Group Programme Facilitator - HMP Brixton - Brixton in London

The Substance Misuse Service at HMP Brixton delivers psychosocial interventions within an integrated healthcare framework, working in partnership with healthcare and prison colleagues to support men with drug and alcohol-related needs. Our approach is recovery-orientated and trauma-informed, focusing on wellbeing, behaviour change and sustained recovery.

We are seeking a Therapeutic Group Programme Facilitator to lead the coordination and delivery of our structured therapeutic group programme, including Stepping Stones, SDTP and The Bridge. You will play a central role in supporting service users to engage in meaningful recovery pathways while ensuring the delivery of high-quality interventions. This is a unique, charitably funded role designed to strengthen recovery culture across the prison. You will contribute to expanding mutual aid activity and overseeing the involvement of lived experience volunteers, helping to create a supportive, peer-led recovery environment.

Working closely with the management team and wider multidisciplinary colleagues, you will oversee the day-to-day operational delivery of programmes and recovery activity, ensuring services are safe, effective, and compliant with organisational and prison standards.

Key responsibilities include:

• Coordinating and delivering structured therapeutic group programmes
• Managing referrals, assessments, admissions and programme timetables
• Co-facilitating group and 1:1 interventions aligned with programme models
• Supporting colleagues to deliver high-quality, consistent interventions
• Promoting clear recovery pathways, including mutual aid and peer support
• Leading the development of mutual aid and lived experience initiatives
• Coordinating and supporting lived experience volunteers and peer supporters
• Monitoring programme performance, attendance, outcomes and data reporting
• Building strong partnerships with prison, healthcare and external stakeholders
• Supporting service development through feedback, data and evaluation

About You

You are a passionate and motivated professional with experience in substance misuse services and a strong commitment to supporting recovery in a custodial setting. You bring both practical delivery skills and the ability to coordinate programmes effectively, ensuring high standards and meaningful outcomes for service users. You will be confident facilitating groups, delivering structured interventions, and using motivational techniques to engage individuals at different stages of change. You are also collaborative, organised, and able to build positive relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.

Essential experience and skills:

• Experience working within substance misuse services
• Experience delivering structured interventions to service users
• Strong group facilitation skills
• Experience using motivational interviewing in 1:1 and group settings
• Commitment to promoting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
• Strong IT skills to support programme coordination and reporting

Desirable:

• Experience coordinating group programmes and managing timetables

You will also demonstrate:

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• The ability to motivate and support both service users and peers
• Strong organisational and problem-solving abilities
• A flexible approach to working hours, including evenings and weekends

About Us

We are The Forward Trust, the social enterprise with charitable status that empowers people to break the often interlinked cycles of crime and addiction to move forward with their lives. For more than 25 years we have been working with people to build positive and productive lives, whatever their past. We believe that anyone is capable of lasting change. Our services have supported thousands of people to make positive changes and build productive lives with a job, family, friends and a sense of community. We are committed to our cause and the work we carry out as a charity. Equally the wellbeing and the employees who work for us are also important.

Joining us as an employee, we will offer you the following benefits:

• Flexible working
• Training and development opportunities
• Simply Health Cashback Scheme (optional)
• Season Ticket Loan Scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Crisis Loan Scheme
• Electric Car Scheme
• 3 x Wellbeing Days (pro rata'd for part time employees)
• Access to Blue Light Card
• 25 days (rising to 30 with length of service) Annual Leave plus Bank Holidays
• Contributory Pension Scheme – Employer matched contributions of up to 6% in the first two years’ service and up to 9% thereafter
• Death in Service Payment (2x annual salary)
• Critical Illness Insurance (subject to qualifying criteria)

Please note that we may close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications.

Diversity at Forward Trust

The Forward Trust commits to providing opportunities to everyone. We want to ensure we have a diverse team with a range of lived and professional experiences. This includes those with ‘Lived Experience’ of addiction, offending, or homelessness. When we recruit, we welcome applications from everyone. This is inclusive of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion and/or belief, marriage and civil partnerships, pregnancy and maternity and socio-economic background. Where operationally possible, we will consider flexible working requests and make reasonable adjustments for all roles.

To find out more about Forward’s commitment to being an inclusive employer and our current EDI strategy click here.

We want our recruitment process to be accessible to everyone. If you require any reasonable adjustments at any stage, please let us know.

Employee Screening and Eligibility to Work

Dependent on role you may be required to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service Check, details of which will be shared with you at interview. If successful in your application, you will be required to provide eligibility to work evidence in line with the ‘Eligibility to Work in the UK’ requirements.

Our Commitment to Safeguarding

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and adults at risk. Forward Trust follow safer recruitment practices and support a culture of openness and accountability.