Job TitleReferral Adviser – Community outreach
TeamDAAT Referral service
SalaryNJC Scp 18 - 23 (currently £21,119-£24,254 per annum inclusive ILW (Pro rata salary £15,688.40-£18017 per annum inclusive of ILW
Contract TermPermanent
Accountable to:Operations manager at MITHN and Senior referral adviser at Providence Row
Location:Mind in Tower Hamlets and Newham and Providence Row, Dellow Centre
Hours: P/T 26 hours (worked over 4 days)
Background
The Referral Service is a new initiative, led by Providence Row, working with Mind in Tower Hamlets and Newham (MiTHN)and Thames Reach. The service fits into a suite of three new contracts issued by the Tower Hamlets Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT) which includes Referral; Treatment and Recovery. All three commissioned services are expected to work closely together, providing a seamless experience for clients under commonly adopted DAAT branding.
The Referral Service overview
The Referral Service staffing model
Management Structure
The service as a whole will have a partnership steering group comprised of the three organisations (MITHN, Providence Row and Thames Reach) and, if possible, a representative from the other two DAAT commissioned services (Treatment and Recovery). This will meet quarterly and has an agreed Terms of Reference.
The Referral Advisor (Community Outreach) role is overseen by Providence Row. The Senior Referral Advisor (Providence Row) will provide supervision for service delivery and day to day operations. The Referral Advisor role will be employed by MITHN. The Operational Manager (MITHN) will provide supervision for day to day management of employment issues, time keeping, sickness, annual leave, training etc.
The Senior Referral Advisor and Operational Manager are accountable to the Referral Service Steering Group and both the CEOs of Providence Row and MITHN.
1. Overall Purpose of Post
The Referral Service has the following objectives:
- Providing targeted advice, information and outreach to encourage people into treatment services from hard to reach groups including those who may be treatment resistant.
- Inform those individuals about the risks associated with drugs/alcohol, to reduce or eliminate risks and help them to improve their situation.
- Deliver street outreach to those individuals with chaotic drug and/or alcohol use who are not willing or able to access structured treatment interventions.
- Participate in marketing and promotional activities to ensure there is good coverage and understanding of substance misuse services
- Ensure there is appropriate signposting to other support services where an individual with problematic drug and/or alcohol use does not engage with the service
2The ideal candidate
You must be passionate about providing quality support to some of the most vulnerable and excluded people in East London. You have the drive and track record to make positive lasting changes in people’s lives. You have considerable experience of working with hard to reach communities to identify and address substance misuse, particularly in situations where stigma is a major barrier. You are an excellent communicator and can create positive working relationships with a wide range of people. You have an interest in using professional marketing principles in a health and social care setting. You are creative, innovative and well organised.
3The role
- Develop and deliver community outreach to encourage people to access treatment
- Provide 1:1 support to encourage people to access treatment services
- Support the delivery of the Referral Service at its main hub at Providence Row
- Promote drug and alcohol treatment services
- Participate in planning, monitoring and evaluation to ensure excellent service delivery
3.1Develop and deliver community outreach (40%)
- Deliver community outreach from 3 satellite sites, including assessments, 1:1 support and group work (including some evenings and weekends).
- Act as the main operational lead to ensure that there is strong joint working between Providence Row and MiTHN.
- Deliver flexible group work to prepare clients for treatment.
- Deliver briefing sessions to a wide audience (e.g. community workers and faith leaders), to identify signs of substance misuseand encourage access to treatment.
- Participate in the Referral Service’s rota to provide street outreach and a mobile needle exchange alongside existing services e.g. the Street Outreach Team.
3.2Provide 1:1 support to encourage people to access treatment services (25%)
- Taking a strengths based, personalised approach, provide 1:1 support to include:
- Assessment and risk assessment
- Motivational, solution focused action planning
- Brief interventions and information about treatment and recovery options
- Provide harm minimisation and information about health issues associated with substance misuse, including access to blood born virus testing and sexual health.
