Job Information
Achieving for Children is a Community Interest Company that has a public sector ethos, combined with the freedom to innovate enabling us to do things differently. As a not-for-profit social enterprise owned by three local authorities (Windsor & Maidenhead, Kingston and Richmond), we offer the freedoms of a social enterprise with the employment benefits of local government. To find out more about us .
Substance misuse worker
The Families First Model (FFM) is an innovative approach to safeguarding children and young people experiencing or at risk of harm. The model is underpinned by a strengths based ethos to identify and elicit positive changes for families. Multi-agency workers will be co-located within the Safeguarding Service to ensure collaborative, personalised delivery of whole family interventions to improve the lives of children and families. Multi-agency workers will undertake direct, specialist work with families, with a distinct focus on the Trio of Vulnerabilities (domestic abuse, substance misuse and mental health). Workers will share specialist advice and guidance with social workers, through effective group supervision and timely consultations.
Operational area Kingston and Richmond Primary place of work Civic Offices, 44 York Street, TW1 Work Setting Hybrid Working Appointment type Permanent Business area Early Help Full time/Part time Full-time Salary from £42,771 (SCP29) Salary to £45,750 (SCP32) Hours 9-5.15 Estimated Interview date/s 03/07/2026 Closing Date 26/06/2026 Ref No 2314 Documents
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About the role
The Families First Substance Misuse Worker role will sit within the Families First Service working collaboratively with a multidisciplinary Team.
The post holder will be an experienced professional who can positively engage and form relationships of trust with parents when they are identified substance misuse issues. The post holder will have experience of direct work with people with alcohol and substance misuse, either on a 1:1 or group basis
2. To work directly with clients to support the reduction of substance use related harm and increasing parental capacity
3. To support clients within a 1:1 setting with making changes around their substance using behaviours, enabling them to lead meaningful and purposeful lives: promoting recovery, resilience and self-determination
4. To co-deliver structured content within the parenting recovery programme group setting to clients at various stages of recovery
5. Engaging with debriefing and evaluations with co-facilitators after groups/pods have taken place, reviewing progress and identifying concerns with service users
For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Dan Clark via email:
About you
6. Educated at level 4 or above professional qualification in a relevant discipline (e.g youth work Children and Youth, Social Care, Education, Substance Misuse Qualifications)and some experience in a related field.
7. Experience of positively engaging and forming a relationship of trust with families that have faced early childhood adversity resulting in challenges with parenting.
8. Experience of providing support to adults affected by problematic alcohol or drug misuse through a home visiting and an outreach approach.
9. Experience of providing targeted support to adults experiencing substance misuse, utilising evidence based interventions, and harm reduction techniques to improve sustainable recovery outcomes for families.
10. Experience in directly delivering interventions on a 1:1 basis and ability to identify when parents need further advice, support and effective treatment interventions.
About our benefits
We are focused on creating a positive supportive environment, where you will have access to a really wide range of resources, as well as a competitive salary and all the perks to enable hybrid working. In AfC you will also have access to:
11. 29 days annual leave, increasing to 33 days after 2 years and 35 days after 4 years with an additional day off in your birthday month (Or for term-time workers, your leave entitlement consists of the non-working periods in your contract)
12. Tailored induction sessions commencing on the date you start working for AfC
13. Local Government salary and pension scheme (LGPS or Teachers Pension)
14. Flexible working options - helping to keep a good work life balance
15. A comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme
16. A range of staff benefits and discounts
17. An excellent learning and development offer to support your career pathway
To find out about all of the breadth of benefits of working for Achieving for Children. For our social work offer. For our Recruitment Journey,
Important Information
Start dates: Achieving for Children have meaning successful candidates join on a set date in each month. Candidates are advised to prepare for this should a job offer be accepted to ensure eligible continuous service is not affected.
Right to work: The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the for right to work guidance.
Equality: We particularly welcome applications from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our teams. Achieving for Children are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.
Safeguarding: We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.