The role
About Southwark:
We are the largest local authority social landlord in London, managing 55,000 homes lived in by 40% of Southwark’s residents. We are home to over 18,300 businesses including iconic London venues and social enterprises and we have a young, diverse and growing population.
At Southwark we are committed to making our borough just and fair and are taking positive action to tackle inequalities. Our residents and communities are our greatest asset and the passion we have for Southwark is shared by millions of Londoners who enjoy our outstanding cultural offer, use our hospitals and attend our universities. Our refreshed borough plan and focus on Southwark Stands Together, (which is our work with Southwark’s communities and the council’s staff to tackle racism, injustice and inequality) underpins all that we do.
About the role:
Are you passionate about making a meaningful impact on the lives of rough sleepers struggling with drug and alcohol issues? If so, we have the perfect opportunity for you!
Join us in an exciting and rewarding role in the substance misuse field, inspired by the UK Government's groundbreaking Drug Strategy published in December 2021. This comprehensive strategy unites government agencies and public services in a collective effort to combat illegal drug use, mitigate its harms, and reduce demand. Be part of a dynamic team dedicated to turning this vision into reality and creating lasting change in our communities.
This fixed term role has arisen from the Department of Health and Social Care’s three year Supplementary Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery Grant award to the council until 31 March 2025. The role may be extended further, subject to external confirmation of grant award.
As a vital member of our dedicated team, you will work closely with the Unit Manager to address a range of priority drug and alcohol themes, adapting to evolving needs over time. For 2024-25, your focus will include enhancing the borough’s criminal justice substance misuse pathway, leading efforts to improve continuity of care from prison substance misuse treatment to community treatment services in Southwark, and addressing substance misuse among children and young people.
About the Team:
The role is based within the council's Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT), part of the Children and Adult Services' Joint Commissioning Team.
The DAAT has close links with community safety and public health. It is responsible for the full commissioning cycle of Public Health funded drug and alcohol treatment services for Southwark residents of all ages, as well as leading the commissioning of street outreach services for rough sleepers. Additionally, the team provides leadership for the borough's Combatting Drugs Partnership to facilitate the implementation of the HM Government Drug Strategy at a local level.
About You:
You will have proven experience of successful commissioning and partnership working across organisational boundaries to improve outcomes for a range of people of all ages. You will also have experience of coordination and planning to support partnership wide comprehensive assessment of need, strategic planning, and the implementation of partnership plans.
Additional details
- Full time (36 hours per week); fixed term until 31 March 2025.
- There will be a requirement to attend the team’s base at the council’s Tooley Street offices in line with business need.
- The post-holder will hold a relevant professional degree or qualification in an appropriate discipline, or recent and relevant experience of an equivalent standard
We will only consider applications from internal candidates, that are current employees or agency workers on an active assignment. We encourage any internal staff to to gain agreement from their substantive line manager if considering this is as a secondment opportunity.
This post requires a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) DBS check at Basic level.
The post may also require additional police/security checks to access some data. An inability to gain this clearance, or a loss thereof, will result in removal from the work place activity pending appeal and may lead to dismissal if security clearance of the required levels is unable to be confirmed.
This post is classified as political restricted under the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.
Benefits and more information:
In your role, we want you to feel supported, challenged and rewarded. You will benefit from our family-friendly policies including flexible working, home working, and a local government pension scheme, plus many other staff benefits. You will join a motivated, driven and supportive team that strives for excellence and values its members. You will also be part of a successful and high-achieving development team that is making a real difference to the lives of residents in the borough. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our Staff Benefits page.
Recruitment timetable
- Advert Closing Date: 11:59pm on the 31 May 2024
- Shortlisting Date: Week commencing 3 June 2024
- Interview Date: Week commencing 17 June 2024
Guaranteed Interview Scheme:
As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:
• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care, or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition
SWCINT
We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together programme. We particularly welcome applications from members of the Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.
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