Job Description
Substance Misuse Worker (Short Term Service – Families First Team)
Full time/Fixed term – Secondment for 12 months
PO1: £43,308pa rising in annual increments to £45,852pa incl. LW
About Us
Located in the heart of South London, Lambeth Borough is a vibrant community of over 317,600 residents. Stretching from the dynamic neighbourhood of Streatham in the South to the iconic landmarks of Waterloo in the North, we are proud to be the 9th largest borough in London. Our diversity is our strength, with more than 130 languages spoken, making Lambeth the home of the Windrush generation, London's largest LGBTQ+ community, and a thriving Portuguese-speaking community.
It is an exciting time to join Lambeth Council, we have bold ambitions for the future of Lambeth’s communities and residents through our Lambeth 2030 Plan ‘Our Future, Our Lambeth.’
With exceptional schools, lush green spaces including Brockwell Park, cultural gems like the Black Cultural Archives, and world-renowned institutions such as St Thomas's Hospital, Lambeth offers an enriching and dynamic environment.
Please have a look at our dedicated One Lambeth Values and Behaviours page.
About the Team
The Short Term Service (STS) is an innovative, multi-agency pilot at the front door of children’s services, designed to help families earlier, make better decisions faster, and prevent unnecessary escalation into statutory intervention.
Operating as a time-limited, 10-working-day assessment and brief intervention model, STS brings together social care professionals and embedded specialists to rapidly understand risk, need and family context, and take purposeful action.
This is a small, high-impact, multidisciplinary team working alongside the Initial Response Hub/MASH.
Our approach is:
- Child-centred and safeguarding-led
- Evidence-informed and analytically robust
- Multi-agency from day one
Following a time-limited assessment and brief intervention, the team will support clear, confident decisions to:
- Step families down to early help or community support
- Close cases where needs are met
- Escalate appropriately where risks require statutory intervention
STS is a focused, action-oriented service designed to reduce drift, improve family experience, and strengthen decision-making at the earliest point.
This is a 12-month pilot with strong senior sponsorship and real opportunity to shape system change, working at the heart of front-door transformation.
About the Role
Substance Misuse is a factor which impacts stability, safety and family functioning. You can help change that.
Join the Short Term Service as our Substance Misuse Worker, providing rapid, targeted input during the 10-day assessment and brief intervention window.
What you will do
- Provide rapid triage, harm reduction, and brief interventions.
- Work with parents and young people to reduce risk and improve stability.
- Feed into risk assessments, safety planning, and STS multiagency panels.
- Connect families quickly to treatment pathways.
What we are looking for
- Experience in substance misuse support, harm reduction, or community treatment.
- Strong motivational and engagement skills.
- Ability to work in a fast‑paced, collaborative environment.
Advert closing date
11:59pm on 20 th of September 2026
Contact Information
For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Johanna Weston, jweston@lambeth.gov.uk.
At Lambeth, we are dedicated to providing quality services and equal opportunities for all.
We are committed to safer recruitment and are proud to be a Stonewall diversity champion, a Living Wage Employer, and to guarantee interviews for all disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria of the role.
For a full list of our accreditations, please click here.
You will be required to undertake a Cifas check. Further information about Cifas can be found here Cifas.
Successful candidates will be asked to apply for an Enhanced Certificate from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Further information about the DBS can be found at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/agencies-public-bodies/dbs.
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Substance Misuse Worker (Family Support Service) employer: London Borough of Lambeth
The London Borough of Lambeth is an exceptional employer, dedicated to fostering a supportive and collaborative work culture that prioritises the well-being and professional growth of its employees. With a focus on driving practice excellence in Children’s Social Care, staff are provided with ample opportunities for development through training and multi-agency collaboration, all while contributing to meaningful outcomes for the community. Located in vibrant London, employees enjoy a dynamic environment that encourages innovation and engagement.
