Health & Wellbeing Practitioner - HMP Millsike

We are looking for a Health and Wellbeing Practitioner. This is an exciting new opportunity to join our new Prison - HMP Millsike. 

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.

HMP Millsike, the UK’s newest, and first ‘green’ prison, is due to open in early 2025, run by Mitie Care and Custody on behalf of the Ministry of Justice. The Forward Trust is a strategic partner to Mitie Care and Custody, providing our Connections Services across the prison and supporting a restorative and rehabilitative culture that enables prisoners to unlock their potential

Forward Trust’s Connections Team at HMP Millsike will have responsibility for delivery of a core ‘Connections’ service including: 

• Connections Visits 
• Connections Family and Relationship Services 
• Connections Health and Wellbeing and Substance Misuse Services 

Forwards Connections Health & Wellbeing & Recovery Support Services in HMP Millsike is designed to deliver our ‘Health and Wellbeing’ Model of peer support across the whole prison.  

Our approach draws from the ‘health promoting prison’ (WHO 1990) initiative which recognises health as not only determined by individual action and behaviour change, but by creating supportive environments and conditions for health in places that individuals interact. 

Within this model, Health & Wellbeing Practitioners (HAWPs) will work alongside trained prisoner Health & Wellbeing Champions (HAWCs) to promote access to and deliver workshops on general healthcare and wellbeing alongside substance misuse provider services. Jointly, these roles will deliver a prison-wide health promotion calendar of events/activities for the year, working in partnership with other prison specialists e.g., gym and kitchen staff.  

As a Health and Wellbeing Practitioner you will possess the following skills -

• Excellent experience of substance misuse and/or mental health work in a related field
• Demonstrable experience of carrying out risk assessments, comprehensive assessments and the design and implementation of SMART recovery plans.
• Significant experience of carrying out health & wellbeing interventions including using motivational interviewing techniques in both 1:1 and therapeutic group settings
• A grounded personality, including the ability to set and maintain professional boundaries
• Demonstrable ability to organise workload, ensuring effective
• time management and prioritisation to meet targets
• Understanding of, and commitment to the principles of equal
• opportunity and GDPR requirements including client
• confidentiality
• Experience of strong communication skills with people from a
• range of backgrounds in a sensitive, supportive and professional
• manner
• Flexibility to meet the needs of the service as it develops.
• A thorough knowledge of and commitment to the 12-step process of recovery from addiction.
• Experience of providing counselling / CBT services to prisoners, or those with Health and Wellbeing, or drug and / or alcohol problems
• Knowledge of the issues facing service users in the criminal justice sector and commitment to the process of recovery from addiction and low-level mental health issues

• Training and development opportunities
• Flexible working 
• 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)

Diversity at Forward Trust

Our workforce is made up of a diverse community, where we all belong and feel part of something bigger. We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from individuals, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. We will consider flexible working requests for all roles unless operational requirements prevent otherwise.

We will consider full and part time applicants for this role

Please note the closing date for this role is 17th January 2025. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Health Wellbeing Practitioner JD HMP Millsike IE (002)