Family Worker

Location: The base location will be Better Days Bolton, Queen Street, Bolton, BL1 1SX, however there will be a requirement for outreach work.

Working Hours: 37 hours per week, Monday-Friday which may include evening shifts where required.

Contract Type: Permanent

Salary: £25,877.80 - £34,240 per annum. Please note: The salary listed reflects the full earning potential for this role. Starting salaries depend on experience and progression within the band.

About Waythrough: Waythrough was formed in 2024 following the merger of Humankind and Richmond Fellowship. Together, we’ve created one of the largest mental health and social support charities in England. Every year, we support around 125,000 people through nearly 200 services and it’s all made possible by our 3,500 brilliant staff and volunteers.

Make a real difference in your community: Are you passionate about helping others live safer, healthier, more independent lives? Join our team at Waythrough and support people facing challenges around mental health, substance use, housing or domestic abuse. This is more than just a job; it’s a chance to build meaningful relationships and create lasting change.

Description of the Service: Better Days Bolton delivers structured, evidence-based support for individuals experiencing difficulties related to drug and alcohol use. The service provides confidential assessment, treatment, and recovery interventions, delivered in line with national guidance and best practice. Working in partnership with health, social care, and community organisations, the service aims to improve health outcomes, reduce harm, and support sustained recovery for individuals and families within the Bolton area.

About the role: To provide targeted and specialist interventions based on the whole family approach to parents, carers & families who have been affected by drug or alcohol use, improving parenting skills, and strengthening relationships within the family.

• To deliver a range of high quality direct and indirect services to support the needs of parents, carers and families in relation to problematic substance use and recovery, through assessments, group work facilitation, recovery planning, case management and one to one interventions.
• To support the service in delivering interventions to families and manage a caseload of own families/carers.
• Manage a caseload of families, devising, implementing and reviewing ongoing support plans, liaising closely with the full range of workers and skills within the service team, including family members and significant others as appropriate.
• Build a relationship with each family member based on trust and respect, modelling effective communication and persistent support.
• Work restoratively with the family to support and challenge them towards reaching the planned goals.
• Work closely with colleagues across Bolton system to ensure identification of appropriate parents and families for Family Work.
• Work collaboratively with external partner agencies to undertake shared assessments, key working and interventions to promote individual service user progression from engagement, through structured treatment to self-sustained recovery.
• To work alongside other key agencies to identify and support children, young people and families such as learning mentors, outreach workers, health visitors, social workers.
• Plan appropriate exits with the family, ensuring ongoing support from relevant services if needed.
• Facilitate service user access to treatment and community resources to increase recovery and social capital, supporting service users and their families within their local community.
• To provide a range of support to adults and families utilising therapeutic interventions, group work, outreach methods, conducting home visits and working in communities.
• Work closely and collaboratively within the multi-disciplinary team across the service and externally, providing advice and reports/information to managers and other colleagues, through attendance at reviews, team meetings, supervision and via telephone conversations.
• Improve outcomes for families of services users by reducing the impact of drug and alcohol related harm on family life and promote positive family involvement in recovery.
• Develop and deliver quality programmes and packages of work/psychosocial interventions that meet local need across both group work and a one-to-one format that engage and maintain positive working relationships within families.
• Ensure that all children’s and adults safeguarding issues are dealt with in line with Bolton Council and Waythrough’s safeguarding policies and procedures.
• Identify and prevent potential harm to service users and others by following local and organisational safeguarding guidelines, including referral to and engagement with relevant safeguarding authorities.
• To ensure that children and young people and their families are fully involved in and consulted about the services work and to support them in representing their views.

About you:

Essential criteria:

• NVQ Level 3 in Health & Social Care (or above or equivalent) or willing to work towards this in post.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office programmes.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and use appropriate discretion to manage sensitive issues and information.
• Good communication skills e.g. active listening, identifying key messages, negotiating, problem solving, ability to challenge appropriately.
• Understanding of and ability to implement interventions based on a whole family approach, including brief interventions MI, PSIs, CBT and ITEP.
• Experience working with best practice frameworks e.g. NICE, DOH, NTA, NMC, Care Quality Commission & Caldicott Standards.
• Experience of working with complex and challenging families in a similar area of work, i.e. intensive family support, targeted youth work, substance misuse, criminal justice, housing, employment, mental health etc.
• Understanding of the pressures of parenting and knowledge and experience of appropriate interventions.
• Able to identify and respond to risk of harm to children or vulnerable adults and knowledge of child protection and adult safeguarding policies and procedures.

Desirable criteria:

• Relevant Professional Qualification for the post (i.e. Children & Young Peoples Workforce Diploma Level 3, NVQ 3/4 or BA in Health & Social Care: Childrens Pathway, NVQ 3/4 Working with Parents, BA Youth & Community Services; BA Social Work or equivalent).
• Experience of using Management Information Systems and social media networks.
• Driving licence and access to a vehicle.

What We Offer: We value the people who make a difference every day. Alongside meaningful work, you’ll enjoy a comprehensive benefits package:

• 27 days annual leave, rising to 32 after 1 year (plus bank holidays)
• Pension scheme with 4.5% employer contribution, matched up to 6.5%
• Life assurance (3 annual salary)
• Enhanced sick pay and family-friendly pay
• Birthday leave and the option to buy up to 5 extra days annual leave
• Professional fee reimbursement for relevant qualifications
• 24/7 online GP access and Employee Assistance Programme
• Recognition and long service awards via our Way to Go and Aspirations portals
• £500 Recommend a Friend bonus
• Cycle to Work scheme and Credit Union membership
• Discounts via Blue Light Card, Charity Discounts, Extras and Tickets for Good
• Free will writing service and wellbeing initiatives throughout the year

Inclusion and accessibility: Waythrough is proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and communities, especially those with lived experience of the issues we support. We have signed up to the Disability Confident Scheme - all applicants are welcome, and adjustments can be made to enable fair participation.