Prison Link Worker - London Prisons - HMP Brixton & HMP Wandsworth - London

As a Prison Link Worker within the Dependency and Recovery Service, you will play a vital role in supporting men transitioning from custody into the community, helping to ensure continuity of care and sustained engagement with treatment and support services.

Working predominantly across HMP Brixton and HMP Wandsworth, you will operate within a flexible, multi-disciplinary team in a hybrid model. This is a predominantly in-person role and you will be expected to work onsite within prison settings Monday to Friday, 09:00-17:00, with occasional travel across London to support wider service delivery, training, and team meetings.

You will work closely with individuals prior to release, supporting them through the gate and into the community post-release. Your focus will be on engaging prison leavers who may have a history of non-engagement with services, helping them to access and sustain involvement with probation, substance misuse treatment, and wider statutory and voluntary sector support.

The role involves:

• Building strong working relationships with prison substance misuse teams, offender managers, probation staff, and partner agencies
• Supporting continuity of care through pre-release planning and post-release engagement
• Providing enhanced support including meet and greet arrangements, appointment reminders, and accompanying clients to key appointments
• Managing risks associated with transition into the community, including treatment drop-out, overdose prevention, and harm minimisation
• Carrying a diverse caseload of adult male prison leavers and individuals on community orders
• Completing comprehensive assessments, collaborative action plans, and maintaining accurate case records using electronic systems
• Supporting service users to build motivation, navigate recovery, reduce reoffending, and achieve positive outcomes

You will work autonomously within secure custodial settings as a representative of the Dependency and Recovery Service and will be fully prison vetted to carry keys and work independently onsite.

We are looking for a confident, organised, and compassionate individual who is passionate about supporting people through recovery and reducing reoffending. You will have experience working within treatment, substance misuse, criminal justice, probation, or related support services, and understand the challenges individuals face when transitioning from prison into the community.

To succeed in this role, you will demonstrate:

• Experience of working within treatment and/or criminal justice services
• The ability to establish and maintain professional boundaries
• Confidence working autonomously within secure custodial environments
• Strong partnership working skills and the ability to build effective relationships with external agencies and stakeholders
• Excellent organisational and time management skills, with the ability to prioritise workload and meet performance targets
• An understanding of equal opportunities, GDPR requirements, and the importance of client confidentiality
• Experience using electronic case management systems and Microsoft Office applications including Word, Outlook, and Teams
• A proactive and person-centred approach to supporting recovery and engagement

Due to the nature of the role, a full driving licence and access to a vehicle is essential, as travel across multiple prison sites and community locations will be required.

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. We are committed to our cause and the work we carry out as a charity.

Joining us as an employee, we will offer you the following benefits:

• Flexible working
• Training and development opportunities
• BHSF 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)

Please note that we may close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications.

The Forward Trust commits to providing opportunities to everyone. We want to ensure we have a diverse team with a range of lived and professional experiences. This includes those with Lived Experience of addiction, offending, or homelessness. Please note that some of our roles may require a minimum period of sustained recovery (normally around 3 years). This is assessed on a case-by-case basis, and exceptions may be considered depending on the role and individual circumstances.

When we recruit, we welcome applications from everyone. This is inclusive of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion and/or belief, marriage and civil partnerships, pregnancy and maternity and socio-economic background. Where operationally possible, we will consider flexible working requests and make reasonable adjustments for all roles.

To find out more about Forward's commitment to being an inclusive employer and our current EDI strategy, please let us know.

Dependent on role you may be required to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service Check, details of which will be shared with you at interview. If successful in your application, you will be required to provide eligibility to work evidence in line with the Eligibility to Work in the UK requirements.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and adults at risk. Forward Trust follow safer recruitment practices and support a culture of openness and accountability.