Team Leader RSI Lead

TipTopJob; Essex; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

A social enterprise in Southend-on-Sea is seeking a Team Leader (RSI Lead) to manage a frontline team in substance misuse services. The ideal candidate will have strong leadership skills and experience in delivering high-quality interventions. This role offers a supportive environment focusing on community recovery initiatives. The position comes with flexible working and extensive benefits.

Benefits

Flexible working

Training and development opportunities

Death in Service Payment (2x annual salary)

25 days Annual Leave plus Bank Holidays

Qualifications

• Proven experience managing within community substance misuse services.
• Skilled in assessments, care planning, and delivering structured psychosocial interventions.
• Ability to train and supervise staff, sharing best practices in treatment delivery.

Responsibilities

• Manage a team of frontline practitioners within the RSI service.
• Deliver high-quality interventions for substance misuse.
• Coordinate with external partners to support service users.

Skills

Leadership

Motivational interviewing

Client assessment

Knowledge of harm reduction

IT and case management

Job description

Overview

Team Leader: RSI Lead

Location: Southend on Sea

Salary: A GBP 27,281 per annum

Vacancy Type: Permanent, Full Time

Closing Date: 22 September 2025

Make a real difference. Lead a team. Change lives.

The Forward Trust is seeking a Team Leader (RSI Lead) to join our dedicated substance misuse team in Southend-on-Sea. If you are passionate about supporting vulnerable adults, have strong leadership qualities, and want to be part of a dynamic, community-focused team, this could be your next role.

Working within a community-based drug and alcohol treatment service, you will lead a frontline team supporting service users aged 18 and over. The service uses an integrated approach, offering clinical, psychosocial, and wellbeing interventions tailored to individual needs.

As The Rough Sleepers Initiative (RSI) Lead, You Will

• Manage a team of frontline practitioners, primarily within the RSI service.
• Deliver high-quality interventions: both harm reduction and abstinence-based to those experiencing substance misuse.
• Coordinate with external partners including GPs, hospitals, housing, probation, police, and mental health services to support service users long-term recovery.
• Occasionally perform urine and oral swab testing to support clinical treatment.
• Youll also play a vital leadership role by:
• Supporting the Service Manager to meet key performance indicators (KPIs) and CQC standards.
• Supervising, guiding, and developing staff, including apprentices, volunteers, and peer mentors.
• Delivering and overseeing structured 1:1 and group interventions.
• Managing a small caseload, completing assessments, and developing SMART care plans.

What We’re Looking For

• Proven experience managing within community substance misuse services.
• Skilled in assessments, care planning, and delivering structured psychosocial interventions.
• Ability to train and supervise staff, sharing best practices in treatment delivery.
• Experienced in motivational interviewing in both individual and group settings.
• Strong IT and case management skills.
• Excellent knowledge of harm reduction and abstinence-based approaches.

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.

Benefits

• Flexible working
• 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 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 of service and up to 9% thereafter
• Death in Service Payment (2x annual salary)
• Critical Illness Insurance (subject to qualifying criteria)

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.

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 status.