Suffolk Reconnect Peer Support Worker - Suffolk

Are you passionate about supporting people to rebuild their lives? We’re recruiting a Suffolk RECONNECT Peer Support Worker to join our NHS-commissioned service delivered by Forward Trust. This is a full-time role (35 hours per week) based across HMP Highpoint, HMP Hollesley Bay, and HMP Warren Hill, supporting people as they transition from custody back into the community. This is a powerful opportunity to help individuals leaving prison rebuild their lives, improve their health and wellbeing, and break the cycle of reoffending.

What you’ll be doing:

• Supporting service users through holistic needs assessments and personalised care plans
• Acting as a trusted link between prison, community services, and healthcare providers
• Providing advocacy, mentoring, and practical support to help people reintegrate into society
• Maintaining meaningful contact post-release (up to 6 months) to support sustained recovery and wellbeing
• Managing a diverse caseload, ensuring tailored support for each individual
• Building strong partnerships with prisons, healthcare services, and community organisations
• Supporting peer mentors and contributing to training and development activity
• Keeping accurate records, assessments, and case notes to a high professional standard

About you:

We actively encourage applications from people with lived experience, whether of substance misuse, mental or physical health challenges, or the criminal justice system. You’ll bring:

• Empathy, resilience, and strong communication skills
• A non-judgemental, person-centred approach
• Confidence managing a busy and varied caseload
• The ability to build trust and motivate positive change
• Strong organisational and IT/admin skills

At Forward Trust, our purpose is clear: to break the cycle of crime. RECONNECT plays a vital role in ensuring people leaving prison don’t fall through the gaps, but instead step into coordinated, compassionate support. You’ll help reduce health inequalities, improve continuity of care, and give people a real chance to rebuild their lives.

All prison-based roles are subject to enhanced DBS checks and HMPPS security vetting. These checks can take up to 5 months to complete. Any offer of employment will be conditional upon the successful completion of both checks. Please note if you have lived overseas within the last 5 years then checks may take longer.

About Us:

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. Equally the wellbeing and the employees who work for us are also important.

Benefits:

• Flexible working
• Training and development opportunities
• Simply Health 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.

Diversity at Forward Trust:

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. 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 click here.

We want our recruitment process to be accessible to everyone. If you require any reasonable adjustments at any stage, please let us know.

Employee Screening and Eligibility to Work:

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.

Our Commitment to Safeguarding:

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.