Job summaryARC-MK help people over the age of 18, residing in Milton Keynes, who want to break a cycle of addiction to substances or long-term alcohol addiction. We offer a variety of psychosocial and clinical interventions to support clients throughout their treatment journey.
The post holder will be a registered nurse and experience prescriber in Addictions. They will provide a service specific to rough sleeper and hostel residents across Milton Keynes. The role will include a range of activities assessing and addressing the residents health and well-being needs, development of pathways into specialist services, training of hostel staff and partner agencies to support clients out of hours, improving overall health inequalities via;
- Health promotion including prescribing
- General Health screening
- Support access early engagement via outreach into addiction services
- Engagement in Primary Care services and facilitate access to organised health care
- Support access into secondary healthcare
- Support access into mental health services
- Support access with housing
Main duties of the job- Ensuring that there are risk assessment processes and that staff are adhering to these, to keep the people using our services as safe as possible
- Ensuring that there are systems in place for Safeguarding people and that staff are supported in recognising and responding when an adult or child might be at risk from abuse and are able to escalate concerns when necessary
- Addressing safety concerns and by doing so acting as effective advocates for those who use our services.
- Supervising systems are in places
- Ensure that the team has mechanisms in place for reflecting on everyday practice to identify areas where improvements in safety or quality can be made.
- Working with others to create a culture of continuous improvement
- Ensure that the services maintain compliance with their mandatory training requirements.
About usThe AddictionsDirectorate within CNWLFoundation Trust is a large, well-establishedprovider which offers a wide range of specialist NHS drug and alcohol treatment interventions to the diverse and multicultural populations in Central and North West London. Our drug and alcohol services include community services, 1 in-patient service. We alsorun nationalGambling and Gaming Services, Smoking Cessation services and a Club Drug Clinic.
Our substance use services are dedicated to helping reduce the harm caused bysubstance use dependency;helping people overcome their dependency on substances and helpingclients and their familiesrebuild their lives and enable recovery.We arecommitted to working in partnership with other providers and service users in local systems of treatment and recovery.
CNWL is committed to providing high quality, evidence-based treatment options and is a learning organisation which promotes staff competence and training and values clinical governance, audit and research. We are linked with Imperial College, University of London and are committed to evaluating our services and developing new and innovative approaches.
DetailsDate posted: 28 July 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 8a
Salary: £57,528 to £64,750 a year per annum (pro rata if P/T)
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 333-D-AD-0608-A
Job locations: ARC-MK, 33-37 Farthing Grove, Netherfield, Milton Keynes, MK6 4JH, United Kingdom
Job descriptionPlease see the attached job description and person specification for more detailed information on the job description and main responsibilities of the post.Person SpecificationEducation and QualificationsEssential- Registered Nurse (RMN/RGN)
- Evidence of continuing personal development and post-registration training in the nursing care, assessment and treatment substance misuse clients
- V300 Independent Nurse Prescriber
Desirable- Diploma in Drugs and Alcohol Studies or equivalent qualification
- Training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
- Completed the Motivational Interviewing Training Module
Previous ExperienceEssential- 5 years post-registration experience in Mental or general Health
- 3 years minimum experience in senior role and managing staff
- Experienced in the supply and administration of Hepatitis vaccines
- Experienced and competent in the supply and administration of CNWL Trust Hepatitis Patient Group Directions
- Extensive clinical experience
- Case management experience
- Experience in undertaking Risk Assessments and Risk Management
- Teaching and Assessing qualification ENB 998 / SLICE or equivalent eg: mentorship
- Experience of working in and delivering services to injecting drug users.
Desirable- Community Nursing Experience
- Experience of teaching others and willingness to undertake Teaching and Assessing qualification within six months of commencing post.
Skills and knowledgeEssential- Sound clinical knowledge and understanding of current NHS policies and national drug issues/policies.
- Good verbal, written and presentation skills.
- Good interpersonal skills in order to communicate and negotiate effectively, both inside and outside the Trust.
- Ability to work independently and to prioritise effectively
- Ability to assess and treat people with dual diagnosis
- Evidence of effective leadership and organisational skills.
- Evidence of the ability to work in a changing and stressful situation.
- Evidence of ability to teach/disseminate knowledge and skills
- Ability to treat service users with respect and dignity at all times, adopting a culturally sensitive approach, which considers the needs of the whole person.
- Able to build constructive relationships with warmth and empathy, using good communication skills
- IT literate: competent using Microsoft Word and able to report clinical activity data on patient information systems.
Desirable- Experience of working with stimulant users and people with alcohol problems.
- Experience of group facilitation
- Experience of managing a caseload within the community
- Awareness/knowledge of research skills
- Awareness of counselling models
- Motivational Interviewing skills / Relapse Management skills
Attitudes, aptitudes, personal characteristicsEssential- Committed to multidisciplinary team work
- Committed to User involvement
- Flexible & responsive to a developing service. The post holder must have the ability to understand and implement the Equal and Diversity policy at a level appropriate to the job
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 (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).