The Wise Group
Mentor - Finance, Benefit & Debt (North West)
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Position Mentor - Finance, Benefit & Debt (North West)
Location: Flexible working - working principally across prisons and communities in the North West of England, with some home working
Salary: £25,664 + excellent benefits
Hours: 35 hours per week (flexible working)
Status: Fixed term to 28 February 2027
Closing date: 18 October 2026
Regular travel across the North West of England is required. A full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle are essential.
The opportunity
Financial stability can make a significant difference to someone's journey through the justice system and back into the community.
The Wise Group is looking for a Mentor to join our Finance, Benefit & Debt service, working alongside people in prison and on probation across the North West of England.
Delivered on behalf of the Ministry of Justice, the service provides practical, one-to-one support to help people understand and manage their finances, address debt, access the benefits and financial support they are entitled to and navigate the organisations and systems that can help them.
But this role is about more than giving financial advice.
Using the Wise Group's Relational Mentoring approach, you'll build trusted and purposeful relationships with people who may be facing several interconnected challenges. You'll take time to understand their circumstances, help them identify practical steps forward and stay focused on the outcomes that can help create greater stability.
You'll work independently and take responsibility for managing your caseload, maintaining high standards of case management and following through on commitments. You'll need good judgement, resilience and the ability to bring structure and consistency even when circumstances around you are changing.
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Partnership working is central to the role.
You'll work closely with prison and probation colleagues and other organisations supporting people through the justice system and back into their communities. You'll represent the Wise Group professionally, build trusted working relationships and make it easier for partners to understand how our support can contribute to better outcomes for the people we collectively serve.
That means being someone partners can rely on - communicating well, doing what you say you will do, raising issues constructively and working together to find practical solutions.
You'll also bring what you are learning back into the Wise Group. Frontline experience matters. We want colleagues who notice recurring barriers, understand where systems are helping or hindering progress and share that insight so we can strengthen our delivery and our partnerships.
What you'll do
- Build trusted, purposeful relationships with people in prison and on probation.
- Provide practical support around finance, benefits, budgeting and debt.
- Advocate for customers and help them navigate relevant services and organisations.
- Manage your caseload effectively and maintain accurate, timely and meaningful records.
- Work collaboratively with prison, probation and wider justice partners.
- Build confidence in the Wise Group through reliable, professional and consistent partnership working.
- Identify risks or issues early and use sound judgement about when to act, challenge or escalate.
- Follow through on commitments and take ownership of the quality of your work.
- Share frontline insight that can help improve our services, partnerships and understanding of the challenges people experience.
- Work collaboratively with colleagues across the Wise Group, recognising that successful reintegration often requires support beyond a single service.
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What you'll bring
We're interested in how you work with people as much as the job titles you've held before.
You'll bring strong relationship-building and communication skills, alongside the maturity and judgement to work effectively within justice environments.
You'll be someone who can build trust without losing professional boundaries; work independently while staying connected to colleagues; remain calm when circumstances are challenging; and take responsibility for seeing things through.
Experience of mentoring, justice, financial wellbeing, housing, employability, community support or another relationship-based service would be valuable. Previous experience in a custodial environment would be advantageous but is not essential.
You will need to be comfortable building relationships with professional partners and representing the Wise Group externally.
The successful candidate will be required to pass Enhanced Level 1 prison vetting.
Home broadband is required to support home working, alongside a full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle.
View the Role Profile for full details about this opportunity.
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