Prison Release Recovery Worker (Maternity Cover)

Location: Shepherd’s Bush

Salary: £25,154 per annum plus benefits

Vacancy Type: Contract, Full Time, 15/08/2025 – 14/02/2026

We are recruiting for a Prison Release Recovery Worker Maternity Cover Fixed Term Contract Until February 2026

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.”

Roles Responsibilities

The Substance Misuse Service at HMP Wormwood Scrubs is commissioned to deliver psychosocial interventions within an integrated healthcare framework known as the New Models of Care (NMOC). The team work in close partnership with healthcare services to deliver services across various functions including Early Days in Custody (EDiC), unscheduled care, planned care, release and resettlement. The service is based on site within the prison delivering interventions directly to service users aged 18 and over residing at HMP Wormwood Scrubs. This is a closed category men’s prison in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, West London.

The service takes a recovery orientated and trauma informed approach to delivery of holistic health and wellbeing interventions and various treatment programmes for those coming into the prison who experience drugs and/or alcohol misuse issues.

As Prison Release Recovery Worker, you will coordinate and deliver transitional support to service users working as part of the substance misuse service at HMP Wormwood scrubs. You will work collaboratively with prison and healthcare partners to ensure ongoing support and continuity of care for service users leaving the custodial setting and play a key role in the release and resettlement function.

The Prison Release Recovery Worker co-ordinates transitional support (working both inside and outside of the prison setting) alongside the Recovery Workers based at HMP Wormwood Scrubs. In this role you will be expected to support service users prepare and transition back into the community after release for a period of up to 4 weeks ensuring effective continuity of care ‘Through the Gate’. The Prison Release Recovery Worker will build a network of partnerships with various agencies to provide comprehensive and supportive meet and greet/pick up services escorting service users directly into either residential rehabilitation facilities, introduction to community-based treatment, criminal justice or other “wrap-around” services. This will involve lone working and the use of public transport to assist service users to attend community-based appointments.

Working alongside the team of Recovery Workers, the Prison Release Recovery Worker will manage referrals, complete assessments of service user need and risk in preparation for release into the community with an aim of supporting them through the first 24 hours following release, assertively linking them into treatment and support resources, and mutual aid e.g. AA/NA meetings. A holistic release plan will be drawn up with the service user (in conjunction with prison-based teams such as offender management and probation services) in order that all necessary referrals can be made prior to release and care pathways established for each individual service user. The role requires the delivery of interventions that promote and support various treatment pathways, involving both group facilitation and 1:1 working.

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.

• A thorough knowledge of Criminal Justice services
• An understanding of the issues faced by those experiencing substance misuse treatment
• Experience of providing interventions within a substance misuse service or other relevant healthcare setting
• Managing own workload effectively to deadlines and targets.
• Experience of multi-disciplinary working including community-based agencies
• Good communication skills.
• Good organisational and administrative skills, including IT skills.
• The ability to set and hold sound professional boundaries.
• Understanding of and commitment to, the principles of equal opportunity and service user confidentiality

Benefits

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. Joining us an employee, we will offer you the following 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)

To Apply

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

https://careers.forwardtrust.org.uk/vacancies/170/prison-release-recovery-worker-maternity-cover-15-08-2025--14-02-2026.html

Contact information

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