RECONNECT Pathway Lead

The Forward Trust; United States; Remote; USD 53,000 - 73,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Training and development opportunities

25 days annual leave

Job summary

The Forward Trust is seeking an experienced Female Pathway Lead for the RECONNECT service to support women before and after release from custody. You will develop and oversee pathways that ensure access to health, wellbeing, and community services through trauma-informed interventions.

You will work with custodial and community settings, manage a team, build partnerships with external agencies, and monitor KPIs and contractual requirements.

Qualifications

• Experience in working with women leaving custody or in related social care.
• Strong understanding of trauma-informed practice and safeguarding.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and delivery of a comprehensive female pathway within RECONNECT.
• Develop strategies to improve access to RECONNECT for women.
• Provide trauma-informed support to female clients in custody and community.
• Visit clients at prison sites to assess needs for RECONNECT.
• Coordinate referrals to ensure continuity of care before and after release.

Skills

Leadership

Trauma-informed approach

Gender-specific support

Safeguarding

Partnership development

Team management

Data collection & reporting

Job description

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.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues and external partners to share best practice and ensure the delivery of a high-quality, safe and effective service.
• Ensure robust risk assessments, safeguarding procedures and risk management practices are in place.
• Collect and compile service data for monthly submissions and monitor performance against commissioner KPIs and contractual requirements.
• Provide reports and information to your line manager as required.
• Support your line manager and wider service with other duties where appropriate.
• Be flexible to support other establishments or regions, either remotely or in person, when required.

This is an opportunity to make a genuine difference to women at a critical point in their lives. By working alongside female clients before and after release, you will help remove barriers to accessing healthcare, wellbeing support and community services, helping women to build stability and sustain positive change beyond custody.

If you are passionate about improving outcomes for women, building effective partnerships and delivering high-quality, trauma-informed support, we would love to hear from you. The successful candidate will play a key role in developing, overseeing and implementing strategies and programmes that address the unique needs and challenges faced by women. You will help 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.

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.

• Passionate about supporting women and improving outcomes for women leaving custody.
• Experienced in working with people who may have complex needs and multiple disadvantages.
• Able to understand and respond to the unique needs and experiences of women, including issues relating to trauma, health, pregnancy, menopause and sexual health.
• Committed to working in a trauma-informed, strengths-based and person-centred way.
• Experienced in developing and maintaining effective partnerships with external agencies and stakeholders.
• Confident in assessing individual needs and developing personalised support and action plans.
• Experienced in managing, supervising or supporting a team and able to provide strong leadership.
• Able to motivate and develop staff, volunteers and people with lived experience.
• Confident working across both custodial and community settings.
• Organised and able to manage competing priorities while maintaining a high standard of service delivery.
• Able to collect, analyse and report data and monitor performance against KPIs and contractual requirements.
• Knowledgeable about safeguarding, risk management and effective partnership working.
• A strong communicator who can build positive relationships with clients, colleagues and external agencies.
• Able to work independently while also contributing effectively as part of a wider team.
• Committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and ensuring women receive fair and appropriate access to support.
• Able to demonstrate values and behaviours aligned with the Forward Trust's mission and values.
• Able to drive and has access to their own vehicle - this is essential for the role.

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.

We are committed to our cause and the work we carry out as a charity. Equally the wellbeing and the employees who work for us are also important. Joining us an employee, we will offer you the following 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
• Crisis Loan Scheme
• Electric Car Scheme
• 3 x Wellbeing Days (pro rata'd for part time employees)
• Access to Blue Light Card
• 25 days (rising to 30 with length of service) Annual Leave plus Bank Holidays
• Contributory Pension Scheme - Employer matched contributions of up to 6% in the first two years' service and up to 9% thereafter
• Death in Service Payment (2x annual salary)
• Critical Illness Insurance (subject to qualifying criteria)

Please note that we may close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications. Please note that remote roles may require occasional travel for site visits, training and meetings.

Diversity at Forward Trust

The Forward Trust commits to providing opportunities to everyone. We want to ensure we have a diverse team with a range of lived and professional experiences. This includes those with 'Lived Experience' of addiction, offending, or homelessness. Some of our roles may require a minimum period of sustained recovery (normally around years). This is assessed on a case-by-case basis, and exceptions may be considered depending on the role and individual circumstances. When we recruit, we welcome applications from everyone. This is inclusive of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion and/or belief, marriage and civil partnerships, pregnancy and maternity and socio-economic background. Where operationally possible, we will consider flexible working requests and make reasonable adjustments for all roles. To find out more about Forward's commitment to being an inclusive employer and our current EDI strategy

We want our recruitment process to be accessible to everyone. If you require any reasonable adjustments at any stage, please let us know.

Employee Screening and Eligibility to Work

Dependent on role you may be required to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service Check, details of which will be shared with you at interview. If successful in your application, you will be required to provide eligibility to work evidence in line with the 'Eligibility to Work in the UK' requirements.

Our Commitment to Safeguarding

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and adults at risk. Forward Trust follow safer recruitment practices and support a culture of openness and accountability.