Support Worker - Criminal Justice

Homeless Link; Weston-super-Mare, Highbridge, Bridgwater; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 29,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Rewards Platform

Employee Assistance Programme

Health Cash Plan

27 days annual leave

Birthday day off

Pension scheme

Blue Light Card

Training and development opportunities

Job summary

Alongside is seeking a Support Worker for our Criminal Justice Service. You’ll support people leaving prison who have experienced homelessness, providing tailored guidance to help them maintain accommodation and make positive life changes.

Based at our Taunton office with regular travel within a 30-mile radius across Somerset, you’ll work with partners like the National Probation Service to deliver multi‑agency support plans and assist with budgeting and tenancy readiness.

Qualifications

• Valid UK driving licence and access to own vehicle.
• Experience working with vulnerable adults and/or people with complex needs and challenging behaviours.

Responsibilities

• Build positive and effective working relationships with external agencies including criminal justice services.
• Complete needs and risk assessments for clients leading to tailored support plans.
• Give clients advice and information to access appropriate services and accommodation.
• Ensure new clients understand their rights, responsibilities and licence conditions.

Skills

Driving license

Experience with vulnerable adults

Job description

Job Role: Support Worker – Criminal Justice

Salary: £20,960 (FTE £26,200) per year

Hours: 30 hours per week

Contract type: Permanent

Location: Covering Weston Super mare, Highbridge, Bridgwater

Additional information:

Valid driver's license and access to a car for business purposes

Participation in an out-of-hours on-call rota

This role is based at our Taunton office, with regular travel required within a 30-mile radius across Somerset

About Alongside:

Alongside is the new name for Julian House. We work with people experiencing social exclusion across the South and West of England, providing outreach, accommodation and support. Our clients may be sleeping rough, fleeing abuse, rebuilding after trauma, leaving prison, recovering from addiction, or trying to settle safely in a new community. Whatever their starting point, we work alongside people to help build safety, stability and independence.

If you’d like a real sense of job satisfaction, great career prospects and a competitive benefits package, you could be who we’re looking for!

About the Role:

As a Support Worker within our Criminal Justice Service, you’ll be a steady, positive presence for people leaving prison who’ve recently experienced homelessness. Many clients are navigating trauma, mental ill‑health, substance use, domestic abuse and ongoing involvement with the justice system.

You’ll be responsible for managing referrals, completing needs/risk assessments, and providing tailored support that empowers clients to maintain their accommodation and make positive life changes. You’ll work closely with key partners such as the National Probation Service, Police, and other support agencies to create effective, multi-agency support plans.

Day to day, you’ll help with benefit claims and budgeting, coach the skills for safe, stable tenancies and ensure accommodation meets high health & safety standards. You’ll also keep clear, timely records and contribute to reporting for partners and funders, playing a vital role in the wider success of the service.

What you’ll be doing:

• Build positive and effective working relationships and agreements with external agencies which will include working closely with criminal justice services
• Complete needs and risk assessments for clients leading to the delivery of support plans which meet individual client needs
• Give clients advice and information to provide an enabling service so that they can access appropriate services and accommodation
• Ensure all new clients moving into the service understand their rights, responsibilities and the conditions of their licence agreement

Please note: Job descriptions are not exhaustive, and the successful candidate may occasionally be asked to take on other duties that align with the key responsibilities outlined.

What we’re looking for:

• A valid UK driving licence and access to own vehicle – business insurance will be required for roles involving travel for work
• Experience working with vulnerable adults and/or people with complex needs and challenging behaviours

There are many great reasons to join our team!

• Access to our Rewards Platform, which includes an Employee Assistance Programme and Health Cash Plan
• 27 days annual leave, including an extra day off for your birthday, plus bank holidays - increasing up to 30 days after 4 years of continuous employment (pro rata for part-time staff)
• 30% staff discount at Julian House charity shop
• A generous and competitive pension scheme
• A supportive culture where staff feedback is highly valued and regular supervisions with line managers are conducted
• Great opportunities for career development and free monthly training sessions from experienced facilitators
• For all the fantastic and valuable work, you’ll be eligible for the Blue Light Card which offers amazing discounts on thousands of brands
• Reflective Practice sessions from objective, external facilitators

Our Ethos

As an Equal Opportunities employer, we have an Equality and Diversity Action plan in place showing our commitment in ensuring continuous improvement in creating an inclusive culture. We also have a committed group of Inclusion & Diversity champions who meet monthly to ensure progress is being made. We invite applications from people from all backgrounds and cultures, especially minority groups that are underrepresented in the workplace. We also welcome applications from those with lived experience. We embrace flexibility and are proud to be a Disability Confident and Mindful employer, as well as an Armed Forces Covenant Supporter.

If you have any special access requirements or other support needs throughout the application process (including the interview), please contact us so that we can let you know how we can support you.

DBS Checks

We welcome applications from people with lived experience. All applicants working with our clients will be expected to undertake an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check. A criminal conviction will not necessarily prevent you from becoming an employee; the decision will depend on the type of offence and its relevance to the role.

If you would like to discuss any convictions you may have, please contact the person named in the advert. All information will be dealt with according to our Data Protection Policy.

Get in touch

If you have any questions about this role, please get in touch with the team at [e-mail]. We look forward to speaking with you soon!