Harm Reduction Lead in Manchester

Believe in People? The best people have one thing in common. They care. At Change Grow Live, our commitment to making a difference in the lives of our Service Users is unwavering. We provide support, respect, and a safe environment, tailoring our approach to each individual's needs to find the best treatment and support options. Guided by our core values of being open, being compassionate, and being bold, our team embodies these principles daily, striving to empower individuals to reshape their lives, foster personal growth, and embrace life to its fullest.

Are you wanting to develop your career and make a difference to the lives of people in Manchester? Do you want to use your expert Harm Minimisation knowledge to ensure that everyone has the right information to make informed choices? If so, join our vibrant and passionate team in Manchester as our Harm Reduction Lead.

Location: Manchester
Hours: Full-time (37.5 hours per week)
Contract Type: Permanent

The postholder will lead the harm reduction offer across the service, working with a range of internal and external stakeholders to ensure both the ethos and the evidence base of harm reduction informs all aspects of service delivery. The postholder will champion an organisational and wider systems culture which believes in people who use drugs and alcohol, giving them the respect and freedom of choice to improve their health and wellbeing.

Key activities include:

• To maintain an awareness of, implement, maintain, and evaluate effective Health Promotion and Harm Reduction strategies and programmes related to individuals, communities and organisations that work with individuals with drug and/or alcohol use disorders.
• To be responsible for delivery of the Needle and Syringe Programme provision in the area, ensuring colleagues are trained and competent, as well as appropriate advice and equipment is provided in all needle exchange locations.
• Encourage the return of used equipment to reduce associated harms to individuals and impact on the communities.
• Ensure effective provision via Pharmacies and promote NSP Direct.
• To maintain a current knowledge of appropriate and evidence-based harm reduction interventions.
• To monitor local intelligence around overdose and changes in drug trends, creating drug alerts as needed and feeding into LDIS systems locally and nationally.
• To lead the service Naloxone provision, including Naloxone Champions and stakeholder training, stock management, and leading on peer to peer Naloxone distribution.
• To liaise with wider teams ensuring provision of BBV testing, vaccination and treatment is available to all including those only accessing needle exchange services.
• To engage with people who use drugs or alcohol to ensure the service continues to offer the appropriate levels of quality harm minimisation advice, building in feedback to shape and enhance the service offer.
• To lead on the service offer for people who use Image and Performance Enhancing Drugs (IPED’s) ensuring access to both equipment and advice is available and delivered to high standards.
• To work with internal and external partners to develop resources, participate in, and where possible lead on research into areas of harm reduction which would benefit service users and wider communities.
• To reduce drug related harm to the individual and wider community, including reducing harms associated with use of substances across the life course whilst improving wellbeing by tapping into, and facilitating access into, community and specialist resources available.
• To oversee the delivery of harm reduction education, awareness and prevention training within service and ensure a bespoke offer is available to external partners and community members.
• To oversee the design and delivery of wider drug and alcohol training to colleagues, providing refresher sessions and updates as appropriate.
• To lead on the delivery of training and awareness raising of drug and alcohol and wider health issues to external system partners, developing bespoke training to meet the needs of each stakeholder.
• To lead on the development of new, evidenced based resources to educate on emerging trends and raise awareness of risks or harms.
• To lead the development and production of alcohol and drug-related resources for service users and people not in service to reduce harm, raise awareness and promote services, liaising closely with internal and external partners to share wider messages.

Leadership responsibilities include:

• To provide leadership within the service, including providing support, coaching and teaching to staff working in the service around harm reduction and areas of specialist knowledge, covering both drug and alcohol service users.
• To provide operational line management of a team of staff which includes supervision (with reflective practice), appraisal, performance and sickness management as well as ensuring staff follow CGL and external policies applicable to their roles.
• To ensure quality of service delivery through data analysis and engaging staff in service quality improvement planning.
• Where necessary, create team and individual performance plans to improve quality and performance.

About You:

• Understanding of current developments and priorities in substance misuse policy at a national and local level.
• Significant knowledge of harm reduction and health promotion interventions relating to drug and alcohol use.
• Relevant recent experience of working within drug and alcohol treatment delivering harm reduction advice and guidance to colleagues and wider communities.
• In depth knowledge of needle exchange provision including harm minimization, appropriate equipment and safer injecting techniques.
• In depth knowledge and experience of working with IPED users providing advice and guidance and seeking feedback to shape service delivery.
• Significant experience of developing and delivering bespoke training and awareness raising packages for internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to build and maintain networks and effective working relationships with a full range of health professionals, statutory officers, and community/voluntary workers.
• Knowledge of the issues facing people who use drugs or alcohol including appropriate medical interventions, social care, and health issues.
• A clear understanding of the need for and ability to deliver quality services.
• Line management experience including coaching and staff development.

We offer:

• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Ongoing professional development and training.
• 25 days holiday pro rata (+ bank holidays), increasing by 1 day annually in the first five years.
• Wellness initiatives and employee assistance programs.
• Contributory pension scheme.
• Various discounts and benefits.
• Opportunities for career development and progression.

If you're prepared to advance your career and make a positive difference in the lives of people in Manchester, please ensure that when applying you either upload your CV or complete the application form, including the supporting statement. In this you’ll need to tell us how you meet each of the essential criteria in the job description in order to be shortlisted for interview. This will help us understand how your skills and experiences align with the requirements of the role.

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.