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Criminal Justice Support Worker (Exeter)

Location: Magdalene House, Exeter
Working Hours: 37
Contract Type: Fixed-term
Salary: £24,243 – £28,930

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 UK’s leading mental health and social support charities, and make a lasting impact every day.

About the Role

Waythrough is passionate about supporting individuals to reduce their substance use and live happier, healthier lives. We 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 for when necessary). This 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, support 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 you wish to progress to in time.

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

As a Criminal Justice Support Worker, you will be responsible for:

• 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.

About you
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

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. The ability to work well in a team environment alongside a range of people and organisations

A “Day in the life” from a current Criminal Justice Support Worker:

“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 work 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 opportunities to help me to make sense of the new role, I have been offered.

The main appeal for me was not only working with some fantastic people but also the variety of the role.”

What We Offer

We value the people who make a difference every day. Alongside meaningful work, you’ll enjoy a comprehensive benefits package:

• 27 days’ annual leave, rising to 32 after 1 year (plus bank holidays)
• Pension scheme with 4.5% employer contribution, matched up to 6.5%
• Life assurance (3× annual salary)
• Enhanced sick pay and family-friendly pay
• Birthday leave and the option to buy up to 5 extra days’ annual leave
• Professional fee reimbursement for relevant qualifications
• 24/7 online GP access and Employee Assistance Programme
• Recognition and long service awards via our Way to Go and Aspirations portals
• £500 Recommend a Friend bonus
• Cycle to Work scheme and Credit Union membership
• Discounts via Blue Light Card, Charity Discounts, Extras and Tickets for Good
• Free will writing service and wellbeing initiatives throughout the year

Inclusion and Accessibility

Waythrough is proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and communities — especially those with lived experience of the issues we support.

If you need adjustments or support to apply, please email [email protected].

How to Apply

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Please note: The salary listed reflects the full earning potential for this role. Starting salaries depend on experience and progression within the band.