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West Berkshire

Substance Misuse LeadNHS

READING, RG7 4SA Permanent £65,000 to £70,000
Posted 28 September 2026 Closing date 12 October 2026
Theale Rail Station (0.5 miles, direct) Wallingford (Cholsey & Wallingford Railway) (11.6 miles, direct) Purley Social Club (3.1 miles, direct)

Job summary

UNLOCK YOUR BEST WORK LIFE

+ MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO EVERY LIFE

We have an exciting opportunity for a Directorate Substance Misuse Lead to join the Health in Justice service at Practice Plus Group.

You will work across the Midlands Directorate.

This role is home based, with travel to sites across the directorate as required.

The Directorate Substance Misuse (SMS) Lead is a senior leadership role within Practice Plus Group's Health in Justice service. The position provides strategic and professional leadership for substance misuse services across the region, ensuring services are safe, effective, recovery-focused, and deliver excellent patient outcomes. The role sits within the Directorate Leadership Team and works closely with operational, clinical, and external stakeholders.

Salary

This position is full time working 37.5 hours per week.

You will receive an annual salary of £65,000 to £70,000 per annum.

How will we support you?

Bespoke induction, including our Introducing Health in Justice training course

Competency framework

Regional and national career development opportunities

Our bespoke Learning Management System to address your learning needs

Support from the wider team

Candidates are required to have a Legal right to work in the UK and due to the nature of the role, offers of employment will be subject to additional vetting and security checks

Main duties of the job

As a Directorate Substance Misuse Lead your responsibilities will vary. You will:

  • Provide professional leadership and expert guidance to substance misuse services across the directorate.
  • Support site leaders and operational teams to deliver high-quality, evidence-based care.
  • Lead strategic development and continuous improvement of psychosocial substance misuse services.
  • Drive innovation and service redesign to improve patient outcomes and recovery rates.
  • Promote a trauma-informed, person-centred approach to care.
  • Ensure services meet contractual, regulatory, and clinical governance standards.
  • Lead on quality assurance, audits, supervision, safeguarding, and case review processes.
  • Identify, manage, and mitigate clinical and operational risks.
  • Use performance data and patient feedback to improve services.
  • Represent substance misuse services at regional and national levels.
  • Support integrated care pathways and continuity of care for patients.
  • Lead training, supervision, and professional development activities.
  • Develop workforce capability through competency frameworks and best practice sharing.
  • Support and mentor service leads, junior staff, and students.

Job description

UNLOCK YOUR BEST WORK LIFE

+ MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO EVERY LIFE

We have an exciting opportunity for a Directorate Substance Misuse Lead to join the Health in Justice service at Practice Plus Group.

You will work across the Midlands Directorate.

This role is home based, with travel to sites across the directorate as required.

The Directorate Substance Misuse (SMS) Lead is a senior leadership role within Practice Plus Group's Health in Justice service. The position provides strategic and professional leadership for substance misuse services across the region, ensuring services are safe, effective, recovery-focused, and deliver excellent patient outcomes. The role sits within the Directorate Leadership Team and works closely with operational, clinical, and external stakeholders.

Salary

This position is full time working 37.5 hours per week.

You will receive an annual salary of £65,000 to £70,000 per annum.

How will we support you?

Bespoke induction, including our Introducing Health in Justice training course

Competency framework

Regional and national career development opportunities

Our bespoke Learning Management System to address your learning needs

Support from the wider team

Candidates are required to have a Legal right to work in the UK and due to the nature of the role, offers of employment will be subject to additional vetting and security checks

About us

The Health in Justice team at Practice Plus Group makes a real difference across over 60 prisons, young offenders and immigration removal centres. Were the UKs leading independent provider of NHS services to over 40,000 patients in secure environments, always putting their needs first, regardless of their background.

Practice Plus Groups purpose is to Unlock your best work life and we stand by our core values:

  • we treat patients and each other as we would like to be treated
  • we act with integrity
  • we embrace diversity
  • we strive to do things better together

We are looking for caring, compassionate but also driven professionals who can help us drive our vision for a fair and inclusive healthcare access to all.

Qualifications, skills and experience required:

  • Significant experience working in substance misuse services.
  • Leadership experience within substance misuse, healthcare, or related services.
  • Experience developing and improving services, with evidence of improved patient outcomes.
  • Strong knowledge of recovery-focused models of care.
  • Experience using NDTMS (National Drug Treatment Monitoring System).
  • Experience of patient safety systems, quality assurance, and clinical governance.
  • Experience supervising and supporting staff.
  • Knowledge of both community and secure settings (such as prisons or justice services) is highly desirable.
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