Family Support Practitioner - HMP Highdown

Forward Trust offers a range of interventions at HMP Highdown, a C category prison that specialises in rehabilitation, reintegration, and resettlement in to the community. This is an exciting chance to work alongside our multi-skilled team in supporting clients to make a fresh start and move on with their lives. Family Work is integral to the HMP Highdown ethos and this is a rare opportunity to play a key role in Forward Trust’s work here.

We believe and are committed to providing opportunities to all people including those with ‘Lived Experience’ we encourage applications from all background including those in recovery from addiction, co-dependency or gambling, have experience of previous offending or homelessness.

Our three year Family Work Strategy 2020-23 has been devised on the basis of a thorough needs assessment, informed by available research both from within the field and across the organisation itself.

The Strategy aims to include both clients and their families as part of Forward’s treatment programmes; ensuring that there are separate and distinct pathways for each, which will naturally merge and overlap, enabling us to utilise the joint involvement of family members and Concerned Significant Others (CSOs) where appropriate and feasible.

To ensure a successful family work framework across the organisation we look to understand the level of need and implement a range of appropriate interventions for families and CSOs both in prison and the community. 

The Family Worker Coordinator supports the implementation of the strategy across the organisation guiding Service Managers and Connections Family Workers to deliver their role within each service.  

• Experience of providing support to families and providing help for family-related issues that may affect clients in prison and community services
• Flexibility to meet the needs of the service as it develops
• A positive problem-solving approach with the ability to focus on key issues quickly and clearly
• Effective negotiating and influencing skills
• Previous experience of developing and implementing service improvements
• The ability to engage effectively with the client group
• Understanding of the voluntary sector
• Understanding of and sensitivity to diversity and equality issues
• Working knowledge of using Microsoft office packages and databases
• An understanding of a range of treatment approaches in the field of substance misuse, including the 12 step model. 

• Training opportunities and career development
• Flexible working
• Season ticket loan scheme
• Electric Car Scheme
• Crisis Loan Scheme
• Simply Health - Health Cashback Scheme
• 3 x Wellbeing Days (Pro Rata'd for Part Time Employees)
• Access to Blue Light Card
• Cycle to work scheme
• 25 Days annual leave plus Bank Holidays (rising to 30 days with length of service)
• Excellent contributory pension scheme. Employer matched contributions of up 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)

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Family Support Practitioner - Job Description - August 2023