Substance Misuse Worker

Main Responsibilities

Substance Misuse Worker

HMP Parc, Bridgend

Salary : £22,737.04 per annum

Full-time (40 hours per week)

G4S is a large and diverse company with operations in over 100 countries and more than 610,000 employees worldwide, G4S is a truly unique company who are bigger, more diverse and involved in more fascinating, innovative projects than many people would imagine and we now have an opportunity for  a Substance Misuse Worker to join our team at HMP & YOI Parc, a category B prison, in Bridgend, South Wales, currently holding over 1600 men and young people in a secure but modern environment

As a member of our substance misuse team, you will play a critical role in enabling men with complex and problematic substance misuse histories to build positive futures and healthy lifestyles and focus on moving into active recovery. Your main focus will be holding a caseload of men with high intensity substance misuse needs. You will work collaboratively with to enable them to achieve objectives set for their time in custody as well as capturing and communicating information relating to their safety and risk.

You will also play a key role in delivering our programme of holistic support on our dedicated unit for men with significant substance misuse needs. We provide a range of interventions and activities which are collectively designed to ensure that each individual can engage in a treatment plan that meets their needs, with options including CBT based groupwork, physical exercise programmes, yoga, mindfulness based activities, creative writing, NA and AA and diversionary activities. By joining our team at HMP Parc you will also be part of our wider Dyfodol and IRIS services, which deliver substance misuse support across community bases in South East and South West Wales, the South Wales Valleys and Gwent as well as the Welsh Public Sector Prisons.

We are looking for candidates who believe in a positive psychology approach and firmly believe that people can change. The environment and the role can be challenging but we strive to support men at Parc to focus on improving their wellbeing, and building good lives and positive futures. 

Key Responsibilities

• Manage a diverse caseload of men residing at HMP Parc, taking responsibility for all Offender Management and substance misuse care planning processes such as Sentence Planning, re-categorisation, parole and clinical treatment
• Contribute to the delivery of the substance misuse support unit treatment programme, including facilitation of groups and organising/running activities
• Contribute to the delivery of key HMIP, Drug Strategy and OM objectives, ensuring work is completed in time and to a high standard in line with contractual requirements
• Ensure that risk information is communicated widely with other areas of the establishments and other key stakeholders such as probation, the police and community based substance misuse services including colleagues in G4S Dyfodol and IRIS Services
• Ensure all case information is accurately recorded and communicated via appropriate case management systems such as PPRIS, OASys and Palbase
• Carry out appropriate assessment of the client to: determine nature and extent of substance use; explore how this impacts upon all aspects of their life identifying problematic areas; prioritise need, using information gathered to inform care plan.
• Provide relevant information, advice and individual support to clients with the aim of reducing risk of harm to themselves, family, friends and the wider community; reducing the risk of overdose, spread of communicable diseases and lapse or relapse.
• Contribute to assessing the risks, and minimising the effects of immediate danger, harm and abuse to substance users, and support individuals to review situations and actions after the immediate risk has passed, contributing to the ACCT process as appropriate.
• Provide structured key work sessions to support and assist clients to build a positive future
• Promote effective communication and integration with all relevant departments within the prison
• Work collaboratively with healthcare and substance misuse nurses in the provision of clinical treatment

The Ideal Candidate

Essential Skills

• Experience in the fields of criminal justice or substance misuse
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• A willingness to self-evaluate performance and behaviour
• Ability to work in a non-judgemental manner with people who have offended
• Ability to use Word, Excel, and other IT systems
• Ability to manage and prioritise own workloads.

Desirable Skills

• A relevant qualification in Social Care, criminology or other associated subject
• Flexible thinking and solution orientated thinking.
• Experience of facilitating group interventions and completing 121 keywork sessions

At G4S, the philosophy of our prisons is to rehabilitate offenders and equip them to re-integrate into mainstream society on release. Our aim is to create an environment in which staff and prisoners feel safe and causes of prison stress are minimised. Central to our philosophy is the relationship between staff and prisoners. Our training and operational practices emphasise the need to treat prisoners with dignity and respect and G4S staff build positive and supportive relationships with the prisoners in their care. We are seeking to recruit a caring, pro-active and confident professional to help make a real difference to their lives.

If you join us, you will find a secure, friendly and professional working environment and be given all the support, training and encouragement you need to build and develop a successful career with us. Our benefits are as you would expect from a large organisation and include a company pension, comprehensive training, career development, generous holiday entitlement, uniform and access to our on-site gym.

Please note that these vacancies are subject to a 10 year checkable history and the strict vetting standards set by G4S and the Secretary of State for the Home Office and are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

You must be eligible to work in the UK and must have been resident in the UK for a minimum period of 5 years. You will also need to provide full details of your employment and education history for the last 10 years as part of the security screening process for this role.

HMP & YOI Parc is committed to a clean air policy for the wellbeing of its staff, and to protect them from the risks of passive smoking. Our prison is a smoke-free environment, and smoking is not permitted in any area of the establishment. The conveyance of smoking paraphernalia (including tobacco, cigarettes and e-cigarettes) through the Keylock and into the prison will be considered a disciplinary offence under the company’s Disciplinary Policy.