Criminal Justice Support Worker

Criminal Justice Support Worker (Exeter)

Location :
Magdalene House Exeter

Working Hours : 37

Contract Type :
Fixed-term

Salary : 24243 - 28930

Make a real difference in your community

Are you passionate about helping others live safer healthier and more independent lives

Join Waythrough one of the UKs leading mental health and social support charities and make a lasting impact every day.

Waythrough is passionate about supporting individuals to reduce their substance use and live happier healthier support people with multiple disadvantages including substance misuse & mental health as well as those who find themselves in the criminal justice system. Our services enable the people we support to improve their health, well‑being and employability.

This role forms part of the Together Drug and Alcohol service for Devon and you will predominantly work in the Exeter area but due to the needs of the service and the way our service works both roles may be required to work from any of the 3 hubs of Barnstaple, Exeter and Newton Abbott (travel expenses will be claimed when necessary).

The role is to support the diverse criminal‑justice team and will be required to be flexible to its day‑to‑day working and task allocation. The role is to provide support to service users by welfare calls, assessing follow‑up calls, completing screening tools, inputting client records, updating client record systems, connecting with partners to share information, and supporting the team when sickness or shortages present themselves.

This role in Devon works alongside the Probation Service, the Police, Prison Service and the courts. You will work in shared working spaces of these partners as well as being in HM Court settings.

This is a great opportunity to enter the criminal‑justice team and provide a gateway to personal development of skills and knowledge – a platform to other roles that may become available and that you wish to progress to in time.

Hopefully this role appeals to you and we welcome an application today.

• Supporting a caseload of our service users, including delivering a range of psychosocial interventions.
• Working as part of a multi‑disciplinary team to undertake ongoing assessments, risk assessments and appropriate referrals within the community.
• Facilitating group sessions with a range of individuals of varying backgrounds, including SMART Recovery.
• Working with partnership agencies to ensure continuity of care and support.
• Providing duty cover for individuals accessing our services.

We’re looking for an individual with a real passion for working in a recovery‑focused environment. You’ll hold some transferable skills, ideally from working in a similar environment or sector.

You’ll also have:

• A knowledge and understanding of substance misuse and recovery.
• Experience of managing, planning and prioritising your own workload, delivering work of a high standard.
• An understanding of safeguarding.
• An understanding of group working, group dynamics and group facilitation.
• Excellent communication, organisation and time‑management skills.
• The ability to work well in a team environment alongside a range of people and organisations.

However, if you don’t have direct experience we have an intensive training skills academy as our induction that will help equip you with lots of the need‑to‑know information.

I am currently employed as a part‑time Criminal Justice Support Worker. What drew me to this role was the part‑time hours which suited my current situation and having recently spent 23 years working for Essex Probation Service, the role appealed to me.

As I progressed within the role I was able to embrace the diversity of the role, the colourful characters I met, listening to their current situation and together working on a plan to hopefully help them to address alcohol or substance use. The role also provided me the opportunity to cover different parts of the County apart from my base in Exeter, covering for staff shortages in Newton Abbott, Tavistock and Barnstaple.

Throughout my short time I have been supported from both management and staff, including some thorough training…