Job summary
The government has announced new funding to support current smokers to quit smoking, with £70 million additional funding per year for local authority-led stop smoking services (SSS) and support.
West Sussex County Council Public Health (WSCC PH) will be receiving approximately £1.075 million for 2024/25, ring-fenced for smoking cessation. Although the exact amount for each subsequent year is yet to be determined, this funding will continue until 2028/29.
We are seeking multiple Smoking Cessation Advisors to join the team. You will be a key member of the in-house smoking cessation service, supporting individuals to quit smoking tobacco. This will include providing support in a variety of different ways, including via telephone and face to face, in a range of venues including community settings and workplaces.
Main duties of the job
As a Smoking Cessation Advisor, the support you provide will include the facilitation of a range of smoking cessation medications, including e-cigarettes, combined with appropriate behavioural support to enable residents to stop smoking tobacco. You will manage your own case load of clients and support in triaging new clients into the service. You will also be responsible for following up with clients at certain periods and supporting those who may have relapsed.
Broader areas of your role include supporting service promotion and working to reduce smoking prevalence with key groups.
You will need to be able to travel independently, as the role will require you to move between venues across West Sussex County.
We are seeking applicants with the enthusiasm for improving health and wellbeing outcomes for West Sussex residents, particularly to support a reduction in risk factors known to harm health.
- You will need to be able to work quickly, accurately and proactively to deliver high quality smoking cessation behavioural support and facilitate a range of medications including vapes.
- You will have excellent organisational skills, with the ability to work to deadlines and respond to service user needs in a timely manner.
About us
As well as adding real value to our service users and our communities, as an employer we recognise our employees are central in being able to achieve this. To recognise this we want to help support your development and provide an great place to work ensuring you can fulfil your full potential,
have access to a range of benefits including:
- an excellentlocal government pension scheme
- generous holiday entitlement of27days (plus opportunity to buy additional leave)
- arange of flexible working options, depending on your job role
Job description
Job responsibilities
For more information on the Key Skills as well as the Qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached.
Job description
Job responsibilities
For more information on the Key Skills as well as the Qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached.
Person Specification
Key Skills
Essential
- 1. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal, and the ability to provide professional support to clients by phone, video calls, in person and in group settings.
- 2. Ability to communicate effectively with, and build and maintain effective working relationships with allied health care professionals and individuals across a range of backgrounds.
- 3. Computer literacy using MS Office suite and smoking cessation programme management software; excellent data management skills and the ability to work with real time IT solutions.
- 4. Ability to work effectively both in a team and independently and in a lone working environment, providing specialist advice, support and information.
- 5. Ability to effectively manage own time in line with agreed priorities and deadlines.
- 6. Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to anticipate problems and resolve issues independently, planning solutions and making sound pragmatic decisions.
- 7. Ability to adapt to new working practices in response to organisation change and shifts in evidence base.
Experience
Essential
- Addiction, demonstrable understanding of the physiological and psychological elements of smoking addiction.
- Behaviour change, significant understanding of behaviour change theory and its practical application.
- Specialist evidence based advice, significant experience of working in an evidence based advice setting or of using experience to impact on client/service user outcomes.
- Significant experience of working with clients to support smoking cessation (preferred) or in a related field utilising a range of behaviour change skills such as Motivational Interviewing/Solution Focused Therapy and/or CBT.
- Practical experience/range of knowledge in providing behaviour change support, preferably with smoking cessation/nicotine dependence, with a diverse range of clients with significant and complex needs. Your knowledge will include:
- Behaviour change models
- Understanding of the concepts of health promotion, theory and practice.
- Pharmacotherapy options for stopping smoking, including vaping,
- The impact of smoking on all areas of physical, mental health and pregnancy, preconception and post delivery
- Current trends and underlying principles in the need to reduce tobacco consumption from a public health perspective.
- Experience of managing client case load and all associated responsibilities
Desirable
- Group facilitation skills and the ability to put these into practice
- Public health prevention agenda, knowledge of public health priorities including demonstrable knowledge of these at a county and locality level and of the strategies which impact on these outcomes
Qualifications
Essential
- National Centre for Smoking Cessation Training (NCSCT) Smoking Cessation Accreditation, including Practitioner Training including VBA+, Mental Health, Stop Smoking Medications, Vaping, Swap to Stop, VBA Smoking for Pregnant Women, VBA Second Hand Smoke and VBA+ Homeless Services.
Desirable
- BTEC, HND or Degree or equivalent professional qualification in a relevant field, e.g. public health, health promotion, social care and/or motivational interviewing qualification
Person Specification
Key Skills
Essential
- 1. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal, and the ability to provide professional support to clients by phone, video calls, in person and in group settings.
- 2. Ability to communicate effectively with, and build and maintain effective working relationships with allied health care professionals and individuals across a range of backgrounds.
- 3. Computer literacy using MS Office suite and smoking cessation programme management software; excellent data management skills and the ability to work with real time IT solutions.
- 4. Ability to work effectively both in a team and independently and in a lone working environment, providing specialist advice, support and information.
- 5. Ability to effectively manage own time in line with agreed priorities and deadlines.
- 6. Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to anticipate problems and resolve issues independently, planning solutions and making sound pragmatic decisions.
- 7. Ability to adapt to new working practices in response to organisation change and shifts in evidence base.
Experience
Essential
- Addiction, demonstrable understanding of the physiological and psychological elements of smoking addiction.
- Behaviour change, significant understanding of behaviour change theory and its practical application.
- Specialist evidence based advice, significant experience of working in an evidence based advice setting or of using experience to impact on client/service user outcomes.
- Significant experience of working with clients to support smoking cessation (preferred) or in a related field utilising a range of behaviour change skills such as Motivational Interviewing/Solution Focused Therapy and/or CBT.
- Practical experience/range of knowledge in providing behaviour change support, preferably with smoking cessation/nicotine dependence, with a diverse range of clients with significant and complex needs. Your knowledge will include:
- Behaviour change models
- Understanding of the concepts of health promotion, theory and practice.
- Pharmacotherapy options for stopping smoking, including vaping,
- The impact of smoking on all areas of physical, mental health and pregnancy, preconception and post delivery
- Current trends and underlying principles in the need to reduce tobacco consumption from a public health perspective.
- Experience of managing client case load and all associated responsibilities
Desirable
- Group facilitation skills and the ability to put these into practice
- Public health prevention agenda, knowledge of public health priorities including demonstrable knowledge of these at a county and locality level and of the strategies which impact on these outcomes
Qualifications
Essential
- National Centre for Smoking Cessation Training (NCSCT) Smoking Cessation Accreditation, including Practitioner Training including VBA+, Mental Health, Stop Smoking Medications, Vaping, Swap to Stop, VBA Smoking for Pregnant Women, VBA Second Hand Smoke and VBA+ Homeless Services.
Desirable
- BTEC, HND or Degree or equivalent professional qualification in a relevant field, e.g. public health, health promotion, social care and/or motivational interviewing qualification
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
