Relief Bank - Family Liaison Worker

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Family Workers are responsible for the day to day running of the Visitors Centre. They are the first point of contact for visitors attending and they support the development of a space which is welcoming, comfortable, and conductive to meaningful engagement for both, adults and children.

They will ensure the timely and efficient processing of all visitors, and support collaborative partnerships between family members, the team, and key prison staff towards a wraparound, person-centered service. 

Rota: Flexible to the service needs - mainly for weekend shifts weekends.

ABOUT US

The Social Interest Group (SIG) believes that good care and support make for better lives. Our values of ambition, empowerment, transparency, and inclusivity drive everything we do. Our mission is to empower people who are marginalised by building powerful partnerships and creative solutions that bridge gaps in provision and aid recovery, reablement and resettlement.

SIG is a not-for-profit organisation, providing thousands of people with good-quality support and care in a range of residential, drop-in centers, community floating support settings (including in peoples own homes), probation settings and people who are in hospital awaiting discharge. We currently do so across London, Brighton, Bedfordshire, Luton, and Kent. We believe in the power of well-planned, well-managed services to make a difference. We work with high standards and external and internal regulatory frameworks.

If you have the passion, creativity, and tenacity to make a real difference to people’s lives, challenge stigma and make our communities safer, we would love to hear from you!

ABOUT THE SERVICE

We understand how stressful and emotional it can be to visit a loved one in prison. That’s why we don’t just support prisoners’ families at SIG - Safe Ground; we also support families as they go to prison visits, too.

We manage the Visitors’ Centre at HMP Altcourse, where we provide:

• a warm, friendly welcome, to help put families at ease;
• a family-oriented environment for visits to take place;
• information sessions to demystify what happens in prison;
• emotional support to families before and after their visit;
• play activities for children, helping them get the most from their visit.

ABOUT YOU

You have excellent communication, IT, organisation and support skills. You see relationships as central to personal development and be creative in their approach to positively influence and persuade others. You have a positive and non-judgemental attitude, and able to work well within a team and with other stakeholders. Also, you are confident working in the setting, and communicating with varied individuals of different backgrounds. 

Training will be required within this role such as experiential programme training, as well as Security and Key Training through the Criminal Justice Service.

OVERVIEW OF KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Support the Visitors’ Centre service to appear, operate and deliver to the quality standards of Safe Ground, Social Interest Group, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Welcome, book in and share relevant information with visitors attending the Visitors’ Centre, including those visiting a prison for the first time.
• Develop, maintain, and supervise the child-friendly spaces and interventions in the Visitors’ Centre, Visits Hall, Prison, and other areas as required. This includes a children’s play area.
• Take an active role in planning, promoting and delivering meaningful and memorable family visits.
• Promote Safe Ground’s programmatic work, as well as identify opportunities for collaboration with community partners via joint interventions, referral routes, or sign-posting.
• Work closely with the wider Safe Ground team to meet performance targets, and objectives.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with internal and external persons and partners. This includes, but is not limited to; Governors, Offender Management Units (OMU), Wing Staff, Education Staff, Family Services, Induction, Resettlement and other key components of the HMP and community partners.
• Work closely within the team to monitor, gain feedback, evaluate and develop the service for continuous improvement.
• Complete safeguarding and other referrals where required.
• Participate in reflective practice, clinical supervision and other arranged meetings.
• Administration duties will vary. This includes maintaining confidential records and containing information in accordance with relevant statutory and organisational policies.

Other responsibilities than those described above may be required to be undertaken from time to time and will be expected to be performed to as long as it is within the capability and level of the position. 

KEY CRITERIA

What we are looking for:

• Experience of working with children and their families
• IT Proficiency, ability to learn new software programs, basic Microsoft experience
• Ability to positively persuade, empower, and influence others
• An understanding of safeguarding children and vulnerable adults

What we would like, but not essential:

• Understanding and/or practical knowledge of the social and societal stigma that is attached to people within the criminal justice setting and their family members
• Experience within a prison or other criminal justice setting, and/or within a similar role
• Have, or be working towards an appropriate professional qualification

Please refer to the JDPS attached for more details on the vacancy and our requirements/key criteria.

WORKING FOR US

Our Values

Ambition – Eager to succeed and to accomplish as much as possible for our people

Empowerment – Giving staff and the people we support the tools, training, and information they need to achieve their potential

Transparency – Upfront and visible about our actions and open to scrutiny from stakeholders, service users, and staff

Inclusivity – Listening to, understanding, and including all our stakeholders to ensure we make a difference and get things right

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Please note that this job advert may close early due to screening applications on an ongoing basis. We advise applying as soon as possible for your application to be taken into consideration at the early stages.

Additional information on our company policies including Gender Pay, Equality and Diversity, Company Benefits and our Candidate Privacy Policy can be found on our website.

For Recruitment related enquiries, please email recruitment@socialinterestgroup.org.uk