London Support Project - Prison Caseworker

London Support Programme - Prison Caseworker

Location: This programme is currently delivered at HMP Downview and HMP High Down. Future delivery is anticipated at HMP Standford Hill, HMP Ford, and/or HMP Coldingley. Administrative tasks may be carried out remotely from home, or from our London office, near Vauxhall.

Contract: 12 months, with the possibility of a permanent position thereafter, subject to funding availability

Hours: Part time, 28 hours over 4 days

Salary: £32,000 FTE (pro-rated)

Reporting to: Head of Service Delivery

• Our purpose: We support people on long prison sentences to take their next steps in life so they benefit, their families benefit and the wider community benefits too.

• Our vision: A future where everyone can achieve their potential within and beyond prison.

• Our mission: Specialising in the unique needs of people on long sentences, we provide tailored practical and financial support to help people find belonging, move into work or training, and reach their personal goals.

• Our values: Knowledge & evidence, Listening & learning, Performance & impact, Partnership & connection, Challenge & innovation, Person centred & fair

Role summary

The London Support Programme (LSP) is a pilot service delivered by the Hardman Trust, providing pre- and post-release support to people on long sentences who are returning to London. This first year of delivery has enabled us to begin offering support, and we are now refining the programme for its next stage.

We are recruiting two part-time, Prison Caseworkers to deliver frontline support, ensuring that people serving long sentences continue to receive consistent, personalised help in preparing for release and rebuilding their lives.

As a Prison Caseworker, you will provide one-to-one, person-centred support focused on wellbeing, confidence-building, and preparation for life after release.
You will support people to set meaningful goals, connect with services, and problem-solve challenges along the way.

The role involves building trusting relationships, promoting the programme across the prison, keeping accurate records, and contributing to the continued development of this pilot into a sustainable, long-term service.

You will be managed and supported by the Head of Service Delivery.

Core responsibilities

• One-to-one support delivery – Provide tailored support to people in prison signed up to the LSP, including initial support planning, goal-setting, problem-solving and referrals to both internal (e.g. Grants, Research Volunteers, Penfriends) and external services.

• Remote support – Provide light-touch support to LSP participants released from prison, during their initial weeks of resettlement, using telephone/video calls, and email to check in, offer guidance, and help address early challenges.

• Service promotion – Actively promote the LSP within pilot and potential partner prisons to increase sign-ups and engagement.

• Administration – Keep accurate, timely records of support activities and outcomes using Salesforce and NOMIS systems.

• Service development – Support the Head of Service Delivery by contributing learning and feedback from frontline delivery, to inform the ongoing refinement of the programme model and resources.

• Collaboration & team contribution - Work closely with colleagues to promote products and services, gather and analyse user feedback, and ensure continuous improvement. Contribute to organisational reporting, monitoring, and evaluation.

• General - Participate in regular one-to-ones, contributing to the identification of objectives and professional development goals. Work in line with the Hardman Trust’s values, actively contributing to a culture of learning, reflection, team work and development, ensuring quality in your work. Undertake other duties and responsibilities commensurate with the role, as may be reasonably required by the Hardman Trust.

Person specification
Essential:

• Commitment to the values, vision, and mission of the Hardman Trust.

• Experience of working within prisons.

• Ability to build rapport and trusting relationships with a diverse range of people

• Experience using case management systems, such as NOMIS and Salesforce.

• Experience responding to safeguarding concerns and lone working within prisons and in the community (e.g. ACCT documents, Mercury Intelligence Reporting, organisational safeguarding procedures).

• Excellent organisational skills – The ability to work independently, prioritise tasks, and manage time effectively within a part-time lone-working role.

• A motivated problem-solver with a common-sense, can-do attitude who relishes working with a diverse range of people

• The right to work in the UK.

Desirable:

• Experience of working with people on long sentences

• Prison vetted and holds current security clearance

• Understanding of the challenges faced by people on release from prison

• Knowledge of London-based support services relevant to resettlement.

What we offer

• Monthly wellbeing supervision

• Travel expenses paid

• Opportunities to collaborate with colleagues at team away days

• 28 days of annual leave, and bank holidays (pro-rata)

• Birthday day off in addition to annual leave

• Eye test cost reimbursed up to £25

• Learning and development annual training budget £500

• Standard pension contribution

• A supportive, values-driven culture where your contribution makes a difference.

This JD will be subject to periodic review in consultation with the job holder.

Please apply via Charity Job