- Secure additional help such as GP registration, mental health support and engagement in other Providence Row, MiTHN and Thames Reach services.
- Signpost clients who are not yet willing to access treatment or have no local connection.
- Engage with families of clients to build relationships in their local communities.
- Use and monitor the effectiveness of a small incentives reward scheme (in-kind gifts) and use of a small personalisation budget for clients.
- Use an informal texting service to keep clients engaged in services.
3.3Support the delivery of the service at Providence Row’sDellow Centre (10%)
- Participate in the needle exchange rota to attract clients into the service.
- Encourage use of the low threshold services provided at Providence Row (breakfast, showers, etc) by treatment resistant clients to maintain engagement.
- Deliver “meet up” events for a wide range of community agencies to encourage them to use the Referral Service.
3.4Promote drug and alcohol treatment services (10%)
- Participate in the production of a marketing plan, including working with pro-bono marketing specialists, Providence Row’s Marketing Manager and peer mentors.
- Use promotional materials to encourage community organisations to recognise and support referral to the service – for example Mosques, community centres, parents groups, education centres, housing providers etc.
- Support the creation of marketing materials, working within the agreed DAAT brand.
- Participate in community networking and forums, to ensure the service is well informed and up to date.
- Keep abreast of changes in substance misuse trends in the borough and feed this into marketing plans and reviews of the service priorities.
3.5Participate in planning, monitoring and evaluation (10%)
- Manage cases using systems which are consistent with allLBTH DAAT services.
- Record all client contact, service delivery and outcomes based on the contract key performance indicators, reflecting on performance with the team.
- Provide reports to service managers to show progress against commissioned outcomes.
- Work to all relevant policies and procedures associated with the safe and effective delivery of the Referral Service including, in particular, safeguarding.
- Support the creation and implementation of a plan for client engagement including peer mentoring.
- Assist with the recruitment, training and supervision of volunteers from the local community and peer mentors with lived experience of substance misuse.
Other Duties (5%)
- Participate in the production and implementation of the Referral Service Team Plan and resulting personal objectives.
- Take on occasional tasks as agreed with the Senior Referral Advisor
- Work in accordance with all Referral Service Partners values, policies & procedures.
- Undertake necessary induction and training to enhance personal development
- Other duties consistent with this post
This job will also be reviewed periodically with the aim to reach agreement on changes, but if agreement is not possible we reserve the right to change the job description
October 2016
Person specification – Referral Adviser (Community Outreach)
Knowledge and Experience- Experience of engaging with hard to reach communities and establishing trust
- A strong understanding of the local community, cultural diversity and the need to adapt services in order to enable equality of access to services.
- Experience/knowledge of working within a multi-disciplinary environment and ability to develop good partnerships
- Experience of engaging clients in designing, delivering and evaluating services
- Experience of solution focused 1:1 keyworking and use of psycho-social approaches
- Experience of facilitating and running group sessions
- Experience of delivering presentations and training to a range of audiences
- Knowledge of substance misuse issues and relevant services in the area
- Knowledge and experience of working with dual diagnosis (mental health), complex issues and those who may be treatment resistant,
- Good IT skills, including databases and use of mobile and remote technology
- Strong commitment to and experience of monitoring and evaluation, including data collection, analysis and report writing.
- Experience of recruiting and supervising volunteers including those with lived experience of substance misuse.
Attributes
- Strong organisational skills
- The ability to work with a very wide range of people regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, faith, sexuality or physical disability.
- The ability to work in partnership, including compromise and collaboration
- Able to work unsociable hours such as early mornings and late evenings
- Flexible and with a “can do” attitude
- Able to work to the core values of MiTHN, Thames Reach and Providence Row
- Ability to work independently as well as within a team environment
Qualifications
- NVQ Health and Social Care level 3 or equivalent (DANOS), or be prepared to work towards achieving a relevant qualification
Referral Adviser (Community Outreach) Job Description and Person Specification