Criminal Justice Diversion Keyworker

Do you have a commitment to making a difference to women’s lives?

Are you passionate about supporting women in a holistic, gender responsive, trauma-informed way to achieve long-term lasting change?

Join The Nelson Trust’s award-winning Women’s Centres, providing holistic, gender-specialist support to women facing multiple disadvantages, including those involved in the criminal justice system.

Our centres offer safe, women-only spaces across Gloucestershire, Swindon, Bristol, Somerset, Cardiff, Swansea, and HMP Eastwood Park.

As a Criminal Justice Diversion Worker, you will support women in the community following arrest, police custody, or prison.

You will coordinate multi-agency approaches to reduce social harms like homelessness, substance misuse, and abuse. Your goal is to provide practical and emotional support, raise self-esteem, and enhance recovery.

Hours: 35 hours per week (flexibility to work outside of normal working hours) (Hours negotiable, will consider part-time and full-time)
Pension: Auto Enrolment pension in force (6% employer contribution)

Key Responsibilities

• Provide outreach services, work from satellite bases, and support clients within agreed time frames.
• Conduct comprehensive assessments, develop gender-responsive support plans, and manage cases.
• Build relationships with statutory and voluntary partners, attend multi-agency meetings, and advocate for women.
• Accompany clients to court, providing support whether they are offenders or victims.
• Help clients access local services, maintain confidentiality, and adhere to safeguarding principles.

Requirements

• Experience working with women with complex needs and those in the criminal justice system.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Strong IT skills and experience in case management.
• Knowledge of trauma-informed approaches and gender-specific issues.
• Car driver with access to a vehicle for outreach support.

Desirable

• Experience in report writing, advocacy, and delivering trauma-responsive interventions.
• Knowledge of child protection and safeguarding issues.

Qualities We Are Looking For

• Empathy, commitment, and enthusiasm for working with our beneficiary group.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to manage time, prioritise tasks, and work under pressure.

Due to the nature of the work carried out in our Women’s Centres this role is restricted to female applicants only in accordance with the provisions of the occupational requirement (Equality Act 2010, pursuant to Schedule 9, Part 1).

The Nelson Trust is committed to safeguarding, the successful applicant will be required to undergo an enhanced Children & Adults DBS check

We have become known for the quality of our work and ability to provide bespoke care and support services.  While we are proud of our achievements so far, we are ambitious and want to continue to grow and diversify our workforce.

We recognise that employees from different backgrounds bring unique knowledge, perspectives and experiences and we are committed to increasing the diversity of our workforce and welcome applications from individuals across all sectors of society.

This is an opportunity for new, challenging and highly rewarding experiences. Our staff make a real difference to people’s lives and in return for your commitment and enthusiasm, we offer a comprehensive training and development programme a generous pension scheme and a positive working environment.