Position Mentor Advocacy
Location Durham - community and custody-based
Salary £25,664 + excellent benefits
Hours 35 hours per week (flexible working)
Status Fixed term to 28 February 2027
Closing date 26 May 2026
The opportunity
The Wise Group, in partnership with the Ministry of Justice and third-sector organisations, delivers the Personal Wellbeing Service, supporting nearly 5,000 men leaving prison across the North East of England.
This is about more than support. It’s about helping people stabilise, rebuild and move forward.
Working across prison and community settings in Durham and Cleveland, you’ll provide one-to-one mentoring to men facing multiple, connected challenges - from wellbeing and relationships to financial pressures and social isolation. You’ll work closely with probation, prison teams and local partners to ensure people can access the right support at the right time.
Using our Relational Mentoring approach, you will build trusted relationships that go beyond transactional support, helping individuals make meaningful, sustained progress.
We’re looking for someone who is confident working with complexity, can build trust quickly, and is motivated by helping people move from crisis towards stability and independence.
What you’ll bring
You don’t need to have done this exact role before - but you do need to understand people, persistence and what it takes to support change.
Experience working in a mentoring, support or customer-focused role
Confidence working with individuals facing multiple and complex challenges
Ability to build strong, trusted relationships and maintain professional boundaries
A practical, solutions-focused mindset with the ability to navigate local services
Strong communication and organisational skills
Experience in a custodial or criminal justice setting is advantageous, but not essential.
Essential requirements
Full driving licence and access to a car for daily use
Ability to work across both custody and community settings
Home broadband connection to support remote working
Successful completion of enhanced Level 1 prison vetting
View the Role Profile for full details about this opportunity.
The Wise Group is a leading social enterprise, which transforms people’s lives.
Every day we support our customers into jobs, work to lift people out of fuel poverty, and help people coming out of prison to build a better future. Our work is varied, but underlying everything we do is a passion and commitment for social justice and a fairer society for all.
To do this, the Wise Group works in partnership with everyone from large businesses to national and local government and third sector organisations who provide essential specialist support to our customers. Together, we’re greater than the sum of our parts.
For media enquiries - https://www.thewisegroup.co.uk/media-enquiries/
