Team Leader - Criminal Justice

Homeless Link; Taunton; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 33,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

27 days annual leave

Pension scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Health Cash Plan

Blue Light Card

Career development

Training sessions

Birthday day off

Staff discounts

Job summary

Alongside is seeking a Team Leader within our Criminal Justice Service to support people leaving prison who have recently experienced homelessness. You’ll lead Criminal Justice Support workers, manage referrals and housing, and help clients maintain accommodation and make positive life changes.

Based in Taunton with travel within a 30-mile radius across Somerset, the role requires a valid UK driving licence.

Qualifications

• Valid UK driving licence and access to a vehicle for business use.
• Experience with vulnerable adults and/or people with complex needs.
• Understanding of homelessness causes and approaches to address it.
• Experience in an offender background setting for at least 12 months.

Responsibilities

• Provide operational management, leadership, and oversee service processes.
• Maintain service performance against contracted targets.
• Manage financial procedures, voids, housing benefits, and service charges.
• Track referrals, engagement, progressions, and outcomes for clients.

Skills

Driving licence

Vulnerable adults experience

Homelessness understanding

Offender background experience

Job description

Job Role: Team Leader – Criminal Justice

Salary: £29,080 per year

Hours: 37.5 hours per week

Contract type: Permanent

Location: Taunton – with travel across Somerset

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 Team Leader 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 holding day to day management of all aspects of the service including managing Criminal Justice Support workers, referrals to service, effective housing management of properties, and ensuring clients are supported in a way that allows them to maintain accommodation and make positive changes in their life.

What you’ll be doing

• Provide operational management, leadership, staff line management and oversee service processes and systems.
• Maintain service performance to agreed internal and external contracted targets
• Ensure that financial procedures are maintained at all times in accordance with our procedures, manage voids, ensure housing benefit and service charges payment compliance and ensure income is maximised.
• Ensure effective tracking of service referrals, engagement and progressions, and outcomes for clients moving on from service.

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
• Understanding of the causes of homelessness and social exclusion and approaches which seek to address this and prevent people from sleeping rough
• Working as part of a team in an offender background setting for a minimum of 12 months

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 interview), please contact us so that we can let you know how we can support you. We accept CVs and applications in all formats.

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 recruitment team at [e-mail]. We look forward to speaking with you soon!

Please note: We reserve the right to close our vacancies once the perfect candidate has been found. We recommend submitting your application as soon as possible so that you don’t miss out!