Community Violence Mentor (Community Initiative to Reduce Violence)

Ref: CVM-241

Are you a compassionate, highly organised and collaborative individual with a proven track record of engaging positively with young people, vulnerable groups and families? Do you have sound experience of providing support, advice and advocacy and the ability to assess clients’ needs?

If so, St Giles is looking for a Community Violence Mentor to work on our CIRV programme, where you will provide intensive and holistic wraparound mentoring to help prevent and divert clients engaged in or thought to be at risk of involvement in gang and youth violence.

About St Giles Trust

An ambitious, well-established charity that helps people facing adversity to find jobs, homes and the right support they need.  Central to our ethos is our belief that people with first-hand experience of successfully overcoming issues such as an offending background, homelessness, addictions and gang involvement, hold the key to positive change in others.

About this key role

Our successful candidate will engage and support young people, adults and families once they have been identified as being involved in a violence-related incident, being at risk of exploitation or gang affiliated, plus build positive relationships with the clients and their families.  You will produce risk management plans based on assessments, promoting inter-agency collaboration in the assessment and planning process, and deliver a holistic service to each client, providing practical help that will include social and housing support, engagement with education, training and employment options.

You will also be expected to work in collaboration with the wider CIRV team to access support and bring about change in the client group, and to work closely with the Evaluation team, while also providing practical advice to professionals who come into contact with your clients who are involved, suspected or at risk of being exploited through gangs.

What we are looking for

• Relevant direct or indirect experience of the criminal justice system
• Experience of engaging successfully with challenging people
• Proven track record of negotiating with partner agencies to establish links to further the aims of a project
• Experience of working to targets and recording information and statistics to enable effective monitoring of performance against targets
• Knowledge of the particular drivers and risks associated with gang involvement and youth violence across Coventry or Wolverhampton
• Excellent interpersonal, relationship-building and communication skills, verbal and written.

As an organisation that works with children and adults at risk we are committed to safeguarding, protecting and promoting the safety of our clients and successful applicants will require an Enhanced Child and Adult with Child Barred DBS Check.

We actively encourage people with personal experience of the criminal justice system or lived experience of the issues facing this client group to apply for this role.

In return, you can expect a competitive salary, generous leave allowance, staff pension, flexible working, a mentoring programme, an advice and counselling service, clinical therapist sessions, life insurance (4 x annual salary), duvet days, season ticket loan, employee perks programme, eye care voucher and much more.

We are an equity and inclusion confident employer. We welcome all applications and we particularly encourage applications from people of the global majority (black, brown, multi- heritage) and those who identify as disabled, neuroexpansive, neurodiverse, with any protected characteristics and/or social barriers or challenges. We value the empowering and informative impact that all lived experiences and diversity of thought can offer the organisation.

St Giles will guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria set out in the Job Description for the vacancy.

To apply click the apply button.

Closing date: 29th September at 11pm. 

Interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis, so early application is encouraged as the position may be filled before the closing date.