Family Support Worker

We have opportunities to join our experienced and dedicated Family Services Team working within the visitors’ centre at HMP Norwich providing a personal welcome for first-time and returning visitors to help them access the services available to them.

HMP Norwich, part of the main HMP Estate. offers a varied and exciting opportunity to work in a busy yet rewarding environment where no two days are the same. You will be required to obtain and retain enhanced security vetting for this role.

We are seeking a Family Support Worker to join the team in providing effective and efficient running of the Visitors’ Centre, Refreshment Service for visitors, assist on Family Days and Children’s Visits to ensure prisoners and their families have a valuable visiting experience, improving the quality of visits for children, young people and families helping to maintain positive, healthy and supportive family relationships.

Ideally you will have experience of dealing with people in a customer service-based role and be able to demonstrate excellent communication and problem-solving skills sometimes under challenging circumstances whilst embracing a non-judgemental and empathetic work ethic.

For this post we are particularly looking for you to have experience of working in the catering/hospitality sector as it will focus on running the Refreshment Service for visitors. This will involve:

• Serving visitors
• Cash handling and cashing up
• Ensuring stock rotation for minimum wastage
• Logging daily takings
• Carrying out stock takes
• Ordering stock using an electronic ordering system
• Liaising with prison colleagues
• Assist in organising a rota of prisoner orderlies and volunteers to assist in the running of the service, and their subsequent oversight
• Ensuring high quality of cleanliness and record keeping is kept in compliance with standards set by the Environmental Health Agency

Salary: £14,976 per annum (based on 24 hours per week off the £12.00 per hour (Real Living Wage))

Based: HMP Norwich Visitors’ Centre

Working Hours and Patterns:

• The work pattern covers 24 hours per week as follows:
• Tuesdays 8.30am to 3pm (6 hours), Wednesdays 10am to 3pm (5 hours), Thursdays 8.30am to 3pm (6 hours) and Saturdays 8:30am to 4pm (7 hours)
• Although a degree of flexibility will be required at times to meet operational demand.

Benefits & Recognition:

All benefits are discretionary, and Ormiston Families reserves the right to change or amend benefits at any given time.

Cycle to Work

• Cycle to Work allows you to order a new bike, equipment or both up to the value of £1,000 which you can pay back through your salary to make tax savings.

Annual Leave Entitlement:

• The basic annual leave entitlement is 27 days plus additional leave for employees who have completed 1 year’s service up to a maximum of 30 days.
• Part-time employees receive a pro-rata allowance according to the number of hours they work per week.
• Ability to buy and sell up to 5 days’ annual leave within any leave year. (All leave must be taken within the year it is purchased including any agreed leave brought forward from the previous year.)

Group Life Assurance:

• Ormiston Families provides a death in service benefit, up to the age of 70, that includes and covers permanent, fixed-term and as & when contracted employees.

Occupational Sick Pay Scheme:

• Ormiston Families operates an occupational sick pay scheme in addition to statutory sick pay.

Pension:

• Ormiston Families provides a Group Personal Pension Scheme with up to 9% of gross salary employer contribution for any employee where they match the level of contribution.

Sponsorship:

• Ormiston Families provides the opportunity to apply for sponsorship to employees who have completed their probationary period and been in post for at least 12 months to undertake nationally accredited or chartered certification awarded by professional associations.

Employee Assistance Programme:

• Ormiston Families provides a comprehensive employee assistance programme which offers free and confidential access to telephone and face to face counselling (up to 6 sessions), financial and legal advice and assistance in finding information about a wide range of subjects from childcare to moving to a new house.

The Hive:

• The Hive is a savings platform which can be accessed by employees to make everyday purchases at reduced costs. Employees can save money by purchasing reloadable cards, obtain cashback through online purchases, and make savings in some stores.

The Wellbeing Centre:

• We have trained Mental Health First Aiders who form our Wellbeing Team, promoting mental and physical health. Ormiston Families has also signed the pledge to support our employees going through the menopause in the workplace.

For further information and to apply please visit our Work With Us page on our Ormiston Families website.

Closing date for applications: 9am, Thursday 16th May 2024

Interviews to be held: Thursday 23rd May 2024

Safeguarding and DBS requirements for your role:

Ormiston Families is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS checks or police vetting will be required for relevant posts.

We are an equal opportunities employer; we value diversity and welcome applications from all sections of the community.