Job Title: CUSTODY INTERVENTION COACH – Southwark

Salary: £26,000 to £30,000, dependent on experience

Type of Contract: One-Year Fixed Term

Hours of work: 40 hours per week

Location: Millwall Community Trust, Millwall Lions Centre, Bolina Road, SE16 3LN and Walworth Police Station, 12-28 Manor Place, SE17 3RL

Responsible to: SLT Management


Role Summary

DIVERT is a custody Intervention programme which is designed to reduce reoffending and has been funded by the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU). It is delivered in Walworth Police Station custody suite by Bounce Back and Millwall Community Trust and it aims to DIVERT young adults between 18-25 years away from crime.

DIVERT has introduced specialist Custody Intervention Coaches (CICs) from local football community clubs to engage young adults during their detention in police custody. The successful candidate for this vacancy will work closely with local organisations and this network will provide peer support and best practice sharing.

The DIVERT Custody Intervention Coaches are not Police officers or staff and will instead work for the Football Club Community Organisation within the custody suites. Conversations are confidential between the coach and the client. It will not interfere with the Criminal Justice process. They are fully trained and ready to listen in a non-judgemental way.

DIVERT is totally voluntary for the young adult. The Custody Intervention Coach will meet the young adult whilst in custody and seek to start a conversation and get some meaningful engagement. They will complete a needs assessment with the client and then identify some effective interventions to make some positive changes in their lives.

The Custody Intervention Coach explains the numerous paths that the individual can be referred to and follows this with a long-term development plan to assist them in fulfilling their own goals, relating to education, training, and employment.

DIVERT is there to offer hope and an opportunity to make positive change.


Key Responsibilities

The role of a Custody Intervention Coach is based mainly in a police custody suite. The CIC will be working on a daily basis engaging with detainees and various members of the police family. The CIC will remain totally independent from the police investigation whilst delivering this new and innovative intervention programme.

It is the CIC’s responsibility to successfully engage detainees in order to assess their motivation to make positive change and to start an intervention plan to prevent them from re-offending. This process will begin whilst the detainee is in police custody but will continue outside of the custody environment.

We would like to recruit a bright and self-motivated person who is passionate about helping others to achieve their goals and aspirations. The successful candidate must be able to work independently but also as part of a team, acting with professionalism, integrity, and empathy. The CIC will need to have a willingness to learn with a measured and consistent approach at all times.

This is not a comprehensive list of all the tasks which may be required of the post holder. It is illustrative of the general nature and level of responsibility of the work to be undertaken.

The CIC will have a thorough working knowledge of the community provision and opportunities delivered by their own community club organisation (CCO), Millwall Community Trust, with particular emphasis placed on training and employment opportunities delivered by Millwall Community Trust and also local partners.

In order to fulfil this role, the CIC will need to be an exceptional listener who is capable of engaging and building a rapport with people who may be at a time of crisis in their lives. The CIC will often be seen as a friendly face and as non-judgmental. The CIC will be impartial and open minded in their decision-making processes.

The police custody suite is a challenging environment. The CIC will need to be assertive and at times deal with confrontational situations. The role has an element of exposure to managed risk; therefore, the CIC will need to be risk aware and have the necessary skills to minimise risk. The CIC will need to exercise patience and resilience.

The CIC will need to integrate quickly into the environment of the police custody suite working to a common goal with all members of the police family. It is essential the CIC remains totally independent in the role whilst respecting the different roles of other professionals involved in the police detention process.

The CIC may consider working with drug intervention and mental health specialists (Liaison and Diversion) to provide a ‘joined up’ working approach to the intervention plan.

Possessing excellent interpersonal skills will be key to the CIC’s role. A clear communicator with the ability to connect with people from all backgrounds, walks of life and different cultures.

The CIC will be provided with full training to equip the CIC with the necessary knowledge and skills to fulfil the role, which will include a full week’s initial training in London (exact dates TBC).

The CIC will undergo personal security background checks carried out by Metropolitan Police in addition to the DBS check carried out by Millwall Community Trust

You will be responsible for improving your performance by participating in the Professional Development Review (PDR) process with your employer.

To carry out any other duties which are consistent with the nature, responsibilities, and grading of the post.

All roles are expected to know, understand, and act within the ethics and values of Millwall Community Trust and the Metropolitan Police. These will be assessed within the application / assessment or interview stage of the recruitment / selection process.

Essential Requirements

• Proven ability to gather and interpret information.
• Experience of dealing with members of the public and working in partnership with other departments and agencies
• Experience of communicating at all levels with a wide range of audiences.
• Experience of working effectively and efficiently as part of a team, and working with minimal supervision
• Experience of working on their own, developing solutions and taking appropriate timely action to resolve them
• Experience of dealing with difficult situations or conflict
• Experience of maintaining strict confidentiality using tact and diplomacy where appropriate
• Experience of listening effectively and questioning where necessary to fully understand a person’s personal circumstances
• Experience of writing professional reports


Desired Requirements

• Knowledge of intelligence gathering procedures
• Working within a custody suite
• Information sharing knowledge

Personal Skills/ Abilities

• Flexibility to travel on business when required.
• A flexible approach towards working practice and working hours.
• Full driving licence


To apply, please send your CV and covering letter to [email protected]

Due to the quantity of applicants expected, only those short-listed will be notified.

Closing date for applications: 28th July 2022


Interviews

We plan to hold initial interviews on the week commencing Monday 1st August 2022 so you should be aware of this if applying for the role.

Please note that the appointment of the successful candidate will be subject to standard preemployment screening, as applicable to the post. This will include right-to-work, proof of identity, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), and references. For this role, the successful candidate will also undergo personal security background checks carried out by the Metropolitan Police.

Please note that any personal data submitted to the charity as part of the job application process will be processed in accordance with the GDPR and related UK data protection legislation. The charity’s Policy on Data Protection is available on request.

Entry into employment with the charity and progression within employment will be determined only by personal merit and the application of criteria which are related to the duties of each particular post and the relevant salary structure. In all cases, ability to perform the job will be the primary consideration. No applicant or member of staff shall be discriminated against because of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

This document is a guide only and should not be regarded as exclusive or exhaustive. It is intended as an outline indication of the areas of activity and will be amended in the light of changing needs of the organisation. All employees may be required to undertake any other duties as may be reasonably requested.

Millwall Community Trust are fully committed to equality, diversity, inclusion, and anti-discrimination. We will work to address areas of under-representation and disadvantage in all aspects of our operations, activities, and services. In practice, this means that we will respect the needs of each and every individual regardless of their differences; and to this end we will deliver our operations, activities and services in such a way so as to ensure that that no one is excluded.