Support Worker - Lived Experience

Practice Plus Group; Reading; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 29,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading health services provider is looking for a part-time Support Worker to join their Liaison & Diversion team in South Yorkshire. The role focuses on supporting vulnerable individuals leaving the criminal justice system to access necessary health services. Ideal candidates will have lived experience in the criminal justice system and relevant volunteer experience. This is an exciting opportunity with flexible hours and a focus on making a meaningful impact.

Qualifications

• Experience engaging vulnerable individuals transitioning from prison.
• Ability to access and support health needs including substance misuse and mental health.
• Skills in liaising with external agencies.

Responsibilities

• Engage vulnerable service users as they leave prison.
• Support health care access for social and health issues.
• Work with various services including police and probation.

Skills

Lived experience of the criminal justice system

Relevant volunteering experience

Level 2 Peer Mentor training qualifications (ideally)

Job description

Overview

We have an exciting opportunity for a Support Worker to join our Liaison & Diversion team in South Yorkshire.

We believe in putting service users first, regardless of the environment or their history. Individuals that come into contact with the criminal justice system make up some of the most vulnerable groups in society and access to and delivery of their health care needs is often difficult and within complex circumstances. Practice Plus Group prioritises lived experience as part of its service offer. Therefore, the organisation is seeking to recruit those with lived experience of the criminal justice system to offer trauma-informed support to its service users.

Hours - Monday to Friday; 9am - 5pm; 30 hours per week; 18-month fixed term contract

Salary - This position is part time & fixed term, you will receive a salary of £24,500 to £28,500 FTE, depending on experience.

Location - Across South Yorkshire Region. Driving license and own vehicle desirable.

Candidates are required to have a legal right to work in the UK due to the nature of the role.

Main duties of the job

As a Support Worker your responsibilities will vary. You will:

• Use your lived experience of the criminal justice system to help engage some of the most vulnerable service users as they leave prison. We work with a wide range of services such as the police, probation, the court and legal services, as well as both inpatient and community health and social care services.
• Be involved in the daily support of children and/or adults, including those from hard-to-reach communities to engage and navigate through the Criminal Justice System.
• Support the service user in accessing support to address the full scope of identified health needs, including substance misuse (alcohol and drugs), mental and physical health, homelessness, learning disabilities, exploitation, safeguarding and social care issues.

Drop-in information session

We are offering a drop-in session at our Doncaster Hub - DN4 5HZ on 2nd October to provide more information about the role, how to apply and what to expect at interview.

During the drop-in session, you can meet members of our service user engagement team and ask questions. If you would prefer a phone call beforehand, you can contact our Service User Engagement Lead, Connor, on 07811939920.

About us

Practice Plus Group is the UKs leading independent provider of NHS services to over 40,000 patients in secure environments, always putting their needs first, regardless of background. We aim to deliver an integrated model that guides all groups involved in the judicial pathway to provide a more meaningful experience to the individuals involved.

Our purpose is to unlock your best work life and we stand by our core values:

• We treat patients as they would like to be treated.
• We act with integrity.
• We strive to do things better together.

Qualifications and skills required

• Lived experience of the criminal justice system.
• Relevant volunteering experience in a supporting role within the criminal justice system.
• Ideally (but not required) Level 2 Peer Mentor training qualifications.
• The ability to liaise with external agencies as required.

Person specification

Job responsibilities

UNLOCK YOUR BEST WORK LIFE

Make a difference to every life

Disclosures

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.