Job summary
Change Grow Live is one of the UKs leading health and social care charities and the Substance Misuse Nurse role is a varied one. You will be supporting people with multi-faceted issues related to the impact of substance use on their physical and mental health.

Nurses are an integral member of our multidisciplinary teams, offering specialist clinical interventions to people who use our services. Every person who comes into our service is treated as an individual, so understanding the importance of a whole person approach along with being curious, a good listener, a clinically robust practitioner and having a flexible approach are essential skills.

At Change Grow Live we want to support you to recognise and achieve your goals:

• We hold regular national nurse and HCA forums, and you will have regular 1:1s and appraisals
• We actively support our nurses to revalidate with protected continuing professional development time, which totals up to 6 days per year.
• We also have a wide range of educational opportunities including free access to the RCNi learning platform and we pay for your NMC fee
• We offer you the opportunity to use the government backed Apprenticeship Levy fund to develop nursing practice in line with your specific role
• All our staff are encouraged to take a wellbeing hour every week and access personal well-being resources

Main duties of the job

• Undertake physical and mental health assessments.
• Appropriately sign post/refer to primary/secondary health care services for identified health issues.
• Undertake alcohol assessments, using the outcome to determine safe detoxification.
• Undertake community alcohol detoxification at the service or at the service users home.
• Assist in the titration process for people using opioids.
• Support opioid detoxification in the community.
• Provide education, health promotion, screening for blood borne viruses (BBV). Provide Hepatitis A/B vaccinations.
• Work within & consolidate integrated care & treatment pathways for those identified as being infected with BBVs.
• Undertake phlebotomy, as required.
• Use blood results to support the assessment of the current health status of individuals, the need for specialist medical referral and the suitability for community detoxification.
• Where indicated, refer for specialist inpatient services and liaise with hospital and inpatient unit staff.
• Contribute to CGLs Naloxone Strategy by training staff and individuals who use our services in the use of naloxone.
• Be proficient in basic life support, defibrillation and managing a medical emergency.
• Understand and adhere to the legislation surrounding the use of patient group directions (PGDs).
• Provide line management/supervision/support to HCAs, student nurses & volunteers.

Role-specific responsibilities
Undertake physical and mental health assessments for people who access our services when indicated by clinical need and ensure appropriate sign posting/referral to primary care or appropriate secondary health care services for identified health issues.
Undertake assessments for all alcohol individuals who use our services as indicated in the Change Grow Live Alcohol Policy and Procedure, using the outcome to determine safe detoxification as required.
Assist in the titration process for opioid individuals who use our services as required by service need to ensure the service user achieves an optimum dose of opioid substitution therapy (OST). This process is supported by good communication to other team members, including community pharmacists.
Provide education, health promotion and screening for blood borne viruses (BBV). Provide Hepatitis A and or B vaccinations when indicated.
Work within and consolidate integrated care and treatment pathways for individuals who are identified as being infected with BBVs (Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and/or HIV).
Undertake community alcohol detoxification either at the service or at the service users home.
Support opioid detoxification in the community.
Undertake phlebotomy, as required, ensuring adherence to identified pathways for blood sample labelling, collection, obtaining results and signposting.
Use blood results to support the assessment of the current health status of individuals who use our services, the need for specialist medical referral and the suitability for community detoxification.
Where indicated, refer for specialist inpatient services (including detoxification) and liaise with hospital and inpatient unit staff.
Contribute to Change Grow Lives Naloxone Strategy by training staff and individuals who use our services in the use of naloxone. Ensuring naloxone is distributed to individuals who use our services at every opportunity.
Offer wound care assessment and basic wound dressing to individuals who use our services. Organise signposting to other services as required and ensure clear pathways into other treatment arenas as appropriate.
Have a demonstrable ability to manage emergency situations by being proficient in basic life support, defibrillation and managing a medical emergency e.g., anaphylaxis and overdose until the ambulance arrives.
Understand and adhere to the legislation surrounding the use of patient group directions (PGDs).
Utilise psychosocial intervention in both one-to-one and group settings to promote engagement in treatment services and ownership of recovery planning.

Communication
Develop therapeutic alliances with individuals who use our services and develop effective partnerships with them to support their individual recovery journeys, offering health promotion and harm reduction advice.
Ensure that there is good communication of treatments offered, treatment progress and outcome of any investigations to other healthcare agencies, including GPs.
Maintain a current knowledge of appropriate interventions. Ensure that all revalidation requirements are being met and communicated to line manager.
Develop and provide health education, regarding problematic alcohol and drug use and alcohol and drug detoxification.
Attend meetings appropriate to the development and maintenance of the role in agreement with and under the direction of the Lead/Cluster Lead Nurse.

Qualifications

• Essential: First level registered nurse and with a current PIN.
• Desirable: Trained in phlebotomy.
• Desirable: Qualification in substance misuse.

Experience

• Essential: A clear understanding of the need for and ability to deliver quality services.
• Essential: Sound and demonstrable knowledge of harm reduction and health promotion interventions.
• Essential: Ability to assess and co-produce recovery plans with the individual using our services, and formulate written reports, as necessary.
• Essential: Maintain professional boundaries and work effectively with partnership agencies.
• Essential: Communicate confidently and effectively, verbally and in writing.
• Essential: Respond flexibly to the demands of the post.
• Essential: Show a capacity to work alone and the ability to keep calm under pressure.
• Essential: Employ a professional, empathetic, and non-judgmental attitude towards individuals who use our services and all stakeholders.
• Essential: Show commitment to facilitating positive outcomes for individuals who use our services. Ability to travel between services.
• Essential: A commitment to engaging with, understanding, and promoting CGLs values and vision.
• Essential: An understanding of and commitment to safeguarding best practice.
• Essential: A responsibility for your own health, safety, and wellbeing as well as those around you.
• Essential: An understanding of, and commitment to, treating all information acquired through the course of your employment as confidential.
• Essential: An understanding of information governance processes and a commitment to follow and apply all necessary safeguards.
• Essential: A commitment to seek learning opportunities to improve and broaden your own professional knowledge and skills.
• Desirable: Relevant recent experience of working within drug and alcohol treatment.
• Desirable: Sound and demonstrable knowledge of clinical prescribing issues.
• Desirable: Knowledge of the issues facing substance misusers including appropriate medical interventions, social care, and health issues.
• Desirable: Experience of contributing to project development.
• Desirable: Knowledge of local services and geography.
• Desirable: Motivational interviewing techniques.
• Desirable: Clinical auditing skills to inform evaluation of the service and identify areas for development.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

Employer details
Employer name: Change Grow Live
Address: Mill House, 351 Mill Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB1 3DF, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.changegrowlive.org/

Contact: Maureen Coker, maureen.coker@cgl.org.uk

Closing date: 20 November 2026

The safety of vulnerable children, young people and adults is our absolute priority. Change Grow Live actively encourages applications from people from all backgrounds.