Engagement Recovery Worker

Engagement Recovery Worker

Location: Thurrock

Salary: £25,000 per annum

Vacancy Type: Permanent

About The Role

Are you passionate about supporting people affected by drug and alcohol use?

Do you have the empathy, resilience, and drive to help individuals take positive steps in their lives?

Join our dedicated Drug & Alcohol Service as an Engagement Recovery Worker and make a real difference across Thurrock. This is a full-time role (35 hours) with flexible outreach across the community, so you'll need to travel safely around Thurrock, ideally with access to a car.

About the Role

As an Engagement Worker, you will:

• Engage individuals early to reduce harm and help them access treatment and health interventions.
• Deliver brief, structured interventions for a range of substances including alcohol, opiates, cannabis, stimulants, NPS, and performance-enhancing drugs.
• Provide outreach across hostels, GP surgeries, community hubs, and public spaces.
• Offer harm reduction advice, including safer use information and overdose prevention.
• Collaborate with service users to develop strengths-based support plans and encourage recovery.
• Maintain professional boundaries, manage risk, and uphold safeguarding responsibilities.
• Work in partnership with local services to support coordinated, holistic care.

Who We're Looking For

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, including those with lived experience of recovery (used safely and professionally). You will bring:

• Compassion, resilience, and a non-judgmental approach.
• Experience supporting vulnerable adults or working in a community setting.
• Confidence engaging individuals who may be reluctant or ambivalent about support.
• Understanding of substance misuse, harm reduction, and safeguarding.
• Strong communication, organisational, and record-keeping skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.

You'll become part of a supportive, inclusive, and values-driven team, with opportunities for professional development, career progression, and specialist training in harm reduction, trauma-informed practice, and psychosocial interventions. Most importantly, you'll make a meaningful, lasting impact on individuals, families, and the wider Thurrock community.

If you're ready to help people on their recovery journey and thrive in a compassionate, forward-thinking environment, we want to hear from you!

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 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.

To Apply

If you feel you are a suitable candidate and would like to work for Forward Trust, please click apply to be redirected to our website to complete your application.