Community Keyworker

Advance; Watford; On-site; GBP 26,040 - 29,760; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

35-hour working week

30 days paid holiday + public holidays

Pension scheme

Enjoyable induction and training

Job summary

Advance Charity is seeking a Community Key Worker in Hertfordshire. The role focuses on providing holistic support to women involved with the Criminal Justice System, including those on probation and women being released from prison. You will work in a team to deliver individualized packages that help break cycles of offending.

The post is female-only as required by law. It offers a 35-hour week, salary £26,040–£29,760, and a range of employee benefits including DBS checks and safeguarding

Qualifications

• Experience in supporting women in the criminal justice system or related settings.
• Understanding of safeguarding procedures.
• Good knowledge of the criminal justice system and related services.

Responsibilities

• Provide holistic one-to-one community support to women with varied needs.
• Offer in-reach and 'Through the Gate' support for women in/on probation, or post-sentence supervision.
• Collaborate with partners to ensure tailored packages and progression.

Skills

Relationship building

Safeguarding awareness

Administrative skills

Driving licence

Job description

We are looking for a Community Key Worker

Are you looking for a dynamic and rewarding role working for an organisation with the feminist agenda at the core of its ethos? Then Advance Charity could be the career choice for you!

Salary: £26,040 - £29,760

Location: Hertfordshire

Contract: Fixed Term until 31st March 2027

Hours p/w: 35 Hours per week

This post is open to female applicants only as being female is deemed to be a genuine occupational requirement under Schedule 9, Paragraph 1 of the Equality Act 2010.

Please note: Any offer of employment will be made subject to references, confirmation of the right to work in the UK, and satisfactory enhanced DBS check. This role is also subject to Police Vetting.

About Us

Advance is an award-winning and innovative women-only organisation, established in 1998, providing emotional and practical support to women and girls survivors of domestic abuse and supporting women with short-term sentences to reduce offending. We believe in empowering women and girls to lead safe, non-violent, equal lives so that they can flourish and contribute to the community.

We are a community-based organisation who lead in best practice approaches to supporting women in their local community. We achieve this by being available to meet and support women in local settings and at our women’s centres, and by working in close partnership with other agencies.

Our values are to listen and support, to empower and respect, collaboration, innovation, and accountability.

About the role

Are you an excellent relationship builder who can work with women and a diverse range of delivery partners to ensure that she meets her potential and successfully progresses through and beyond her probation supervision? Can you meet a women wherever she is at in her journey and work with her to create an individualised support package that gives her the best chance of breaking the cycle of offending?

Are you looking for a dynamic and rewarding role working for a feminist organisation who understand that supporting women in the criminal justice system requires a specialist and gendered approach? Do you believe in our values; to listen and support, to empower and respect, collaborate, innovate, and take accountability?

In your role as a Community Keyworker, you will be working with women involved in the Criminal Justice System; those on Probation in the Community and those women being released from Prison as part of their Post Sentence Supervision; providing some in-reach and ‘Through the Gate’ support. You will be working in a team of Community Keyworkers in your region. Each Keyworker will provide holistic one to one community support to women with a variety of needs.

About You

To be successful as the Community Key Worker you will need the below experience and skills.

You will need to hold a UK driving licence with access to car that can be used for work purposes. A creative self-starter who will support the service and look for innovative solutions to support clients with complex needs. You are confident professional relationship builder with have good awareness of Safeguarding procedures. Strong Administration skills and understanding of compliant behaviours also, experience of supporting. With good knowledge of the criminal justice system and awareness of other support provisions within the Hampshire area.

• Closing date: 29th August 2026
• Interviews will take place on a rolling basis.

Advance reserves the right to close the advert early, or on the appointment of a candidate

What we can offer you - Employee Benefits

• A 35-hour working week
• An exceptional 30 days of paid holiday per year (pro rata for part time), PLUS public holidays on top (that's nearly 40 days paid holiday per year!)
• Additional days off to celebrate International Women’s Day, and for religious observance and moving home
• Perkbox - an employee discount platform where you can receive free rewards as well as take advantage of savings on clothes, groceries, travel, leisure and more
• Pension scheme
• Enhanced maternity/adoption provision
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme
• Employee eye-care scheme
• Clinical supervision for front line staff and first line management roles
• Refer a Friend Scheme - £250 for each referral who passes probation
• Organisation wide away days
• Thorough induction and training
• Career development pathways

Under the Equality Act 2010, we are required to make any reasonable adjustments. If you have a disability as defined under this act and/or have any additional needs please email [e-mail] and we will aim to make the necessary arrangements to accommodate your needs.

Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunities

We are committed to providing equality of opportunity and actively seek to recruit people from groups underrepresented in our current team. We have policies and processes in place to ensure that all employees are offered an equal opportunity in recruitment and selection, promotion, pay and benefits.

Safeguarding

Advance is committed to safeguarding and creating a culture of zero-tolerance of harm and expects all staff, including volunteers to share this commitment. We believe all individuals have the right to live their life free from violence and abuse and the right to feel and be safe. We have a suite of safeguarding policies, procedures and practice guidance, accessible to all staff, which promotes safeguarding and safer working practices across all our services and activities. When we recruit staff, we follow rigorous safer recruitment practices, this involves carrying out pre-employment checks including references, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, and identity checks. We ensure all staff undertake mandatory safeguarding training relevant to their role and responsibilities, to empower them to be competent and feel confident in recognising and responding appropriately to safeguarding issues and promote wellbeing.