Youth and Inclusion Worker

Youth & Inclusion Worker

Location: Surrey

Salary: £30,082 per annum, plus benefits

Vacancy Type: Permanent, Full Time

Closing Date: 07 Aug 2025

We are recruiting for a Youth and Inclusion Worker in Surrey

Here at Forward Trust, we deliver a complex range of drug and alcohol services in the unique prison environment. Our support includes providing advice, health and wellbeing, motivational work, clinical services, and a wider range of group work and treatment programmes.

The Forward Trust services which are delivered within prison settings are commissioned by NHS England and are delivered in partnership with primary healthcare providers and HMPPS. Integration and partnership are integral to the work we do.

We believe that everyone can live a fulfilling life, whatever their past. Our work in prisons aims to support those affected by drug or alcohol issues to create lasting change and reduce dependency, homelessness, unemployment, and re-offending."

Role Responsibilities

You will be based on site working within a team that have a broad skills mix to deliver combined psychosocial and clinical interventions providing recovery-orientated Health and Wellbeing Services to service users aged 18 and over between:

HMP Downview a female closed category prison located in Sutton and HMP/YOI Bronzefield a dynamic and forward-thinking women’s prison which accommodates a diverse and complex population of women remanded & sentenced. Please note travel will be required between sites (reasonable travel expenses paid).

There is a high population of young offenders in HMP/YOI Bronzefield, younger offenders who often find it challenging to engage in adult services as their needs are different. This role will act as a Young Adult and Inclusion Lead who will work with service users aged 18 to 25yrs.

Additionally, there will be a focus for this role to provide support to HMP Downsview’s transgender population, ensuring that the service is inclusive. They will ensure that interventions are tailored to meet the needs of this population, providing support and guidance to staff on how to engage this population. They will facilitate regular service user forums to ascertain ways in which we can improve service provision for this population.

Role & Responsibilities

This will involve working directly with those who are detained in the prison who may present low-level mental health needs and/or substance misuse issues. The service operates 7 days a week therefore weekend working will be a requirement on a rota basis.

Pro-actively engaging 18-25-year olds into treatment by providing wing outreach targeting those who need support.

Deliver bespoke interventions designed for young adults e.g., Change up programme – Change Up is an early intervention programme of short one to one and group sessions, designed especially for young adults aged 18-25yrs to help them make their own choices about drugs and alcohol, in a more informed way. The programme combines one to one and group sessions, covering a range of topics including drug and alcohol use and mental health to educate and inform participants around the consequences of their choices.

Facilitate regular Service User engagement forums, to support and empower young adults and LGBTQ+ clients , to make suggestions on how we can improve our service.

Lead in planning and delivering Equality, Diversity & Inclusion activities and promotions for staff and service users

Provide one to one support and manage caseload of young adults and those identifying as LQBTQ+

Work collaboratively with Head of EDI and Inclusion Coordinator to share best practice and learnings on targeted interventions and tailored support for young adults and LGBTQ+ clients in prison settings

Day-to-day managing a caseload, providing appropriate harm reduction advice and guidance, conducting assessments and formulating and delivering care plans ensuring co-production with the service user. You will deliver structured 1:1s, facilitate group-work sessions and perform second signatory duties.

Release planning and ensuring through-care arrangements for transitional support for those leaving the prison and returning to the community.

Accurate and timely recording of data will be a vital part of your role.

All prison-based roles will require enhanced DBS and HMPPS security vetting. Please note this process can take up to 3-6 weeks. All offers are subject to receiving both HMPPS vetting and DBS clearances.

Checks will require you to provide information on the below:

•Yourself (personal information, financial information, police information, criminal history)•Your family (parents, parents’ partners, siblings, partner(s), children)•Co-residents•Associations that may cause a conflict of interest with your role or the prison service.•Background checks across police information systems on you, your family and other associates•Credit reference checks•Social media and Open-Source checks (these are checks on content about you that's publicly available on the internet to ensure there's nothing linked to you that could undermine public trust and confidence in the prison service)•Other government and overseas agency or police checks

The Ideal Candidate

Please see below a list of skills and experience needed for this role

•Experience of working within mental health or substance misuse service•Experience of working with and/or delivering interventions to young people (18 – 30)•Strong IT skills

To Apply

If you feel you are a suitable candidate and would like to work for the Forward Trust, please click apply to be redirected to their website to complete your application.