Family Support Worker (Booking Line)

Prison Advice and Care Trust; Borough of Swale; On-site; GBP 20,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

A charity supporting families of prisoners in the United Kingdom is seeking a Family Support Worker to facilitate family visits and provide vital support to families. The role involves managing visit bookings, ensuring the Visitor Centre operates smoothly, and offering valuable assistance to families in need of support. Ideal candidates will have experience working in challenging environments and possess strong organizational and communication skills. The position offers a supportive working environment and various benefits.

Benefits

Free advice and counselling service

Contributory pension

Generous holiday entitlement

Cycle to work scheme

Qualifications

• Experience in working with families, preferably involving offenders.
• Ability to manage a demanding workload and contribute to planning.
• Knowledge of safeguarding and child protection practices.

Responsibilities

• Oversee and lead processing of bookings for social and legal visits.
• Assist in the operation of the Centre, ensuring it's open and maintained.
• Support families booking visits with information and advice.

Skills

Experience working with families in challenging environments

Excellent organizational skills

Excellent interpersonal communication skills

Job description

Role overview

As Family Support Worker you will provide support to families visiting loved ones in the Visitor Centre, visitor centre services include play and children’s services and a catering service. You will work as one of the PACT Family team, based primarily in the prison's visitor centre and visits hall providing support, advice and guidance to families visiting prisoners, facilitating prison visits and family days and supporting the play service.

Key Responsibilities

1. Overseeing and leading on the processing of all booking line/email bookings for social and legal visits ensuring visits are booked in line with prison requirements and any issues identified resolved.
2. Assisting in the operation of the Centre, including ensuring the Centre is open at the specified times; liaison with prison staff to ensure the smooth reception of visitors and that the Visitors Centre is clean and maintained.
3. Supporting those booking visits including encouraging families to access support for their needs by interacting with visitors, offering information and advice as appropriate on a confidential basis.
4. Offering a friendly and welcoming environment within the Visitors Centre, where people visiting the prison, can spend time before and after their visit during agreed opening times.

Driving licence and car are desirable for this role.

About You

To be successful in this role you will have experience and understanding of working with families in a challenging environment, ideally involving offenders and/or their families. You will also have excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage a demanding workload. You will have the ability to contribute to planning and development of Pact’s family work and also have knowledge of safeguarding/child protection practice. You will also have excellent interpersonal communication skills and ability to work in built partnerships with a range of agencies.

What we offer

Pact offers a range of benefits including a free advice, information and counselling service, contributory pension, corporate eye care scheme, cycle to work scheme and generous holiday entitlement. You will have the opportunity to attend training events to further develop yourself as a professional training and interventions worker. You will undergo a thorough induction process and be supported by a friendly and enthusiastic team.

How to apply

If you feel that you meet the requirements of this exciting new role please complete an application form by clicking the apply now button.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Other information

Pact is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all applications including those with a criminal conviction (appointment to post is subject to a risk assessment).

This post is subject to a 6-month probationary period, verification of identity and proven right to work in the UK, satisfactory references from previous employers covering a 3-year period, declaration of any unspent criminal convictions (and where appropriate a satisfactory risk assessment), Prison Vetting and a Disclosure and Barring Service check. Please note that being bankrupt or having County Court Judgements may affect your ability to be successfully vetted to work in a prison.