In-reach Custody Caseworker

**Job Summary**:
**PLEASE NOTE - this role is currently on a fixed-term contract until 31st March 2024. The project is awaiting a funding decision for an extension until 31st March 2025, which if granted will see the contract for this role extended until 31st March 2025.**

Are you a proactive, influential, and collaborative individual with a proven record of managing, mentoring or providing support to staff/volunteers and communicating effectively the needs of clients to other professionals? Looking for an exciting new career opportunity?

If so, join St Giles Trust as an **In-Reach Custody Caseworker**, where you will be supporting young people in custody to reject an ongoing cycle of criminal activities, gangs, and related issues as carrying weapons, drugs-related offences, violence, county lines and wider exploitation concerns.

**About St Giles Trust**
An ambitious, well-established charity that helps people facing adversity to find jobs, homes, and the right support they need. Central to our ethos is our belief that people with first-hand experience of successfully overcoming issues such as an offending background, homelessness, addictions, and gang involvement, hold the key to positive change in others.

St Giles have been working across the Midlands for the past 7 years delivering peer led services supporting people impacted by disadvantage, youth violence and offending. Our work has evolved from prison training and rehabilitation services to community outreach including working in local A&E hospitals, police custody and within local authority teams. From our Coventry hub we offer a range of peer training, mentoring and more recently we have just opened a food pantry service to local people struggling with food poverty. Recently we have opened a second office in Wolverhampton as the team and projects continue to expand.

**About this exciting opportunity**
The Police Custody In-Reach Service has recently launched across two main custody suites at Perry Barr & Oldbury. We have embedded credible lived experienced and culturally competent workers into the custody suites to use the arrest as a reachable moment to engage with CYP under 25 years of age of any gender who have been arrested for criminal activities, gangs, and related issues such as carrying weapons, drug-related offences, violence and county lines and wider exploitation concerns. The service provided uses a trauma-informed approach to support in a number of areas (e.g., housing, finances, substance misuse, mental health, training, employment, family matters). Initial contact is made in custody suites, followed by meeting in the community to provide tailored support.
You will provide a high-level service to young people 11-25 impacted by gangs, youth violence, county lines and exploitation as either victims or perpetrators. You will help each young person to identify and realise alternative aspirations and goals to support them to establish lifestyles that move them away from criminal activities, gang involvement, violence, and negative life choices.

**What we are looking for**
- Personal experience of the criminal justice system, lived experience of the issues facing this client group and/or experience of working with ‘high risk’, vulnerable children, young people and/or families.
- Experience of engaging positively and deter young people aged 11-25 in custody from offending once they have been identified as being involved in a violence related incident, being at risk of exploitation or gang affiliated.
- Experience of engaging successfully with challenging people, for example people who have complex needs, people who are reluctant to discuss their needs, and people who are angry and confused.
- Experience of providing support, advice and advocacy and the ability to assess clients’ needs.

In return, you can expect a competitive salary, generous leave allowance, staff pension, flexible working, a mentoring programme, advice and counselling service, childcare vouchers, season ticket loan and much more.

As an organisation that works with children and adults at risk we are committed to safeguarding, protecting, and promoting the safety of our clients. An enhanced DBS barred list check is required for all successful applicants.

**Closing date: 11 pm, 26 November 2023.**

**Interview date: 06 December 2023 Coventry**

St Giles will guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria set out in the Job Description for the vacancy.