Community Keyworker (FTC)
Gillingham (with travel across Kent)

About us

Advance is a well-respected, award-winning, and innovative women-only organisation, established in 1998, providing emotional and practical support to women experiencing domestic abuse and supporting women with short-term sentences to reduce offending. Through the Minerva service, our goal is to divert women from the Criminal Justice System at the earliest opportunity and prevent families breaking down as a result.

We are now looking for a Community Keyworker to join our Minerva Team and deliver the service across Kent on a full-time basis, working 35 hours per week. This role will involve some travel into London on an ad hoc basis.

The Benefits

- Salary of £21,000 - £24,000 per annum
- 30 days of paid holiday per year, plus public holidays
- Additional days off to celebrate International Women’s Day, religious observance and moving home
- Perkbox - an employee discount platform where you can receive free rewards as well as take advantage of savings on clothes, groceries, travel, leisure and more
- Pension scheme
- Enhanced maternity/adoption provision
- Access to our Employee Assistance Programme
- Access to our wellbeing online platform
- Employee eye-care scheme
- Clinical supervision for front line staff and first line management roles
- Refer a Friend Scheme - £250 for each referral who passes probation
- Organisation wide away days
- Career development pathways

This is the ideal role for a confident and creative self-starter with knowledge of the Criminal Justice System who is looking to join our passionate organisation.

In this highly rewarding position, you will play a key role in helping women to rebuild their lives following a custodial sentence, enabling them to strive for a brighter future.

We are committed to the wellbeing of everyone who works with us and the advancement of careers and offer an impressive range of fantastic benefits that will maximise your work/life balance.

The Role

As a Community Keyworker, you will join our team in Gillingham to support women caught in the criminal justice system.

You will provide in-reach and ‘Through the Gate’ support to women on probation in the community and those being released from prison as part of their post sentence supervision.

Delivering holistic one-to-one community support to women with a variety of complex needs, you will regularly meet with them to offer emotional and practical support. You will aim to empower them to live safe and independent lives.

Additionally, you will:

- Provide outreach support and advocacy services
- Conduct initial holistic assessments
- Develop and regularly review individual support plans
- Attend probation offices throughout Kent
- Provide an in-reach prison service in the 12 weeks prior to leaving custody

About You

To be considered as our Community Keyworker, you will need:

- In-depth knowledge of issues facing women offenders and those at risk of offending; both in and out of the criminal justice system
- Experience of conducting needs and risk assessments and of risk management
- Experience of setting and maintaining professional boundaries with service users whilst delivering an excellent standard of service
- Knowledge of the criminal justice system
- Strong crisis management skills
- Awareness of Safeguarding procedures
- Awareness of other support provisions within Kent
- Excellent literacy and administrative skills including an understanding of how to use digital systems
- Demonstrable passion and drive to motivate others and enable change, with a track record of engaging “hard to reach” service users
- A full, valid driving licence and access to your own vehicle

This post is open to female applicants only as being female is deemed a genuine occupational requirement under Schedule 9, Paragraph 1 of the Equality Act 2010.

Other organisations may call this role Community Support Worker, Key Worker, Keyworker, Support Worker, Social Care Worker, Women’s Advocacy Officer, or Criminal Justice Support Worker.

Advance is committed to equality and diversity and strongly encourages applications from women with disabilities, from BAME backgrounds and the LGBTQ+ community.

So, if you’re ready for this rewarding opportunity as a Community Keyworker, please apply via the button shown. This vacancy is being advertised by Webrecruit. The services advertised by Webrecruit are those of an Employment Agency.