Senior Restorative Justice Practitioner

Totalwellnessacupuncture; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 39,000; Full time

Job summary

A community-focused organization is seeking a Senior Practitioner to join their team in Manchester. This role involves delivering a pivotal violence reduction program, supporting at-risk youth, and mentoring gang-affiliated individuals. The ideal candidate will have experience in the criminal justice sector and possess strong people skills. Emphasis on a trauma-informed approach and effective communication will help foster meaningful change. The position offers a salary of £38,500 per annum on a full-time basis with benefits including training leave and supervision.

Benefits

28 days holiday plus Bank Holidays

3 days of training leave

Fully funded clinical supervision

Employee Assistance Programme

Regular learning and development opportunities

Qualifications

• At least two years of experience in the criminal justice sector.
• Solid understanding of gang involvement and the challenges faced by individuals in the justice system.
• Experience in restoring relationships and handling sensitive information.

Responsibilities

• Support up to 20 participants, ensuring tailored intervention.
• Facilitate restorative justice interventions in various locations.
• Organize logistics for interventions within prison settings.

Skills

Building rapport and trust

Conflict de-escalation

Negotiation

Organisational skills

Attention to detail

Excellent verbal and written communication

Tools

Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

Job description

We needa confident, determined Senior Practitioner with excellent people skills to join our team and deliver Belong’s flagship violence reduction programme in Brent borough, North London. The successful applicant will help to reduce disruption, violence and anti-social behaviour caused by gang activity in Brent, by offering restorative justice interventions, restorative practice support and mentoring to gang nominals and/or to those at risk of gang involvement. Participants will be residing in Brent, or on remand in HMP Wormwood Scrubs.

Belong aims that programme participants will:

• Increase their commitment to live crime free futures
• Improve their mental and emotional wellbeing
• Increase engagement in positive activities and relationships

The Practitioner will support up to 20 participants at any time, ensuring that they can support and respond to individual’s needs adequately. Mentoring will be offered primarily to children and young people at risk of gang involvement, whereas restorative justice and/or restorative practice support will be offered primarily to gang nominals. The Practitioner will carefully balance support and accountability, as well as show neutrality and fairness when engaging with programme participants. Interventions will be culturally aware, with the practitioner employing a strength based, trauma informed, and boundaried approach.

Experience of front-line work within the criminal justice sector and a solid understanding of the drivers and realities of gang involvement are crucial for success in this position. Restorative justice facilitator training and experience will be a significant asset. In addition, the successful applicant will be organised,detail-oriented, and possess good IT and communication skills.They will demonstratea high level of professionalism with the ability to work efficiently and autonomously, and to build relationships across a range of different teams.

Working flexibly within Brent Civic Centre and HMP Wormwood Scrubs, the practitioner will work with Brent Council, policing teams and HMP Wormwood Scrubs, to identify and offer interventions to eligible participants. Risk-assessing will be thorough and collaborative, using information from prison, probation, policing and council teams, and/or from other partner agencies. The successful candidate will provide regular and timely updates to referrers and case managers about participants progress and engagement, along with monthly programme reports to commissioners and relevant stakeholders.

Candidates for this role who have existing prison security vetting are particularly welcomed.

Place of work: HMP Wormwood Scrubs, Brent Civic Centre and other Brent Community Locations

Hours of work: Full-time, with a likely 50-50 split between Brent and HMP Wormwood Scrubs locations

Pay scale: £38,500 per annum, initially on a 6-month contract

Reports to: Service Manager

Prison Security and DBS Vetting Required: Enhanced

Annual leave and benefits:

• 28 days holiday per annum, plus Bank Holidays
• 3 days training leave per annum
• Fully funded monthly
• Clinical Supervision 24/7
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Regular, funded learning and development

How to apply:

Click the Apply button. You'll be asked to submit a CV and covering letter. Please use your covering letter to outline how you meet the essential and desirable skills, knowledge and abilities listed in this advert.

Submit your application as soon as possible, as we may shortlist and invite candidates to interviews on an ongoing basis until the closing date.

We reserve the right to close this job advert earlier than the closing date if a successful candidate is appointed.

Closing date:

11.30pm on Sunday 1st February 2026

Interviews will take place on an ongoing basis with final interviews to be held w/c 9th February 2026 if a candidate has not been appointed before this.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Publicise the programme and its benefits, to potential participants in prisons and in Brent communities, and to professionals engaging with them, through outreach work in prisons and communities, and via presentations and briefings to criminal justice professionals.

Establish and maintain excellent working relationships with Brent Community Safety, Policing, Youth Justice, Probation and Prison staff members, including senior management, case workers and prison officers.

Attend and contribute to multi agency meetings in Brent and HMP Wormwood Scrubs, for example on safer custody, interdepartmental risk management, reducing reoffending.

Analyse potentially complex, sensitive and disturbing information from official databases regarding programme participants and victims of offences to undertake dynamic, written risk and needs assessments for programme delivery, on a case-by-case basis.

Assess and make well-reasoned, defensible decisions on individual’s readiness for participation in interventions.

Provide preparatory and follow up support to all participants in restorative justice interventions and make referrals to other agencies, as appropriate.

Facilitate interventions in accordance with the Restorative Justice Council’s Best Practice Guidance for Restorative Practice and with the policies and procedures of Belong, Brent Council and His Majesty’s Prison Service.

Make practical arrangements for interventions to take place within HMP Wormwood Scrubs and Brent Community locations, including organising room bookings, refreshments provision, visitors passes, and appropriate prison staff escorts.

Maintain detailed, accurate and up to date records of work with participants and share information according to protocols agreed by Belong, Brent Council and His Majesty’s Prison Service.

Provide regular and timely updates to referrers and case managers about participants progress and engagement, along with monthly programme reports to commissioners and relevant stakeholders.

Participate actively in line management meetings with the Service Manager and, in between line management meetings, update management of progress and of any issues arising, implementing advice and guidance appropriately.

Adhere to Belong’s Code of Conduct and its policies on Safeguarding, Anti – Corruption, Anti – Bribery, Complaints and Comments, Confidentiality and Equality.

Undertake any other duties as may be appropriate to the level and nature of the post.

Essential Knowledge and Experience

At least two years’ experience of working within the criminal justice sector.

At least two years’ experience of building and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders relating to a given project.

Awareness of the issues that may be faced by adult men in prison on remand or serving sentences.

Knowledge and understanding of the drivers and realities of gang involvement.

Experience of supporting gang nominals and/or those at risk of gang involvement to work towards crime free futures.

Knowledge and experience of implementing safeguarding and confidentiality procedures in day-to-day case work.

Good knowledge of individuals' emotional and mental health needs.

Knowledge and experience of using Microsoft Office packages including Word, Excel, PowerPoint.

Essential Skills and Abilities

Ability to build rapport and trust with people from a wide variety of different backgrounds.

Ability to de-escalate conflicts.

Ability to negotiate with and encourage people in conflict to see other’s perspectives.

Strong organisational and independent working skills.

Ability to multitask and managea varied and changeable workload.

Ability to produce and file records of work completed.

Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Ability to show attention to detail.

Desirable Knowledge and Experience

Experience of working effectively in prisons.

Knowledge and experience of the charity sector.

Experience facilitating restorative justice and/or mediation interventions.

Understanding of the challenges prison staff deal with in responding to conflicts and violent incidents and prison.

Desirable Skills and Abilities

Creative skills in assisting with the design of publicity materials and planning content for newsletters andsocial media posts.

Ability to line manage,superviseand supportadministrative staff members andvolunteers.