Regional Prison Support Lead - London, United Kingdom - Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Justice

Verified Company

London, United Kingdom

2 weeks ago

Posted by:

Tom O´Connor

beBee Recruiter

Description

Regional Prison Support Lead:

London & Kent, Surrey, and Sussex

£43,647 - £48,067

London:

Job Title:

Regional Prison Support Lead:
London and Kent, Surrey & Sussex, Independent Monitoring Boards Secretariat

Grade:

SEO

Location:

London with regional travel essential

Salary:

The salary for this role is set within the MoJ
SEO pay range

Full/Part Time:

This role is being offered on a full-time basis (flexible working arrangements considered)

Contract Type:

This is a permanent role

About Independent Monitoring Boards:

Members of Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs) are unpaid public appointees (volunteers) who monitor places of detention.

There are around 1200 IMB members, organised into 127 Boards monitoring prisons and places of immigration detention, each with its own Chair.

They are appointed by ministers and operate in prisons and Young Offender Institutions (run by HM Prison and Probation Service - MoJ), in Immigration Removal Centres, various Short-Term Holding Facilities and on repatriation flights for those being removed from the UK (run by the Home Office).

As independent scrutiny bodies, IMBs have a growing public profile and play an increasingly crucial role in providing assurance to ministers and the public on the conditions and treatment of those held in detention.

They are members of the UK's National Preventive Mechanism, under the UK's international human rights obligations to prevent torture and other ill-treatment of people in detention.

They work closely with HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, who also play a key part in the oversight and assurance of places of detention.

The findings of IMBs are fed into the performance and scrutiny information used by government to contribute to prisons and immigration detention policy and process changes, in line with the government's commitment to ensuring safe, humane and effective places of detention.

About the role:

Six new roles have been created to strengthen the support provided to the Regional Representatives in both the prisons and immigration detention estate.

This role is the Support Lead for East Midlands and East prison regions.

Regional Representatives are experienced IMB members who provide advice and support to Chairs and Boards in their region to help them fulfil their statutory responsibilities.

The Regional Representatives report to the National Chair of the IMBs.

The Support Lead roles will be part of the IMB Secretariat, which provides support to the Chair, Management Board and membership.

They will be line managed by a member of the senior management team and tasked with the specific role of providing dedicated, targeted and effective support to Boards in their region, working with and through the Regional Representatives, to assist them to drive improvements in the conditions and treatment of those in prisons.

You will be a motivated, enthusiastic individual committed to providing an exceptionally high level of support to volunteers in a fast-paced environment.

You must also be prepared to travel. You will need to visit multiple prisons across a large geographical area including some rural settings.

Proposed changes to the organisational structure and governance, along with the increasing profile of the IMBs, make this an exciting time to join the organisation.

Key Responsibilities:

The postholder will work with the Secretariat lead to provide dedicated support to the Regional Representatives and to Board Chairs in their regions.

Key responsibilities will link directly to those of the Regional Representatives and will include, but may not be limited to:

- building a strong and supportive working relationship with Regional Representatives and Chairs through regular engagement. An essential part of the role will include meeting with the Regional Representatives on a regular basis and undertaking regular visits to Boards across the region.
- supporting the Regional Representatives in arranging the quarterly meetings of all Chairs, taking minutes and progressing the action points following the meetings
- working with the Secretariat, Board Chairs and Regional Representatives to help identify and meet current and future capacity needs
- influencing prison policy and practice, by feeding the findings of the Boards into the Secretariat policy team, and National Chair, including on thematic priority issues, and helping to keep boards up to date on policy changes to help inform their monitoring
- helping Boards to develop effective and workable reporting processes, including annual and regular reports
- ensuring nationally agreed IMB policies and procedures, including statutory responsibilities, are communicated to Chairs and Boards, and providing advice and support on their implementation
- providing advice and support to the Regional Representative and where required to Board Chairs on any personnel issues.

Skills:

**Essential cri