Regional Peer Coordinator (Part Time)

Location: Sutton

Salary: £24,000 (pro-rata), plus benefits

Hours: 14 hours per week over 2 days

We are currently recruiting for a part time Regional Peer Coordinator.

Here at Forward Trust, we deliver a complex range of drug and alcohol services in the unique prison environment. Our support includes providing advice, health and wellbeing, motivational work, clinical services, and a wider range of group work and treatment programmes.

The Forward Trust services which are delivered within prison settings are commissioned by NHS England and are delivered in partnership with primary healthcare providers and HMPPS. Integration and partnership are integral to the work we do.

We believe that everyone can live a fulfilling life, whatever their past. Our work in prisons aims to support those affected by drug or alcohol issues to create lasting change and reduce dependency, homelessness, unemployment, and re-offending.

Role / Team overview

Working within an integrated healthcare framework to provide support to drug and alcohol users aged 18 and over, the Integrated Substance Misuse Service is designed to deliver a combination of clinical, Psychosocial Substance Misuse and Health and Wellbeing Interventions and Accredited Treatment Programmes for offenders coming into prison that are identified as having an alcohol or drug problem. 

As a Peer Coordinator you will support the team and the prison to champion the integrated service and train service users to become peer supporters who deliver peer-led interventions and become peer supporters across all wings of the prison. You will also support and develop Health & Wellbeing Champions within the prisons. Their roles will be to motivate and encourage clients to start taking greater responsibility for their health and wellbeing whilst in custody, and they will discuss and share the issues which they are concerned about by signposting and supporting them to the relevant services within the prison, and with agreement from the prison deliver interventions to other peers. 

The role is vital in improving the links between the integrated service and the service users within the prison.

This role will be based on site working as part of the wider substance misuse services team. The role will operate over multiple prisons which may include HMP Highdown, and HMP Downview therefore travel will be required. 

Flexibility will be required in this role and may include some evening/weekend shift working on rota basis and with reasonable notice.

Key responsibilities

• Train service users to become Peer Supporters and to provide the support and supervision and guidance they require.
• Train service users to become Health & Wellbeing Champions.
• To work in partnership with all staff in responding effectively to any incidents that take place involving clients.
• To work in partnership with Service Managers in implementing an action plan for clients in need of support.
• To work in partnership with all staff responsible for the clients receiving support and intervention.
• To develop relationship with clients receiving support, aimed at achieving the goals defined in their individual action plan.

All prison-based roles will require enhanced DBS and HMPPS security vetting. Please note this process can take up to 8-12 weeks. All offers are subject to receiving both HMPPS vetting and DBS clearances.

Checks will require you to provide information on the below:

• Yourself (personal information, financial information, police information, criminal history)
• Your family (parents, parents’ partners, siblings, partner(s), children)
• Co-residents
• Associations that may cause a conflict of interest with your role or the prison service.
• Background checks across police information systems on you, your family and other associates
• Credit reference checks
• Social media and Open-Source checks (these are checks on content about you that's publicly available on the internet to ensure there's nothing linked to you that could undermine public trust and confidence in the prison service)
• Other government and overseas agency or police checks.

The ideal candidate will have

• A Level 3 Diploma in Health & Social Care or equivalent.
• The ability to develop, coordinate and deliver the training on a peer support programme.
• Experience of delivering structured interventions to service users and experience of facilitating groups.
• Good organisational & communication skills, and a strong personality, including the ability to set and stick to professional boundaries.
• An understanding of, and commitment to, the principles of equal opportunity and client confidentiality.
• The ability to work effectively with key partners in order to successfully deliver projects.
• Experience of communicating with people from a range of backgrounds in a sensitive and supportive way.
• A commitment to the process of recovery from addiction and ability to work with a non-judgemental approach.

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.

To Apply

If you feel you are a suitable candidate and would like to work for the Forward Trust, please proceed through the following link to be redirected to their website to complete your application.

https://careers.forwardtrust.org.uk/vacancies/158/regional-peer-coordinator-part-time.html

Contact information

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