Outreach Recovery Worker – Wolverhampton Homeless Integrated Recovery Service (WHIRS)

Role Description

Title: Outreach Recovery Worker – Wolverhampton Homeless Integrated Recovery Service (WHIRS)

Reports To: Service Manager / Team Leader

Salary: £28,500-£30,850

Hours: 35 hours per week

This is a three-year fixed term contract.

Mission and values

The Good Shepherd supports disadvantaged people in Wolverhampton to end homelessness, recover, build independence and move out of poverty.

We provide food, practical help, one-to-one and group support, accommodation support, training and pathways into employment.

Our core values are hospitality, compassion, and respect. We recognise each person’s dignity and potential for growth, and we deliver services in a person-centred way.

Role Summary

The Outreach Recovery Worker will provide active engagement, outreach and recovery-focused support within WHIRS, supporting people who are street sleeping, recently housed from street homelessness or at risk of returning to street sleeping.

The role will build trust, deliver flexible community-based support, promote harm reduction and recovery, improve access to treatment and health pathways, and work with partners to help people make lasting positive changes.

Key Responsibilities

Outreach & Active Engagement

Work alongside Good Shepherd, P3, Changing Lives, Recovery Near You and wider street sleeper outreach provision to engage people street sleeping and those at risk of returning to street sleeping.

Meet people where they are, including street outreach, Good Shepherd, hostel and supported accommodation settings, primary care sites, community locations and partner venues.

Recovery-Focused Support

Support individuals to identify goals and develop person-centred recovery plans that build motivation, safety, stability and recovery capital.

Help people engage with local Lived Experience Recovery Organisation activities, groupwork, mutual aid, peer support and meaningful community opportunities.

Work with peer mentors and people with lived experience to provide visible recovery, encouragement and practical support.

Treatment, Harm Reduction & Motivation

Provide brief interventions and harm reduction support while building motivation and engagement with treatment and recovery pathways.

• Promote safer using advice, overdose prevention and pragmatic harm reduction responses delivered in accessible community settings.
• Contribute to the development of responses to NPS / synthetic cannabinoid use, informed by local intelligence, best practice and lived experience.

Health, Wellbeing & Multi-Disciplinary Working

Work closely with nurses, prescribing staff, psychology, counselling, Recovery Navigators, homelessness services and partner agencies to coordinate support around the person.

Support people to access physical health checks, wound care, long-term condition support, vaccinations, sexual health screening and primary care registration where appropriate.

• Identify barriers to appointments and work creatively with partners to reduce non-attendance and improve continuity of care.
• Contribute to case discussions and multi-disciplinary planning to ensure support is joined up, safe and responsive.

Accommodation, Tenancy & Community Support

• Support people who are newly housed, living in temporary accommodation, accessing hostel provision or at risk of returning to street sleeping.

Work with housing and homelessness partners to reduce repeat street sleeping, improve stability and support tenancy sustainment.

Help people address practical barriers that affect recovery and accommodation stability, including appointments, benefits, daily routines, behaviour, isolation and access to local services.

Risk Management, Safeguarding & Trauma-Informed Practice

Deliver support in a trauma-informed and trauma-responsive way, recognising the impact of homelessness, addiction, poor health, exploitation, loss and repeated exclusion.

Follow safeguarding, lone working, confidentiality, data protection, health and safety, equality and professional boundary requirements at all times.

Partnership Working & Co-Production

Work collaboratively with Good Shepherd, Recovery Near You, CWC homelessness teams, P3, Changing Lives, healthcare providers, accommodation services and wider community partners.

Contribute to consultation, co-production activity and learning about what improves engagement, treatment access and recovery outcomes for this client group.

Case Recording, Monitoring & Outcomes

Maintain accurate, timely and confidential case notes, contact records, assessments, support plans, risk information, referrals and outcomes on agreed systems.

Record progress linked to engagement, treatment access, harm reduction, health, accommodation stability, recovery capital and reduced repeat homelessness.

Contribute to reports, case studies, audits, outcome monitoring, evaluation activity and project learning as required.

General Duties

• Attend and contribute to team meetings, supervision, training, operational meetings and partnership meetings as required.
• Deliver all duties in line with Good Shepherd values: hospitality, compassion and respect.

Carry out any other duties as reasonably requested by management, in keeping with the grade and nature of the post.

Whilst every effort has been made to explain the main duties and responsibilities of the post, each individual task undertaken may not be identified. Employees will be expected to comply with any reasonable request from a Manager to undertake work of a similar level that is not specified in this job description.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Good standard of general education, including English and Maths, or equivalent experience.

Relevant qualification in health and social care, substance use, homelessness, housing, outreach, recovery support, community work or equivalent experience.

Desirable

Training in safeguarding, risk assessment, trauma-informed practice, harm reduction, overdose prevention, naloxone, mental health or substance use support.

• Motivational interviewing, psychologically informed environments, strengths-based practice or outreach-related training.

Experience, Knowledge & Skills

Essential

Experience supporting people experiencing street sleeping, homelessness, addiction, poor health, mental health difficulties or multiple and complex needs.

• Experience of outreach, assertive engagement, active engagement or community-based support.
• Experience of completing assessments, support plans, case notes, risk assessments, safety plans and outcome records.
• Ability to work collaboratively with homelessness, housing, health, treatment, outreach and community partners.

Experience of building trusting relationships with people who may be reluctant to engage or who have experienced repeated service exclusion.

Understanding of harm reduction, recovery pathways, relapse prevention, recovery capital and person-centred support planning.

Understanding of safeguarding, professional boundaries, confidentiality, lone working and safe community-based practice.

Desirable

Experience working within street sleeper outreach, substance use services, supported accommodation, Housing First, inclusion health or criminal justice settings.

Experience supporting people to access OST, alcohol support, detox, residential rehabilitation, mutual aid, peer support or LERO activity.

• Knowledge of local Wolverhampton homelessness, health, housing and recovery pathways.
• Experience contributing to service-user consultation, co-production, monitoring or evaluation activity.

Abilities and attributes

Essential

• Strong engagement, listening, communication and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to work persistently, flexibly and creatively with people who experience barriers to support.
• Ability to work non-judgementally with people experiencing homelessness, addiction, poor health and complex needs.
• Ability to maintain professional boundaries while offering compassionate, practical and consistent support.
• Ability to manage own caseload, prioritise risk and respond to changing needs in community settings.
• Ability to work safely during outreach, in-reach, accommodation-based and partner-location delivery.
• Ability to work collaboratively with internal teams, external partners and multi-disciplinary colleagues.
• Accurate record keeping and ability to evidence outcomes.
• Cultural awareness and commitment to equity, inclusion and accessibility.
• Adopt a person-centred, trauma-informed, strengths-based and recovery-focused approach.
• Open minded and willing to develop professionally.
• Able to use MS Office and computerised databases for case recording, communication and monitoring.

Desirable

Commitment to co-production and involving people with lived experience in service development.

• Confidence supporting peer-led activity, groupwork, community reintegration or meaningful activity.
• Ability to contribute ideas for improving outreach, engagement, harm reduction and recovery pathways.

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