RECOOP, part of the BCHA Group, has been supporting and delivering services to help the older offender population both in prisons and in the community for over ten years. The charity is delighted to be able to advertise for a Buddy Co-ordinator post for our new Contract delivery in HMP Altcourse.

This is a very exciting time to join Recoop as the Charity sees significant growth in new services in prisons across the country.

We are looking for the right candidate to support our Service in HMP Altcourse prison. The post is based at HMP Altcourse and the successful candidate will be responsible for the provision of our Buddy Support Worker programme, which trains prisoners to National Care Standards, adapted for use in Prison, to support other prisoners who have health and social care needs.

The post-holder will develop positive working relationships with prison partners, and other key stakeholders both inside the prison and in the community to ensure that the Contract meets agreed Performance Indicators.

Recoop is a subsidiary within in the BCHA Group and a charity in its own right. Recoop aspires to be the leader in the delivery of knowledge and expertise to older people who come into contact with the criminal justice system, supporters and the staff who work with them. We will use the views of the people we work with to influence and direct the services delivered.

BCHA is a Housing Association with a diverse range of support services to help the most vulnerable. Together as multi-discipline third sector organisations, we want to continuously develop our services, resources and partnerships, to help bring together the housing, health and social care sectors - and so deliver an ever-improving quality of support to society's most in-need people.

RECOOP has been pioneering new, effective ways to support older offenders and ex-offenders. In recent years we have been commissioned by HMPPS to deliver two research projects looking at building capacity and support options to meet the needs of the growing older prison population. We are gaining increasing national recognition for our work and have contributed to national policy.

With prison sentences getting longer, more people are growing old behind bars. People aged 60 and over are the fastest growing age group in the prison estate. There are now more than triple the number there were 16 years ago. (MOJ 2018)

RECOOP has recently developed a number of new services and training programmes that have already been purchased by a number of prisons across the country. Interest in our services is growing and we now need to align the charity to respond to this challenge and demand. You will be joining our specialist and well respected organisation at a very exciting time. This post is prison based but travel and being away from home may occasionally be necessary, so flexibility is required. All work expenses will be re-imbursed.

The successful candidate will ideally have experience of working in a custodial environment or have worked in a training or social care setting, have strong communication and motivational skills and an understanding of the kinds of issues faced by older individuals and/or offenders.

In this role, you will also be expected to work closely with a range of Criminal Justice stakeholders especially Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), Probation and Local Authority partners.

If you would like to know more about this role or wish to apply please visit https://www.bcha.org.uk/jobs/ alternatively please call Human Resources on 01202 555717. Please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification attached to this advert above for full information.

BCHA is accredited with the Investors in People award (IIP) and Investors in Excellence. It is an equal opportunities employer and is a Disability Confidence Scheme accredited Employer.

The successful applicant will be subject to DBS checks/disclosure and Prison Security vetting.

· Working with people with Basic Skills needs

· 24 months experience of working with older people, individuals in the Criminal Justice system or a social care setting

· Experience of co-ordinating and monitoring the delivery of a contract or SLA

· Development & delivery of training modules

· Interview and assessment skills