Alcohol & Substance Team Service Lead

Alcohol & Substance Team Service Lead North Cheshire and Mersey NHS Foundation Trust Warrington, United Kingdom

This role provides expert clinical leadership in the assessment, treatment, and ongoing management of individuals experiencing alcohol or drug-related difficulties. The role combines advanced clinical practice with service development, staff supervision, and partnership working to ensure high-quality, evidence-based care across the treatment pathway. This senior clinician leads on complex case management, risk assessment, detoxification planning, harm-reduction interventions, and relapse-prevention strategies. They act as a specialist resource for multidisciplinary colleagues, offering consultation, training, and clinical oversight to enhance the team's competence and confidence in delivering substance misuse care.

A key part of the role involves developing and implementing clinical protocols, ensuring compliance with national and local guidance, maintaining standards and improvements in patient outcomes. The Band 7 works closely with internal and external partners--including primary care, mental health services, social care, safeguarding teams, and voluntary sector organisations--to promote integrated, person-centred support.

• Provide specialist assessment, care planning, and treatment for people with complex alcohol or drug related needs.
• Lead clinical decision making for detoxification, harm reduction interventions, and relapse-prevention work.
• Hold a specialist caseload while offering expert guidance on high-risk or complex cases.
• Deliver clinical supervision, mentorship, and training to staff across the service.
• Ensure safe, evidence-based practice in line with NICE guidance and local protocols.
• Coordinate multi‑agency care with mental health, primary care, social care, community substance teams, and criminal justice partners.
• Lead on safeguarding, risk assessment, and risk‑management processes.
• Support service development, audits, quality‑improvement projects, and policy implementation.
• Promote a recovery‑focused, trauma‑informed, and person‑centred approach across the team.
• Contribute to operational tasks such as rota planning, incident reporting, and workforce development.

Our mission, vision and values are at the heart of North Cheshire and Mersey NHS Foundation Trust (NCM). They underpin everything we do and everything we aspire to be as an organisation. Our mission is to be exceptional for our patients, our communities and each other. Our vision is to be a great organisation providing excellent healthcare and opportunities to work and learn.

Our approach to healthcare is founded on our four core values:
Kind - we are caring, supporting and respectful to everyone;
Open - we are honest, transparent and open to new ways of working;
Fair - we listen, value our differences and are inclusive to all;
One team - we work well together and with our communities. We employ almost 6,500 people from more than 80 nationalities and are fully committed to being an equal, diverse and inclusive employer. Our culture and values ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect, and that no job applicant or employee is disadvantaged at any stage of their journey.

We are also proud to be an Armed Forces Friendly organisation and welcome applications from members of the Armed Forces community, including veterans, reservists and families. Working at NCM means becoming part of a dedicated team of clinical and support staff who are passionate about keeping people well and supporting wellbeing. If you share our values and are motivated by making a difference for our patients, we'd be delighted to receive your application.

Pay scheme: Agenda for change

Band: Band 7

Salary: £49,387 to £56,515 a year per annum

Contract: Permanent

Working pattern: Full-time

Reference number: 370-NAM7

ALC-1276

Job locations: Warrington
Lovely Lane, Warrington, Cheshire
Warrington
WA5 1QG

United Kingdom

Date posted: 20 July 2026

For a full list of duties and main responsibilities please see the attached Job Description and Person…