23765 - Group Worker

Ministry of Justice; East Ham; On-site; GBP 31,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working arrangements

Training and development opportunities

Season ticket loan

Job summary

Ministry of Justice is recruiting a Group Worker to deliver structured programmes for prisoners, assessing needs and engaging individuals and groups to promote positive behaviour and rehabilitation. The role is non-operational with 37 hours per week, with flexible and job-share arrangements possible.

Enhanced DBS and security checks are required, and probation applies for external appointees. The post offers annual leave and professional development opportunities, with supervision and continuous

Qualifications

• Excellent people-handling and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to facilitate interactive sessions and engage participants.
• Complete required assessments and training to deliver interventions and maintain accreditation.
• Strong communication and influencing skills.
• Commitment to developing self and others and delivering a quality service.

Responsibilities

• Deliver structured programmes to individuals and groups following manuals.
• Prepare programme materials and tailor sessions to participants’ needs.
• Recruit participants, assess and screen, maintain outcomes database.
• Conduct motivational interviews and encourage engagement of current, past participants.
• Maintain accurate records of assessments and contacts with prisoners.
• Complete session debriefs and record relevant information.

Skills

People-handling

Facilitation

Engaging sessions

Accreditation upkeep

Communicating & influencing

Job description

The Group Worker is a Band 4 facilitator in the Ministry of Justice’s prison delivery service, in a permanent post. The work involves assessing and engaging prisoners, then delivering structured group and individual programmes that build positive behaviours and support rehabilitation. It is a non-operational, non-rotational role with 37 hours a week; part-time, flexible and job-share arrangements may be considered, and current NPS staff may apply on loan for up to two years. Appointment requires an enhanced DBS check and security and identity checks; interview includes a 10-minute facilitation test, and external appointees serve six months’ probation.

What the job involves

• Deliver structured programmes to individuals and groups, following the programme manuals and design
• Prepare programme materials and plan sessions responsively to participants’ needs
• Recruit future participants, complete assessments and screening, and keep an accurate outcomes database
• Conduct motivational interviews and encourage prospective, current and past participants to engage
• Maintain accurate records of assessments and contact with prisoners
• Complete session debriefs and record relevant information
• Write progress records, set objectives, contribute to post-programme reviews and share progress with sentence management teams
• Liaise with prison and community Offender Managers as part of sentence management
• Follow programme quality assurance guidelines with support from the treatment manager
• Notify treatment managers and colleagues when sessions cannot run and arrange missed-session catch-ups
• Take part in supervision and continuing professional development
• Deliver programme awareness sessions to other staff at the establishment

What’s required

Experience

• Excellent people-handling skills

Skills & knowledge

• Complete the required assessment and training to deliver interventions and maintain accreditation
• Facilitate sessions in an interactive and engaging way
• Carry out all spoken aspects of the role confidently in English
• Communicating and Influencing
• Developing Self and Others
• Managing a Quality Service

Checks & eligibility

• Enhanced DBS check
• Security and identity checks
• Meet Civil Service nationality eligibility and right-to-work requirements

Other

• Declare membership of any group or organisation HMPPS considers racist
• Complete a 10-minute facilitation exercise at interview

What’s offered

• Annual leave, calculated pro rata where applicable
• Nine days of bank, public and privilege holidays, equivalent to 66 hours 36 minutes
• Choice of Civil Service pension schemes
• Flexible working arrangements, subject to business needs and satisfactory probation
• Season ticket advance after two months’ service
• Training and development opportunities, including an induction programme and security and diversity training
• Opportunities to access promotion programmes