Family Engagement Manager, Gateway Services 

Have you got what it takes to support prisoners and their families? 

Our client is a highly respected independent charity, which together with its subsidiary,Futures, works across England and Wales to develop and deliver a range of innovative services, providing practical and emotional support to prisoners’ children and families, to prisoners, and to ex-offenders. 

Our client is a national charity that supports those affected by imprisonment and their children and families. 

Position: Family Engagement Manager, Gateway Services 
Location: Central Office, London 
Job type: Full Time, Permanent 
Hours: 37.5 hours per week (including evening and weekend working) 
Salary: £28,000 per annum 
Benefits: generous annual leave, cycle to work scheme, eye care vouchers, free information advice and counselling service plus more. 

Closing date: Wednesday 31st July, 2019 
Interviews commencing week beginning: 12th August 2019 

About the role: 

As Family Engagement Manager for the Gateway Services, you will lead, manage and develop a team of paid staff and volunteers to deliver consistent, effective and high quality gateway services – including the HMPPS Prisoners’ Families helpline, our client’s helpline, London courts service and national befriending service. The gateway services provide information, guidance and support primarily to the families, prisoners and friends of people with convictions and those affected by imprisonment or involved in the criminal justice system. The role is to ensure the phone lines are open and staffed throughout the year, and that accurate and up-to-date information about prisons, the assisted visit scheme and other relevant organisations is available to callers. The role will provide cover across the team, as required, in response to operational need. The role further involves leading and delivering a high quality befriending service and court service that provides support when it's needed the most. The befriending service role entails managing and matching volunteers with service users, co-ordinating and managing volunteers to ensure the smooth running and high performance of a comprehensive service which runs alongside, and complements the gateway services. The court service will require you to develop and implement the local operational plans for the service with support from the Court Coordinator. 

About you: 

To be successful in this role you will have demonstrable capacity to coordinate a broad service, as well as experience and understanding of working with families in a challenging multi-agency environment, ideally involving offenders and / or their families. 

You will also have excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage a demanding work load. 

You will have the ability to contribute to planning and development of our client’s family work and also have knowledge of safeguarding / child protection practice. 

Furthermore you will have excellent interpersonal communication skills and ability to work in build partnerships with a range of agencies. 

How to apply: 

If you feel you meet the requirements of this role please complete an application by clicking the `apply now` button. 

Other information: 

This post is subject to a 6 month probationary period, verification of identity and proven right to work in the UK, satisfactory references from previous employers covering a 3 year period, declaration of any unspent criminal convictions (and where appropriate a satisfactory risk assessment), Prison Vetting and a Disclosure and Barring Service check. Please note that being bankrupt or having County Court Judgements may affect your ability to be successfully vetted to work in a prison. 

Our client is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from all backgrounds including those with previous convictions (appointment to post is subject to a satisfactory risk assessment). 

You may have experience of the following: Family Engagement Manager, Social Worker, Charity, Family Support, Volunteer, Social Services, Volunteering, Support Worker, etc. 

Ref: 87864