex, Kent and Medway. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.

The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for five consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT.

Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, in this video

Job overview

An Exciting Opportunity to Join NELFT’s Treating Tobacco Dependence Service

We are looking for a Treating Tobacco Dependence Advisor who is passionate about improving physical health outcomes for people with severe mental illness. This is a unique opportunity to work within our inpatient mental health settings, delivering evidence‑based tobacco dependence treatment as part of the NHS Long Term Plan and NELFT’s Smoke‑Free Policy.

The Role

As a Tobacco Dependence Advisor, you will work as part of a small, dedicated team to support patients during admission and post‑discharge. You will provide structured behavioural support, facilitate access to pharmacotherapy, and help service users begin their smoke‑free journey.

Key Responsibilities

• Deliver brief advice and structured interventions for tobacco dependence.
• Provide one‑to‑one and group support for patients, carers, and staff.
• Facilitate access to Nicotine Replacement Therapy and other pharmacological options .
• Develop personalised care plans and ensure continuity of support after discharge.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to embed tobacco dependency treatment into care pathways.
• Contribute to service development and quality improvement initiatives.

Why Join Us?

This role is central to NELFT’s commitment to prevention and improving physical health for people with mental health conditions. You will help drive culture change and promote wellbeing across our inpatient services.

Main duties of the job

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Engage with patients admitted to inpatient wards, identify current smokers, and use behavioural change techniques to motivate them to participate in tobacco dependence interventions.
• Manage a caseload of patients independently, delivering structured, evidence‑based support throughout their admission and post‑discharge.
• Develop and utilise stop smoking resources, including written patient information, tailored to individual needs.
• Organise and manage workload effectively, ensuring clear communication with patients, carers, and colleagues.
• Work collaboratively within the multidisciplinary team (MDT) and make referrals to appropriate services as required.
• Contribute to staff training by promoting Very Brief Advice (VBA) and supporting the Smoke‑Free agenda.
• Support the achievement of project targets, including referral, engagement, and quit outcomes.
• Actively participate in service development, helping to expand and embed tobacco dependence treatment programmes across NELFT inpatient settings.

Working for our organisation

Our Values 2025 - 2030

Working with our colleagues, patients and carers we have coproduced three new values that we aim to embed within our culture here at NELFT.

They are: We are kind.

We are respectful.

We work together with our communities.

These three values help us to strive to provide the best care by the best people.

Probationary Period

This post will be subject to a probationary period. Internal applicants are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or currently a bank member of staff).

High Cost Area Supplement

This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (with a minimum of £4,714 to a maximum of £5,941 per annum (pro rata for part time).

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Actively uphold and promote NELFT’s Smoke‑Free Policy across all inpatient settings.
• Contribute to achieving project targets, including patient engagement and quit outcomes.
• Refer patients to specialist‑led clinics where appropriate, ensuring continuity of care.
• Shadow Treating Tobacco Dependence (TTD) specialists to develop expertise in delivering effective treatment programmes for individuals with complex health needs, progressing to managing a small caseload.
• Raise awareness of tobacco dependence services using a range of approaches and maximise opportunities to generate referrals.
• Support the development of seamless care pathways and referral systems between inpatient teams, community health services, midwifery, and primary care.
• Assist in integrating tobacco dependence treatment into wider health improvement initiatives.
• Contribute to the ongoing development, delivery, monitoring, and evaluation of tobacco dependence interventions within NELFT.
• Manage and monitor ordering of vaping products and liquids, ensuring accurate data entry and clear communication with relevant teams.
• Please see attached job description for full duties and responsibilities

Please see the attached job description and person specification for more information about this role and working at North East London NHS Foundation Trust. We encourage you to refer to this when completing your application.

We welcome your application even if you do not meet all the criteria listed in the person specification. Please apply as soon as possible as some posts close early to limit the number of applications.

Certificates of Sponsorship

Although we are a registered sponsor organisation, we are unable to offer sponsorship for all job roles. Please check your eligibility under the UKVI points‑based system. When calculating the basic salary for sponsorship, HCAS (High‑Cost Area Supplement) is not included to ensure fairness and consistency within our Trust.

Use of AI

Please see attached document regarding acceptable use of AI during the recruitment process.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Relevant health or social care qualification (, Level 3 or above in Health and Social Care or equivalent).

Desirable criteria

• Specialist Stop Smoking advisor min Level 2 NCSCT qualified including NCSCT Mental Health Module.

Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience of delivering 121 and group assessments to a range of targeted groups and individuals from the community.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Experience of accurate case recording / appointment booking using electronic systems.

Desirable criteria

• Experience supporting pharmacotherapy interventions such as Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT).

Benefits

We believe in bringing your authentic and best self to work, in order to deliver the best care to our patients. We are committed to supporting our employees holistically. Here is a snapshot of what is on offer at NELFT :

• A long‑standing and award‑winning approach to equality and diversity with supportive networks for ethnic minority staff, staff with disabilities or long term / chronic conditions and LGBT staff.
• A commitment to supporting colleagues to achieve a work life balance, through flexible working opportunities and our effortsto support our working parents and carers. This has resulted in us being recognised as a ‘Top 10 Family Friendly Employer’ from the Working Families Charity.
• Proactive health and wellbeing support, including access to our employee assistance programme, staff psychological support, individual wellbeing conversations and a network of health and wellbeing ambassadors.
• Detailed information about our wellbeing and benefits offer can be found in this link.

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s a job share, part time hours or another flexible pattern.