Senior Family Worker

Change Grow Live are a charity dedicated to the belief that we can make a difference to our Service Users lives.  

Our core values are ‘Be open, be compassionate and be bold’ and our teams apply these daily offering support and respect in a safe environment, treating each user as an individual and working with them to find the right treatment and care options.   

We have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Family Worker who has the skills and experience to provide specialised expertise in substance misuse as part of a multidisciplinary team assessing families and parents referred to the service. This includes conducting a rapid initial assessment of parents, followed by ongoing evaluations of their willingness and ability to engage in therapeutic work, their parenting capacity, and most importantly, ensuring the safety of their children. The role also includes contributing to the team’s intervention plan and working closely with local authorities, NHS, and independent sector resources to implement care plans, offering evidence-based interventions in community-based settings when appropriate.

Additionally, the role requires taking the lead in providing professional guidance and development on substance misuse within the Family Drug and Alcohol Court team. This includes developing clear care pathways and support systems for families affected by parental substance misuse, with the aim of improving the well-being of parents, children, and young people.

A key aspect of this role is presenting reports in a clear and authoritative manner in court on a regular basis, as well as contributing to multidisciplinary and multi-agency meetings. The role demands autonomy while also fostering close collaboration with FDAC colleagues. Furthermore, the post holder is expected to contribute to and participate in the evaluation of the service, ensuring continuous improvement and effectiveness.

We are willing to consider applications as on a secondment basis.

Where: Northampton

Hours: Full time, 37.5 hours per week

Salary: £31,529.41 - £33,708.58 dependent on experience (Based on full time hours, pro rata if part time)

Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract until 31st March 2026

A Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) is a specialised court designed to address parental substance misuse that affects parenting capacity. Based on a successful US model, FDAC aims to break the cycle of substance misuse across generations. Research suggests it helps parents engage with treatment services, increasing the likelihood of children returning home. If parents do not engage, quicker decisions are made regarding permanent placements. Operating within care proceedings and the Children & Families Act 2014, FDAC is supported by a multidisciplinary team of clinicians who advise the court and connect parents to appropriate local treatment services.

About the role:

• Identify, and engage with, people who have substance misuse problems with complex physical and / or mental health needs, including co-morbidity.
• To provide high quality support and interventions to families within a multi-disciplinary FDAC team
• To reduce substance misuse related harm to individuals and their children
• To provide effective case management and coordination of the individual’s treatment plan as part of the FDAC process. This will include attending and providing reports for court process.
• Ability and commitment to develop an understanding of child protection, learn how to prepare court reports and act as an expert witness in care proceedings.
• Support the Team Leader to carry out case file audits and ensure findings encourage a culture of learning within the team.
• To promote family members involvement to improve outcomes for children.
• The post holder will work closely with local statutory and voluntary and community organisations and teams.
• Work in partnership with other agencies and carry out joint key working to enable effective engagement and movement from semi structured to structured psychosocial interventions in order to promote recovery

About you:

• Excellent knowledge and understanding of drug and alcohol issues and experience of working within a related field.
• Experience of working with families where children are subject to Child Protection or Child in Need Plans.
• Knowledge and experience of multi-agency working and establishing partnerships with other professions to achieve good outcomes for the service user group.
• Ability to communicate complex information to individuals and groups in a way that is easily understood.
• Sensitivity in working complex family issues.
• Written and verbal communication skills and a high degree of personal IT competency. The ability to accurately update and maintain records in a timely fashion and to work to deadlines for the submission of information.
• Experience of working with families displaying challenging behaviour in one or more of the following fields: social work; youth offending; substance misuse; probation; health; mental health, domestic abuse.
• Excellent team working and interpersonal skills, maintaining a highly cooperative approach to supporting colleagues in delivering service objectives.
• Ability to demonstrate effective interventions in enabling young people and adults to improve their life skills/opportunities.

What we will give to you:

• 25 days of annual leave, plus bank holidays. Additionally, you'll receive one extra day of annual leave for each year of service during your first five years, therefore you will enjoy 30 days of leave after five years with us
• Paid ‘Wellness’ hour each week along with a ‘Wellness’ hub and Employee Assist Programme
• Contributory pension scheme
• A great selection of benefits incl. discounts for shopping, cinema, holidays, etc.
• A friendly and supportive team
• Training, career development & progression opportunities

Please ensure that when completing your application form and supporting statement, you reflect on the details outlined in the job description. This will help us understand how your skills and experiences align with the requirements of the role.

If this sounds like you and you’d like to begin your journey with Change Grow Live, then we’d love to talk to you

Full-time hours at Change Grow Live are 37.5 hours per week. For part-time roles, the salary and payments will be pro rata based on contracted hours.

If you require sponsorship, please note that this role is not eligible for a Health and Care Worker visa. You may be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route but must meet the minimum salary requirements for the role. You can find out more here Skilled Worker visa: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)