Drug and Alcohol Practitioner (Bedfordshire)

£25,089 - £27,069 per annum Permanent, 37 hours per week Bedfordshire Do you have an understanding of drug and alcohol related issues and experience of working with young people? Would you like to be part of an organisation that counts on the professionalism, insight, expertise and passion of its staff to inspire recovery of the young people and families they work with? Then join us as a Practitioner. Right now, one of our partners, Aquarius is looking for a Drug and Alcohol Practitioner to join their Bedfordshire Young People Team. Aquarius helps young people aged 5-18 overcome the harm caused by drugs and alcohol by working closely with the individual, family members and other professionals . But it only possible with the help of people like you. Your challenge? – To provide information and advice, brief interventions and long term structured interventions to support young people who are using drugs and alcohol or being impacted by someone else use. You will be conducting assessments, risk assessments, care-planning and working directly with other services such as schools, social care, mental health services and youth offending. The successful candidate must have exceptional organisational skills and the ability to work with other agencies both face to face, email and via telephone. An energetic and confident self-starter, you will be required to hold a qualification in health/social care, youth and community work (e.g. NVQ Level 3 or above, DipSW, Mental Health Nursing, Counselling, Addiction Studies). Alternatively, we’ll consider candidates with experience of working in the substance misuse field . As well as good knowledge of alcohol/drug and health related issues, you will be used to liaising with voluntary and statutory agencies and health professionals and comfortable engaging with clients in a variety of service delivery settings. You will have a flexible approach, a commitment to the principles of confidentiality, excellent record keeping and a working knowledge of Microsoft Office. As this role requires travelling around Bedford, you will also need to have a clean driving licence and access to a vehicle. To review the job description please click here. We are committed to increasing our diversity and we would welcome applications from those with lived experience and/or who are from a Black, Asian and those in Minority Ethnic background. This is a rolling recruitment process; shortlisted candidates will be interviewed as and when they apply. When applying, please upload a CV and supporting statement which should clearly outline your skills and experience. Learning and development is important to us, and we are pleased to be able to offer a wide range of apprenticeships. We hire apprentices into specific roles as well as offering apprenticeships to the workforce. Anyone can apply to undertake an apprenticeship relevant to the role as long as they are in a permanent post and have successfully passed probation. Aquarius Action Projects is a long-established charity (since 1982) based in Birmingham with a national reach of contracts and Partnerships. Aquarius is a subsidiary of Waythrough – a large charity that specialises in mental health, alcohol, drugs and related areas. Waythrough launched in October 2024 following the merger of Humankind and Richmond Fellowship. Our vision is to break down the barriers that stop people getting the support they need to live a life they value. We tackle poverty and disadvantage in communities, through mental health, drug and alcohol, housing and related support. We have almost 200 services around England – and nearly 3,500 amazing staff and volunteers who run them. Every year our services support around 125,000 people. Bringing together two big organisations is not a small task and it’ll take a while to fully integrate our systems, processes and approaches. That why you will notice the jobs here are still branded ‘Richmond Fellowship’ or ‘Aquarius’ (our subsidiary charity in the Midlands). Next year we’ll be fully integrating our recruitment systems but for now they are separate. Thanks for bearing with us – and don’t forget to check out the Waythrough jobs on the Humankind job site https://peoplekind.my.salesforce-sites.com/recruit/ Aquarius Aquarius is a subsidiary of Waythrough. Aquarius is a Midlands-based charity supporting individuals to overcome the harms caused by drugs, alcohol and gambling. Aquarius has always held the view that people we support could resolve their problems with support and guidance and that people have the ability to find their own solutions to their problems. Our roles across the organisation include Practitioners and Administrators as well as Team Managers. Find out more at www.aquarius.org.uk