Children and Families Worker in Gateshead

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.

An exciting vacancy has arisen to join the dynamic and innovative Young People’s team at Gateshead Recovery Service in the role of Children and Families Worker. The primary focus of this role is to work with children and young people who are impacted by a family member’s substance misuse by delivering a programme of brief interventions via one to one sessions with the aim of building resilience and minimising the impact of parental substance misuse. The role includes developing and delivering group work packages, providing brief support and advice to parents, carers and partner agencies as well as delivering specialist training to professionals.

In order to undertake the role, the successful applicant will possess excellent engagement skills alongside the ability to work in partnership with other services. The candidate will have experience and knowledge of working with children and young people and an understanding of issues facing those affected by someone else’s drug and alcohol use.

Responsibilities

• To holistically support Children & Young People affected by familial substance use, using a range of interventions including group work and 1:1 work.
• In collaboration with our adult service provide whole family interventions, safety planning and safeguarding working closely and proactively with the family unit to support positive and sustainable outcomes.
• Identify families in conjunction with other agencies, who will benefit from a Think Family / Whole family approach, negotiating participation and engagement with the programme of care.
• Identifying and responding effectively to potential safeguarding issues.
• Reducing drug and alcohol related harm to young people and the wider community.
• Working with young people to support positive, holistic outcomes in relation to their health and wellbeing, enabling them to lead safe, healthy, and purposeful lives: reducing risk and increasing resilience.
• Working flexibly across sites and in the community where required.

About you:

• Experience of working with young people and knowledge of the issues they face.
• Knowledge of safeguarding concerns in relation to children and young people and the Gillick Competence framework.
• Have an excellent understanding of drug and alcohol issues and experience of working within a related field.
• Knowledge of working with evidence-based practice around young people’s substance misuse treatment services and methods, including relevant best practice guidance.
• An accomplished communicator, both verbal and written with a high degree of personal IT competency.
• Be able to accurately update and maintain records and to work to deadlines for the submission of information, e.g. reports.
• Have excellent team working and interpersonal skills, maintaining a highly cooperative approach to supporting colleagues in delivering service objectives.

What We Offer

• Enjoy a dedicated weekly Wellness Hour, access to our Wellness Hub, and a comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme to support your mental and emotional health.
• We’re committed to your development, with extensive training, funded learning, and pathways into senior or specialist roles.
• Benefit from transparent pay, a contributory pension scheme, and additional support through our wellbeing resources.
• Start with 25 days of annual leave plus bank holidays (pro rata), increasing to the maximum 30 days over five years of service.
• Join a supportive, values-led team where you’ll feel encouraged and valued from your very first day.
• Where possible, we’re open to discussing working patterns that help you maintain a healthy work–life balance.
• Enjoy discounts on shopping, cinema trips, holidays and more, along with our Refer a Friend scheme.

This role will also require the successful candidate to have a good working knowledge and understanding of safeguarding concerns in relation to children and young people. CGL are committed to creating an inclusive environment, which celebrates difference and allows our staff and service users to flourish. We recruit the very best staff from a wide range of backgrounds, ensuring service users benefit from our diverse skills and expertise. We always work to the principles of fairness and equality of opportunity in all our recruitment processes. We also expect an assertive approach to ensuring the safety and well-being of all children, young people and adults, and applicants to these posts will need to demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to best safeguarding practice.

Please ensure that when completing your personal statement, that you reference the criteria within the person specification. Direct applications only; we will not be engaging agencies for this vacancy. Please note: This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Applicants must already have the right to work in the UK at the time of application. For applicants with time-limited visas, unfortunately, we are unable to support new visa applications or extensions. We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if we receive a high number of applications, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.