Therapeutic Group Facilitator

Location: HMP Dovegate, ST14 8XR
Salary: £34,475 per annum, plus excellent benefits
Hours: Monday- Friday 8am- 4:30pm (40 hours per week)

Ready to impact a better future?

As a Therapeutic Group Facilitator, you will play a pivotal role in delivering a high‑quality therapeutic service within a Democratic Therapeutic Community of Male offenders at HMP Dovegate. Working as part of a multidisciplinary team, you will help embed and maintain the principles of a high‑performing Therapeutic Community through the delivery of group‑based clinical work.

This is a highly responsible and influential role, requiring professional integrity, emotional resilience and a strong commitment to therapeutic values. Your work will directly contribute to reducing re‑offending, supporting psychological wellbeing and maintaining a safe, effective therapeutic environment on a 24/7 basis.

What you’ll do as a Therapeutic Group Facilitator

You’ll be entrusted to:

• Deliver structured group therapy as part of the Therapeutic Community clinical programme.
• Contribute to the assessment and treatment of residents with complex mental health needs, including those presenting with multiple and enduring disorders.
• Facilitate group work, community meetings and reviews in line with the accredited therapeutic model.
• Complete clinical assessments, contribute to formulations and write high‑quality reports.
• Support accreditation, quality assurance and clinical performance in line with Community of Communities, HMPPS and CSAP requirements.
• Contribute to reducing violent and general recidivism through effective psychotherapeutic interventions.
• Ensure the Therapeutic Community meets all external requirements expected of residential custodial environments, including HMIP, ACCT, IEP and violence reduction standards.
• Support the maintenance of living accommodation and communal spaces through therapeutic processes.
• Participate in service development and training activities, including promoting the Therapeutic Community model across the wider prison estate.

Does this sound like you?

You’ll be a great fit for this role if you have:

• Professional training as a psychotherapist, counsellor or group analyst (or are in training leading to BACP or UKCP registration).
• Alternatively, substantial experience delivering group‑based therapeutic interventions.
• Experience working autonomously as part of a multidisciplinary clinical team.
• A strong understanding of Democratic Therapeutic Community principles and psychoanalytic psychotherapeutic practice.
• The ability to engage in supervision, reflect on practice and respond positively to feedback.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, particularly for report writing and multi‑agency liaison.
• Emotional resilience and the ability to maintain professional boundaries in challenging environments.

Desirable experience includes:

• Experience working within a Therapeutic Community.

• Experience contributing to complex clinical decision‑making and risk management.
• Experience working with high‑risk individuals in multi‑professional settings.

Additional requirements:

• This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
• All appointments are subject to Home Office security clearance and approval.

Vetting and checks:

An Enhanced DBS check is required for this role. This includes spent and unspent convictions, cautions, and any relevant information held by local police, in accordance with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and safeguarding requirements. You will also complete an Occupational Health Questionnaire to allow us to provide any support needed for you to succeed in the role.

Discover all you need to keep growing

We’re one of the top 1% of international employers, so you can be confident you’ll join an organisation that values professional excellence, clinical integrity and continuous development. You’ll be supported through supervision, training and leadership development while delivering work that makes a genuine difference.

What we offer

• Holidays: 23 days plus bank holidays
• Pension: Up to 6% contributory pension scheme
• Training and development: Mandatory clinical training, supervision and ongoing professional development
• Health and wellbeing: Employee Assistance Programme and wellbeing support
• Discounts: Discounts across a wide range of retailers and services
• Employee networks: Inclusive networks supporting collaboration, belonging and psychological safety

Let’s impact a better future, together. Apply today.

About Serco
At Serco, not only is the nature of the work we do important, everyone has an important role to play, from caring for vulnerable people to managing complex public services. We are a team of 50,000 people responsible for delivering essential public services around the world in areas including defence, transport, justice, immigration, healthcare and citizen services. We are innovators, committed to redesigning and improving public services for the benefit of everyone.

By joining Serco you will have unlimited access to our Global Employee Networks – SercoInspire (Gender), SercoEmbrace (Multicultural), SercoUnlimited (Disability) and In@Serco (LGBT & Networks). Serco Employee Networks, led by colleagues who are passionate about diversity, inclusion and belonging.

Apply
Please click on the apply button to complete your application. Occasionally we receive a large volume of applications for our roles and when that happens we sometimes bring the closing date forward, so please apply promptly to avoid disappointment.

At Serco, we see people first and foremost for their performance and potential. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that supports the needs of all. As such we will make reasonable adjustments at interview through to employment for our candidates and strongly encourage applications from a diverse candidate pool. We are open to discussions around flexibility and flexible working. We operate a hybrid work structure in many of our business areas. We are proudly Disability Confident Leader employers and holder of the Gold Inclusive Employer Standard. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at an interview. For help with your application please contact 0345 010 4000.

At Serco we support fair access to employment for those with unspent criminal convictions through the ‘Ban the Box’ pledge (some may be exempt due to the nature of the role and the security clearance required). Please contact our recruitment team directly on 0345 010 4000 to discuss.