Recovery Worker
About this role
Exciting Opportunity: Recovery Worker (Prison-Based)
Agency: Supportive Bridge Staffing Agency
Client: Change Grow Live (CGL) - West Kent Prisons Service
Location: HMP Cookham Wood, Rochester, Kent
Position Type: Permanent, Full-Time (37.5 hours per week)
Salary: £28,557.79 - £32,802.41 Per Annum (CGL points 23 to 28)
Closing Date: 11th October 2026
About the Role
Supportive Bridge Staffing Agency is proud to partner with Change Grow Live (CGL) to recruit a dedicated, resilient, and compassionate permanent Recovery Worker to join their prison-based team at HMP Cookham Wood in West Kent.
In this vital custodial role, you will support individuals in custody affected by drug and alcohol use. Operating within an integrated health and wellbeing model, you will deliver person-centred, trauma-informed psychosocial interventions, help individuals reduce harm and build resilience, and prepare them for long-term recovery both inside custody and upon release.
Key Responsibilities
Custodial Support & Interventions: Guide service users from initial entry through their treatment journey, delivering trauma-informed psychosocial interventions.
Risk Management & Safeguarding: Contribute to rigorous risk management processes, including ACCT procedures where appropriate, while maintaining strict confidentiality and safeguarding standards.
Multi-Agency Collaboration: Work in close partnership with healthcare providers, prison colleagues, and external stakeholders within an integrated health model.
Reintegration Planning: Support social reintegration by promoting peer support, self-determination, and proactive follow-ups for missed appointments.
Essential Criteria
Experience & Knowledge: Strong understanding of substance misuse issues, previous experience in a similar support field, and ideally experience working within a prison or criminal justice setting.
Core Competencies: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, good IT capability, and the ability to manage competing demands proactively.
Clearances: Must be able to successfully obtain and maintain prison security clearance / HMPPS vetting, alongside completing an enhanced DBS check.
Requirements: Professional, adaptable, and client-centered approach. Must hold the legal Right to Work in the UK.
Key Benefits & Perks
Annual Leave: 25 days of annual leave plus bank holidays, increasing by 1 extra day for each year of service.
Wellbeing Support: Paid weekly 'Wellness' hour, access to a Wellness Hub, and a comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).
Financial & Career Support: Contributory pension scheme, extensive training, career progression pathways, and a generous refer-a-friend scheme.
Key Dates & Next Steps
Closing Date for Applications: 11th October 2026
Note: Change Grow Live reserves the right to close this vacancy early if a high volume of applications is received. Early application is strongly recommended.