Training and Prevention Lead (Substance Misuse) – Scotland

Salary: Up to £35,500 per year, depending on experience (35 hours per week)

Fixed term contract until April 1st 2026

Deadline for applications: 18/06/2025

Interviews to be remotely over Zoom on 26/06/2025

For more information about this role, an application form, and details on how to apply please go to www.re-solv.org/jobs. CVs will only be accepted alongside a completed job application form.

Re-Solv, a registered charity, is the only organisation working across the UK to prevent solvent and gas use and has 40 years of experience in this field. Solvent and gas use involves the deliberate inhalation of gases, aerosols, nitrous oxide, solvents, petrol and other legal substances to achieve intoxication. Re-Solv’s work is focused on anyone at risk from these forms of substance use, particularly young people.

The Training and Prevention Lead - Scotland is a key post in Re-Solv delivering our solvent and gas use prevention work across the country. The role is funded until April 1st 2026 with a view to extending the role beyond that date. Re-Solv has had an officer working nationally across Scotland since 2008.

Funding for the current role comes from the Scottish Government’s Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention Fund and focuses on prevention work with 11-18 year olds. The project also aims to raise awareness of solvent and gas use among parents/carers and key community groups.

The Training and Prevention Lead will deliver training on solvent and gas use across Scotland to professionals and community groups working with young people. They will also deliver directly to young people. The training and prevention sessions will be delivered through a mix of online webinars and face to face delivery.

On occasion, The Training and Development Lead will be expected to deliver initial support to people who are struggling with solvent and gas use before signposting to the relevant service. This might be parents, other family members or users themselves. The role does not require a counselling certificate but a willingness to support individuals will be expected.

The Training and Development Lead will be responsible for liaising with Government officials in Education and Substance Misuse to ensure best practice, raise awareness of solvent and gas use and to enable the widest possible delivery of the prevention work.

This is a great opportunity to join a small team and make a big difference. This is a standalone role, which will report to our Director in England. Lone working is a key feature of the role and the candidate must be a self-starter who is happy to take the initiative on all aspects of project delivery. Travel is also a key feature of the role with the Training and Prevention Lead expected to cover all areas of Scotland. Expenses will be reimbursed.

Re-Solv is an equal opportunities employer. We are working hard to become more inclusive and representative of the communities we serve, and as such we are especially keen to hear from applicants from all backgrounds and people with lived experience, that bring knowledge, skills and experience.

Applications made on a job share basis will be considered.

Key Activities

The Training and Prevention Lead – Scotland will raise awareness of solvent and gas use among young people, their parents/carers and policy makers leading to a reduction in the harm and prevention of deaths from this activity.

They will increase the capacity of stakeholders to spot solvent and gas use and to support users, to ensure the same equality of access to skilled services as for other illicit drugs.

They will ensure that young people aged 11-18 are more aware of the dangers of using solvents and gases and better able to resist peer pressure and make good decisions preventing them from turning to solvents and/or gases or other substances.

They will reduce the harm from solvent and gas use by ensuring that the profile of this issue is maintained and raised on the national policy agenda and with all related children and young people stakeholder groups so there is a coordinated approach to prevention work.

Day to day work will include

• Delivering training and prevention work across Scotland e.g. for professionals within support services, mental health and social services or policing teams
• Developing new training contacts and liaising with established contacts
• Researching solvent and gas use and other substance use issues to ensure up-to-date knowledge
• Establishing contact with education providers to deliver prevention sessions to young people directly
• Delivering prevention sessions to young people across a variety of settings across Scotland
• Building relationships with stakeholders to embed prevention messages
• Working with Government officials to develop and deliver prevention messages and to ensure solvent and gas use remains on the policy agenda
• Delivering awareness sessions for parents and community groups and recruiting parent/community member volunteers
• Setting up and delivering outreach events
• Providing telephone, email and text support to concerned individuals and signposting them to appropriate services
• Monitoring and entering delivery data
• Writing quarterly reports for the Re-Solv Board and for the Project funder
• Delivering any other tasks that may be required to support the work of Re-Solv in Scotland
• Working with the media to promote the work of Re-Solv and answer questions around solvent and gas use

PERSONAL SPECIFICATION

The Training and Prevention Lead - Scotland will be a highly organised and self-motivated professional with proven experience of delivering professional training and/or prevention work with young people. You will also have proven experience of meeting target goals and deadlines. Ideally, you will have experience of working with young people or can demonstrate experience working in the substance misuse field. A knowledge of solvent and gas use (also known as solvent abuse) and other substances would be ideal but we will provide training as required. An ability to pick up facts and new information quickly and accurately and to be able to summarise the key points is vital. It is important that you have excellent communication skills, actively enjoy meeting new people and can tailor your approach to meet the needs of disparate audiences. Confidence with online delivery is also essential.

Flexibility is required as the role of the Training and Development Lead - Scotland will necessarily adapt to the changing requirements of delivering partnership work. This job would suit a confident self-starter with a ’can do’ approach. Much of the work will take place within office hours but there will be the occasional need to deliver during evenings or weekends (time off in lieu will be given).

You must be able to demonstrate that you:

• Have excellent communication skills and experience of delivering training and/or sessional work with young people
• Have experience of working with young people and/or can demonstrate experience working in the substance misuse field
• Can confidently present engaging awareness-raising sessions with clear take-home messages
• Can create a good rapport with a wide range of audiences. It would be an advantage if you have experience of working in a variety of settings – e.g. with professionals, young people, media, parents and community groups
• Can produce clear, compelling awareness raising materials in a range of formats
• Have a knowledge of prevention work, substance misuse or public health issues. A knowledge of solvent and gas use and/or other substances would be ideal, however we will provide specific training as required
• Have the proven ability of working well with a wide range of people and to communicate confidently and effectively with them in different settings

Support will be provided from the Re-Solv Head Office and you will very much be part of our small, friendly team but ideally you will:

• Be a confident self-starter who is able to work both independently and in a team
• Able to grasp complex information and data quickly and to be able to pull out the salient points in a clear and compelling manner
• Possess a high level of accuracy and excellent attention to detail
• Have an interest in and/or experience of working within the fields of health and/or awareness raising or prevention work
• An empathy towards those affected by substance use
• Have excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills
• A willingness to problem-solve creatively and be flexible to the needs of the programme
• Good practical administrative skills
• Strong IT skills - proficiency in all basic Microsoft Office Packages is essential, along with experience of delivery on Microsoft Teams, Zoom and/or Google Meet.
• Have proven experience of hitting targets
• Experience of collating project data and monitoring projects

Please note

• A full clean driving licence and access to a car is essential.
• All employees will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) or Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) check.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: Up to £35,500.00 per year

Benefits:

• Work from home

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Work Location: Remote

Application deadline: 18/06/2025
Expected start date: 28/07/2025