Invisible Walls Family Services Support Worker

Role Responsibility:

INVISIBLE WALLS FAMILY SUPPORT WORKER

Susan Ellis Visitor Centre,  HMP Parc, Bridgend, CF35 6AP

Salary: £11.44 per hour

Permanent - Part-time (30 hours per week)

Would you like to be involved in this unique opportunity to support children and families visiting a family member who is in HMP & YOI Parc?

We are looking to recruit a Part Time Family Support Worker to join our team at the Susan Ellis Visitor Centre.

This service is a crucial element of the work we do within the wider Invisible Walls Family Services.

Invisible Walls Family Services manage the Susan Ellis Visitor Centre. Supporting families and significant others. It is based outside the prison. The Visitor Centre is open 7 days a week. Visiting a family member in prison can be a very difficult and emotional experience. Having a friendly face at the Visitor Centre can make a real difference to the quality of the visit. The staff have experience and specialist skills best suited to working with children and families during what can be an extremely stressful time. So our Invisible Walls team takes care of all the booking in arrangements, along with being there to explain the visiting process to children and families in a friendly manner to calm nerves, and help with any questions or anxieties about visiting a loved one in Parc.

The successful candidate will deliver a high quality family support service which supports prisoners and their children, families and significant others through the dedicated helplines, play area and other areas within the department, including the refreshment bar and reduce re-offending by developing and strengthening family ties.

The role will involve the following duties:

• Deliver high quality support to prisoners and their families through our family support and prisoner support helplines.
• Provide 1-2-1 support to prisoners on family related matters.
• Support prisoners through domestic visit processes.
• Work in collaboration with volunteers and student placements.
• Make appropriate referrals to other relevant agencies or organisations.
• Establish and sustain communication links between offenders and their families / relatives whilst they are in custody following the correct processes.
• Inform families of events as appropriate.
• Ensure accurate sharing of information between the secure environment, offender’s families and the community as appropriate.
• Support children and families whilst on a visit i.e. visits department, play area, refreshment bar.
• Undergo training as deemed appropriate to the position.
• Assist in daily, weekly and monthly collation of all relevant data for the purpose of monthly returns / KPIs / KPTs.
• Communicate effectively at all times with the general public and internal departments, ensuring company policies and procedures are followed at all times.
• Work in partnership with other agencies to include local volunteer bureaus, statutory bodies etc.
• Promote the adoption of models of good practice and quality standards with relation to children and families, including good practice as identified by HMIP, HMPPS, COPE, etc.
• Maintain positive and effective working relationships with prison staff including: Visits, Visitor Centre, Resettlement, Security, Offender Management etc.   
• Establish good relationships and lines of communication with Chaplaincy, Probation, IMB and others involved in the life of the establishment.
• Assist in the delivery of the refreshment bar provision including stock taking and cash handling.
• Assist in the delivery of Family Intervention Programmes as required.
• Assist in the promotion of creating a positive Health & Safety culture across the site leading by example, this includes reporting accidents and near misses in a timely manner & follow the applicable safe systems of work for the role

The duties and responsibilities listed within this job description are not exhaustive and the job holder is expected to accept reasonable alterations and additional tasks of a similar level that may be necessary from time to time.

The Ideal Candidate:

We are looking for someone with great customer service and excellent communication skills. You must be able to work on your own initiative as well as part of a proactive team in a challenging environment.

With knowledge of data protection, GDPR and the Family and Significant Others agenda you will help support and manage others.

Experience of working within the criminal justice sector would be advantegous but isnt essential together with vocational, voluntary and life experience.

If you join us, you can be sure that you’ll find a secure, friendly and professional working environment and be given all the support, training and encouragement you need to build and develop a successful career with us.

HMP Parc encourages applications from Welsh speakers.

For more information on HMP Parc, please visit https://hmpparc.co.uk/

Equality and Diversity is an important part of G4S Care and Rehabilitation Services. We actively encourage applications from all backgrounds and are a fully inclusive employer who aims to support all employees to be their true selves. We are happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments for either the role or during the recruitment process.

G4S Care and Rehabilitation Services is committed to safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of children and adults at risk and each employee is expected to support these goals

Please note that these vacancies are subject to a 5 year checkable history and the strict vetting standards set by G4S and the Secretary of State for the Home Office and are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

You must be eligible to work in the UK and must have been resident in the UK for a minimum period of 3 years. You will also need to provide full details of your employment and education history for the last 5 years as part of the security screening process for this role.