Drug & Alcohol Partnership Manager in Taunton

Salary: £33,416 - £36,913 per annum for 29.6 hours per week.

Role Summary

You’ll lead on the development, coordination and delivery of Somerset’s Strategic Drugs and Alcohol Partnership. You’ll be working on the national “Harm to Hope” strategy, effectively translating this into local action. You will provide expert leadership to strengthen multi-agency collaboration, influence policy and guide the development of key strategies. In doing this, you will play a key part in improving health outcomes and reducing health inequalities, some of our central purposes with Public Health. You’ll also be driving high quality partnership working by developing and delivering action plans, and optimising resources to secure effective and sustainable outcomes. You will be a key leader and influencer across Somerset’s public health landscape, fostering strong networks and ensuring coordinated efforts to reduce substance related harm.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development, agreement and delivery of Somerset’s Strategic Drugs and Alcohol Partnership, and the national Harm to Hope campaign, ensuring alignment with national and local priorities.
• Support the Drug and Alcohol Related Death process, enabling learning, prevention and continuous improvement across the system.
• Project manage the implementation of agreed partnership actions, producing timely local, regional and national reports demonstrating progress, impact and compliance.
• Identify opportunities for partnership improvement, including scoping, planning and managing complex change activities across multi-agency systems.
• Resolve complex partnership problems and conflicts, ensuring positive outcomes and effective delivery of action plans.
• Review performance outcomes, data and user feedback to ensure services meet population needs and inform continuous improvement across the programme of work.

Qualifications and Experience

• Strong understanding of national and local substance-misuse policy frameworks, including how national policies (such as Harm to Hope) translate into local partnership delivery.
• Comprehensive knowledge of multi-agency partnership systems, including how public health, local authorities, NHS bodies and policing structures collaborate to reduce substance-related harm.
• Detailed knowledge of using data and evidence to support public health and wider health and wellbeing interventions.
• Substantial managerial experience and skills gained at a senior level, including contributing to the corporate management of an organisation where required.
• Minimum of 2 years of experience in health promotion, public health or a similar field (e.g. health, education, care or a voluntary/community system).
• Significant understanding and experience of working with communities and advocacy.
• Significant knowledge and experience of the development, agreement and delivery of service plans.
• Demonstrable partnership working experience, including influencing and, where appropriate, leading multi-agency groups and projects to deliver services and initiatives.
• Sound understanding and practice of multi-disciplinary working.
• Experience of advocating for minority communities.
• Degree or equivalent professional qualification in a relevant field.
• Evidence of Continuous Professional Development.
• Ability to work to deadlines and to motivate others effectively, demonstrating a duty of care.
• Sound analysis and decision-making in dealing with complex service delivery and/or policy development matters.
• Demonstrable engagement with communities and customer feedback channels to shape and inform improved customer services.
• Experience of implementing equality and diversity measures in local commissioning and delivery of services.
• Track record of flexible use of financial and other resources (including the service commissioning framework and opportunities for other income streams) in the delivery of services on time and within budget.
• Sound understanding of using information and communication systems to inform operational decision making and recommendations/actions concerning service improvement.
• Significant experience of operating performance management and quality assurance models.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Competence with the basic Microsoft Office suite and the ability to self‑support and solve IT challenges.
• Experience working with clients who misuse substances (knowledge gained through practice).
• Experience with people who do not traditionally engage with statutory services, understanding barriers to engagement.
• Experience reviewing and preventing premature deaths.

Additional Information

This is a part-time position working 29.6 hours per week. Hybrid working is in place but you will need to be able to travel and work with partners across Somerset and occasionally attend regional or national meetings, and thus require independent means of travel. 30 days of annual leave (pro‑rata, additional to bank holidays). Regretfully, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role. We are only able to proceed with candidates who already have the right to work in the UK without the need for visa sponsorship. A full job description will be provided to shortlisted candidates or on request.