RECONNECT Pathway Lead

Forward Trust; St. Neots; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 30,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Training & development

Health cashback scheme

Season-ticket loan

Cycle to work

Job summary

Forward Trust is seeking a Pathway Lead for the RECONNECT service in Cambridgeshire & Bedfordshire. The role focuses on developing pathways that help women leaving custody access suitable support at the right time, with visits to prisons and community-based work to assess needs and plan personalised actions.

The role requires leading a team of workers, coordinating referrals and maintaining partnerships with custodial and community services, while embedding Forward Trust values in practice.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering pathways for female clients in custody or community settings.
• Ability to build partnerships with external agencies and custodial partners.
• Strong commitment to trauma-informed, person-centred care.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and delivery of a comprehensive female pathway within RECONNECT.
• Develop strategies to improve access to RECONNECT for women and address challenges they face.
• Provide trauma-informed, safe and supportive interventions with female clients in custody and the community.
• Visit female clients at HMP Peterborough and Yarl’s Wood to assess needs for the RECONNECT service.
• Coordinate referrals to ensure continuity of care before and after release.
• Recruit, train and develop staff and volunteers; supervise team meetings and reviews.

Skills

Trauma-informed approach

Staff management

Team leadership

Community engagement

Job description

RECONNECT Pathway Lead*

Location: Cambridgeshire & Bedfordshire

Salary: £26,000 per annum

Vacancy Type: Permanent, Full Time

We are looking for an experienced, passionate and motivated Female Pathway Lead to join our RECONNECT service and help develop pathways that enable women leaving custody to access the right support at the right time. Ensure that female clients have equal access to appropriate, safe and effective support, using a trauma-informed and person-centred approach.

You will work with female clients both in the community and within HMP Peterborough and Yarl’s Wood Immigration Centre, visiting clients to assess their needs for the RECONNECT service, develop personalised action plans and put appropriate support in place to ensure continuity of care.

RECONNECT supports people before and after release from prison, helping them access and sustain support around physical and mental health, wellbeing and wider social needs. This can include GP referrals, signposting, accompanying clients to appointments, meet‑and‑greet support at the prison gate, aftercare and connecting clients to the wider Forward community.

What you’ll be doing

• Lead the development and delivery of a comprehensive female pathway within the RECONNECT service.
• Develop strategies and programmes that improve access to RECONNECT for women and address the specific challenges they may face.
• Work directly with female clients in custody and the community, providing trauma-informed, safe and supportive interventions.
• Visit female clients at HMP Peterborough and Yarl’s Wood Immigration Centre to assess their suitability and needs for the RECONNECT service.
• Complete robust assessments approximately 12 weeks prior to release and develop personalised, client-centred action plans.
• Coordinate appropriate support and referrals to ensure continuity of care before and after release.
• Provide support around a range of needs, including physical health, mental health, general wellbeing, housing, healthcare and wider social needs.
• Ensure dedicated female workers provide gender-specific support, including areas such as menopause, pregnancy and sexual health.
• Build and maintain strong partnerships with external agencies, custodial partners, community services and other key stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain clear referral pathways, including referrals from custodial partners, family members and self-referrals.
• Ensure clients are connected with appropriate local services and support networks in preparation for release into the community.
• Manage and support a team of workers, including supervision, quarterly line management reviews and team meetings.
• Lead by example, promoting and embedding Forward Trust values and its mission.
• Recruit, train and develop staff, volunteers and a network of lived-experience volunteers and peer support workers.
• Support the recruitment, development and retention of Forward Trust staff and volunteers.

Prison

All prison-based roles are subject to enhanced DBS checks and HMPPS security vetting. These checks can take up to 5 months to complete. Any offer of employment will be conditional upon the successful completion of both checks.

Please note if you have lived overseas within the last 5 years then checks may take longer.

• Female applicants only under an exemption from the Equality Act 2010 - Section 9 - Part 1 (A) as a genuine occupational requirement

About Us

We are The Forward Trust, the social enterprise with charitable status that empowers people to break the often interlinked cycles of crime and addiction to move forward with their lives. For more than 25 years we have been working with people to build positive and productive lives, whatever their past. We believe that anyone is capable of lasting change. Our services have supported thousands of people to make positive changes and build productive lives with a job, family, friends and a sense of community.

Benefits

• Flexible working
• Support for Families – We support our employees through every stage of family life by offering enhanced maternity and paternity pay for eligible employees who have completed 26 weeks' continuous service, alongside family-friendly policies and a supportive, inclusive workplace.
• Training and development opportunities
• Simply Health Cashback Scheme (optional)
• Season Ticket Loan Scheme
• Cycle to work scheme

Please note that we may close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications.