Outreach Recovery Worker - Swale

Forward Trust; Sittingbourne; Hybrid; GBP 24,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Family-friendly benefits

Training and development

Cycle to work scheme

Season Ticket Loan

Wellbeing days

Pension scheme

Death in Service

Job summary

The Forward Trust is seeking an Outreach Recovery Worker to support adults 18+ facing drug and/or alcohol issues. You will deliver person-centred psychosocial interventions, harm reduction and abstinence-based approaches while managing a varied caseload, completing assessments and SMART care plans.

JV collaboration with housing, healthcare and criminal justice partners is essential to ensure continuity of care and help individuals achieve sustainable recovery.

Qualifications

• Experience working within substance misuse services or related health and social care.
• Knowledge of opioid substitution treatment (OST) and harm reduction.
• Experience completing assessments, risk management plans and SMART care plans.
• Experience delivering structured one-to-one interventions and facilitating group sessions.
• Confident using motivational interviewing techniques.
• Good safeguarding knowledge and professional boundaries.
• Experience collaborating with partner agencies for integrated support.
• Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Responsibilities

• Manage a diverse caseload and undertake comprehensive assessments.
• Develop SMART recovery care plans and risk assessments.
• Deliver structured psychosocial interventions, one-to-one and group sessions.
• Provide practical guidance and education on harm reduction and recovery.
• Maintain accurate records and contribute to service outcomes and governance.

Skills

Experience in substance misuse

OST knowledge

Risk management plans

Structured psychosocial interventions

Motivational interviewing

Safeguarding

Partnership working

Equality and inclusion

Organisational and IT skills

Flexibility evenings/weekends/travel

Job description

We are looking for a compassionate, motivated and resilient Outreach Recovery Worker to join our team, supporting adults aged 18+ who are experiencing issues with drugs and/or alcohol.

Working within an integrated healthcare framework, you will deliver high-quality, person-centred psychosocial interventions that empower individuals to reduce harm, build resilience and achieve sustainable recovery. You will work with people at varying stages of their recovery journey, delivering both harm reduction and abstinence-based approaches tailored to each individual's needs and goals.

As an Outreach Recovery Worker, you will manage a diverse caseload, undertaking comprehensive assessments, developing SMART recovery care plans, completing risk assessments, and delivering structured one-to-one and group interventions. You will provide practical advice, guidance and education around harm reduction, supporting individuals to make informed choices and improve their health and wellbeing.

A key part of the role is working collaboratively with a range of partner agencies, including housing providers, healthcare services, mental health teams, employment services, probation, criminal justice partners and community organisations. Through effective partnership working, you will ensure continuity of care and help individuals overcome barriers to recovery.

You will contribute to achieving service outcomes and contractual targets, maintaining accurate records and ensuring all interventions are delivered in line with safeguarding, governance and quality standards.

This is a flexible role and may include occasional evening and weekend working. You may also be required to travel to other services within the local cluster to ensure continuity of care and meet the needs of the people we support.

About You

You are passionate about supporting people to make positive changes in their lives and believe in a strengths-based, recovery-focused approach. You are able to build trusting relationships quickly, communicate effectively with people from diverse backgrounds, and remain calm and professional in challenging situations.

You will bring experience of working within substance misuse or related health and social care services, alongside a strong understanding of recovery, harm reduction and safeguarding. You will be confident managing a caseload, carrying out comprehensive assessments, developing SMART care plans and delivering structured psychosocial interventions.

We're looking for someone who has:

• Experience working within substance misuse services or a closely related field.
• Knowledge of opioid substitution treatment (OST), harm reduction principles and the wider Recovery Agenda.
• Experience completing comprehensive assessments, risk management plans and person-centred SMART care plans.
• Experience delivering structured one-to-one interventions and facilitating therapeutic group sessions.
• Confidence using motivational interviewing techniques to support behaviour change.
• A good understanding of safeguarding responsibilities, professional boundaries and risk management.
• Knowledge of the challenges faced by people experiencing drug and alcohol dependency and the ability to respond with empathy and professionalism.
• Experience working collaboratively with partner agencies to provide holstic, integrated support.
• A commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, ensuring services are accessible and responsive to individual needs.
• Strong organisational, communication and IT skills, with the ability to maintain accurate case records and outcome data.
• Flexibility to work occasional evenings and weekends and travel across local services when required.

If you are committed to making a genuine difference in people's lives and want to be part of a supportive, values-driven organisation that believes recovery is possible for everyone, we would love to hear from you.

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.

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.