Welcome to our next Weekly Bulletin. If you would like us to include something on our weekly news, please get in touch by emailing [email protected].
New Role for Emma!
UK SMART Recovery is pleased to announce that they have a new Operations Manager, Emma Sharp-Lau.
Emma has been the UKSR Community Co-ordinator for the West Midlands and South West regions for the past two and a half years, and prior to that a SMART Facilitator within drug and alcohol services since 2011.
As a huge advocate for SMART and the life-changing effects she’s seen it have on people, Emma brings a real passion to the role and is excited to help the charity continue to grow together with her amazing and hard-working colleagues.
Welcome to your new role Emma.
North East News
It’s been another busy week for our North East & Yorkshire Community Coordinator, Jeni Langley. Firstly, there was a fabulous Volunteer Celebration event held at South Shields Town Hall, where she met the new South Tyneside Mayor and Mayoress for the first time and was also chosen by the new Mayor to be the magician’s assistant! A great afternoon was had by all and a competitive as well as community spirit was certainly kept alive with a quiz hosted by the wonderful Wayne ‘Rambo’ Groves of the Red Bench Project.
This was swiftly followed up by yet another opportunity to meet the new Mayor and Mayoress when they opened the Carer’s Week ‘A Better U’ drop-in at Cleadon Park library. A whole host of organisations were represented, with a touch of glamour being brought to proceedings by Deb and Alison from our wonderful South Tyneside SMART Recovery partner, Waythrough’s STARS (South Tyneside Adult Recovery Service).
Lastly, she was extremely privileged to be invited along to Teesside University by our partner Recovery Connections to the launch of New Central Media publishing house, the vision of Dr David Patton. To find out more about this, visit: https://recoveryconnections.org.uk/service/new-central-media/
We are hiring!
UK SMART Recovery Community Coordinator – South of England (excluding London)
Full-Time | Starting Salary £23,809.50 per annum | Home-based with regular travel
Initial 12-month contract, becoming permanent following a successful probation period
UK SMART Recovery is excited to announce a rare opportunity for a highly motivated and compassionate individual with experience in addiction recovery and/or mental health to join our small but passionate team as a Community Coordinator. By supporting our amazing volunteer facilitators and our highly valued partnership organisations, you’ll help drive the growth of our SMART Recovery meetings across the South of England (excluding London), making our 4 Point Programme even more accessible to those wanting to successfully manage any type of addictive behaviour.
You’ll focus on expanding SMART Recovery across these areas:
South East: Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, West Sussex
South West: Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Swindon, Wiltshire
(Please note: applicants must reside in the South of England, excluding London.)
To thrive in this role, you’ll need hands-on experience of facilitating groups or meetings and an understanding of what great facilitation looks like. Whilst already being a qualified SMART Recovery Facilitator and/or having engaged with our meetings as a previous participant is a distinct advantage, we also accept applications from individuals with a general awareness and understanding of our 4-Point Programme. Importantly, you’ll be someone who brings people together, listens deeply, and creates a safe, empowering space for growth and recovery. Moreover, it’s your ability to connect and nurture these attributes in others that matters most.
Your presentation skills should engage, inspire, and inform with clarity and warmth, whether you’re speaking with a room full of volunteers, delivering training via Zoom, or presenting to our partnership organisations.
We welcome applications from individuals with lived experience of addiction, whether that’s your own recovery journey or being close to someone else’s. It’s essential for you to bring empathy, authenticity, and a deep respect for others’ experiences to all of your interactions. You’ll need to be self-motivated and highly organised, and able to manage your time, workload, and travel with autonomy. You’ll be someone who uplifts, encourages, and empowers, helping others see what’s possible.
You should be experienced in working with volunteers, understanding how to support and develop their skills. Previous delivery of training is essential, and if that experience has been gained in a peer-support or recovery setting, all the better. This role requires emotional intelligence and groundedness; you’ll be working with people who have faced adversity, and your ability to support them within clear, professional boundaries is critical. Giving and receiving feedback, gathering data and other evidence to inform service development, and exercising reflective practice are all essential attributes.
As this is a home-based role, you’ll need to be comfortable forming meaningful relationships online, building trust and connection via email, phone, and video calls. We’ll provide the equipment you need, but you’ll bring the energy and adaptability to make remote working feel personal and productive. Regular travel across the South of England (excluding London) is a vital part of the role, visiting SMART Recovery meetings in the community and within partner organisations, and offering continual support to facilitators, are all essential in helping our network continue to grow with the quality we strive for.
You’ll also contribute to key projects that move SMART Recovery forward, adding your voice and insight to help shape what comes next. To do this well, it’s essential that you live in the South of England (excluding London), have a valid UK driving license, and access to a car for regular regional travel.
For an application pack:
Email [email protected]
Call Central Office 0330 053 6022 (Monday -Friday, 9.30am – 4.00pm)
The closing date for completed applications is 5pm on Friday 20th June 2025.
Interviews are anticipated to take place week commencing 30th June 2025.
This post is subject to a satisfactory DBS check and references.
New Meetings
New Weekly SMART Recovery Meeting, Dundee