Recovery Worker

Job Introduction

Do you want to help build a brighter future for communities and individuals in Oldham & Rochdale doing a highly rewarding job. Turning Point’s drug & alcohol services are currently expanding during a really exciting time in the sector with new funding and investment. We have a range of roles for people passionate about supporting others to make change.

We have roles in different teams including:

• Community based treatment services: providing assessment, coordinating treatment and working partnership to support individuals. The roles include delivering structured psycho-social interventions in group and one to level to enable our service users to acquire thinking skills and behaviours to make lasting change.
• Homeless outreach provision: Targeting homeless individuals, offering a flexible and outreach response to highly vulnerable individuals sleeping rough or living in temporary accommodation
• Criminal Justice rehabilitation/recovery services: working closely with the Probation Services, Prisons and Police to provide a rapid, tailored response to individuals that support their recovery and rehabilitation

You will have opportunities to progress your career with a structured learning journey and clearly defined career pathways that will enable you to achieve your long-term goals and work to your strengths.

Whether you are looking to progress into a management and leadership role or to be a specialist in your field as an Advanced Substance Use Practitioner at Turning point we will support and encourage you on your career journey.

Role Responsibility

Recovery Workers act as key workers to a caseload of individuals experiencing substance and alcohol use issues, many of whom may also be facing homelessness, rough sleeping, poor physical and mental health, social exclusion, and multiple disadvantage. The role involves supporting service users to identify meaningful recovery goals and developing personalised recovery plans that promote stability, independence, and improved wellbeing.

A key element of this role is the provision of homeless outreach services, proactively engaging with individuals who are sleeping rough, street homeless, sofa surfing, or living in temporary accommodation. This requires a flexible, persistent, and assertive outreach approach, meeting individuals where they are and building trusting relationships with some of the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach members of our community.

The role includes maintaining regular contact with service users through outreach, community-based appointments, and office-based interventions. Recovery Workers provide advice, information, harm reduction interventions, psychosocial support, assessments, risk management planning, and recovery-focused interventions. They work closely with clinical teams regarding prescribing needs and collaborate with housing providers, homelessness services, mental health teams, health professionals, local authorities, criminal justice partners, and other community agencies to ensure individuals receive coordinated and holistic support.

You will be expected to advocate for service users, challenge barriers to service access, and support individuals to engage with treatment, healthcare, housing, and wider support services. No two days are the same, and the role requires strong communication skills, resilience, effective time management, and the ability to respond dynamically to changing risks and priorities.

Whether you have lived experience of substance use, mental health difficulties, or homelessness (personally or through a significant other), experience working in health and social care, housing, or homelessness services, or simply a passion for supporting people facing multiple disadvantage, we welcome individuals who share Turning Point's values and commitment to recovery.

The Ideal Candidate

You will have an understanding of substance and alcohol use, recovery principles, and the challenges faced by individuals affected by homelessness, mental ill-health, trauma, social exclusion, and multiple complex needs. Experience working within homelessness, supported housing, mental health, social care, criminal justice, or community support services would be advantageous, although transferable skills from other sectors will also be considered.

You will be confident engaging with vulnerable individuals in a variety of settings, including street outreach locations, hostels, temporary accommodation, community venues, and treatment services. You will demonstrate an ability to build positive relationships with people who may have experienced long periods of homelessness, trauma, disengagement from services, or repeated setbacks in their recovery journey.

The successful candidate will possess:

• Experience of, or interest in, supporting individuals experiencing homelessness, substance use, and complex needs.
• An understanding of trauma-informed, person-centred, and strengths-based approaches.
• Strong communication and engagement skills, with the ability to motivate and support positive change.
• The ability to work independently in community and outreach settings while managing competing priorities.
• Knowledge of relapse prevention, harm reduction, safeguarding, risk management, and barriers to recovery.
• The ability to build effective partnerships with housing, health, social care, and community organisations.
• A commitment to promoting social inclusion, reducing health inequalities, and supporting individuals to achieve sustainable recovery.

We value creativity, initiative, and innovative thinking. Recovery Workers are encouraged to identify opportunities to improve service delivery and the experience of people who use our services. You will be supported through extensive training, professional development opportunities, and a strong learning culture that promotes continuous improvement, evidence-based practice, and excellence in supporting individuals facing homelessness and substance use challenges.

About us

As a leading health and social care provider with more than 300 locations across England, we take real pride in the services we offer.

We run all of our services on a not-for-profit basis; instead, we invest every penny back into our services and people. We never stop believing in change for the better, and we work constantly to improve the lives of the people we support.

What Benefits Will I Receive?

We know reward looks different to each person and so whether its ways to make your money go further, a culture supporting recognition and celebration, or opportunities to boost your career – we want to support you in every way we can with our total reward package that includes:

25 days’ paid holiday a year + Bank Holidays, increasing with each year of service up to 27 days + Bank Holidays. Plus the option to buy additional holidays and spread the cost.

Join our team and discover the comprehensive benefits we offer by following this link to explore all the exciting perks available to our employees.

We reserve the right to close this advert early if we are able to appoint to the vacancy before the advertised closed date.

Turning Point

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