To support us in achieving our vision that fewer people die by suicide, Samaritans is looking for a Prisons Support Officer to join the Operations Team to assist with the delivery, development and improvement of the Prisons Listener Scheme, responding to changes in the Prison Sector, and promote the scheme and our work within the wider Criminal Justice System to stakeholders.
The Listener scheme is a peer support scheme whereby Samaritans volunteers train people in prison to offer a listening support service to their peers within prison. The rationale behind the scheme is to reduce self-harm and suicide within the prisoner population, and it has been very successful since it began over 30 years ago.
You'll support the operational delivery of a programme of work to ensure volunteers are supported and take a consistent approach to work within Prisons and Justice. You'll also support specific projects relating to the development and improvement of work within Prisons and Justice.
As an excellent communicator you'll build relationships and work in conjunction with the team to support the Functional Lead for Prison Support and external stakeholders to promote best practice and manage the development and implementation of all policies and procedures. You'll also play a key role in supporting stakeholder reports, chairing meetings and communicating with volunteers and stakeholders.
Experience of undertaking work of a similar nature in a related field is a must as is a commitment to our Cause and workplace values. You'll also need personal resilience for the nature of our work you may find distressing and upsetting at times.
This is a brilliant opportunity to work on an important issue at a critical time. As the country recovers from the pandemic, we must ensure we have the right measures in place to support mental health and prevent suicide. Together we can make change that saves lives, so if you'd like a rewarding role to make a real difference please consider applying.
Full outline of the role can be found here.
Employee Benefits
Samaritans invests in our People’s wellbeing through the provision of a range of benefits including;
Samaritans recognises the enormous benefits and the social justice imperatives of ensuring diversity at every level of our organisation. We are wholly committed to inclusion and diversity and to building a culture and environment where everyone is appreciated for the unique person they are.
To ensure Samaritans is representative of those we support and who support us, we particularly welcome applications from Disabled, BAME and LGBTQ+ candidates, as these people are under-represented in our organisation.
We are committed to making our recruitment processes accessible to everyone and are flexible in how we receive information. If you would like to apply via a different format or let us know how we can support you to be the best you can be, please contact the People team at [email protected] and we will try our best to accommodate your needs.
If this sounds like the opportunity for you, please apply. You’ll be asked to upload your CV and a cover letter, outlining how your skills and experience meet the job specification.
This role will close for applications on 10 June 2023, with interviews scheduled to take place in the following week on the 23rd and 28th June.
If you’re interested in applying or would just like to find out more, then we'd love to hear from you.