Custodial Manager

Ministry of Justice; Warrington; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Ministry of Justice in the Warrington area is seeking a Custodial Manager with specialist PEI training to lead the PE Department and support PIL pathways within the establishment.

The role includes line management of PE staff, incident response, and collaboration on staff wellbeing, fitness testing and PE education delivery, with a focus on maintaining safe, compliant practices.

Qualifications

• Must have passed PEI qualification & CMAC accredited.
• Fully trained Prison Officer with SO or CM JSAC assessment.
• Thorough knowledge of PE policy and standards; IQA qualification or working towards this.

Responsibilities

• Line manage all PE staff within their hierarchy, including performance, development and annual appraisal.
• Undertake incident management response and Orderly Officer duties; may oversee night periods.
• Develop PE pathways and support offender behaviour programmes to promote wellbeing and resettlement.
• Lead staff fitness and wellbeing initiatives in collaboration with national teams.
• Plan staff rotas and manage delivery of the PE programme; ensure safe supervision and discipline.

Skills

PEI qualification

CM JSAC accreditation

Leadership experience

Job description

The job holder will provide day-to-day management of the PE Department and support the delivery of the PE Pathways within the establishment. The job holder will be a Custodial Manager who will have additional specialist Physical Education Instructor (PEI) training to carry out this job. They will also be a key member of the establishment wellbeing committee and support staff returning to work, via line managers and occupational health practitioners. This is an operational, non-rotational, role with line management responsibilities.

Responsibilities, Activities and Duties The job holder will be required to carry out the following responsibilities, activities and duties:

• Responsible for the line management of all PE staff within their hierarchy including PE Band 3 Staff Support Officers. This includes staff performance, development and annual appraisal, through to sickness absence management and managerial enquiries. Supporting recruitment of PEIs locally and encouraging a diverse team through fair application of pre-selection processes.
• The job holder will be required to undertake incident management response (Silver/Bronze) and undertake Orderly Officer duties via the establishment's rota. In addition to this, the job holder may be required, on a rotational basis, to be responsible for the establishment during the night period. This requirement will be based upon local risk assessment and establishment complexity.
• Assist the Head of Function in developing PE pathways including supporting offender behaviour programmes through PE, education, violence reduction, IMH, resettlement, family ties, health, wellbeing and substance misuse to create and sustain a positive culture. Responsible for working closely with the Area Staff Support and Wellbeing Lead, and establishment senior management teams, to facilitate and inform on delivery of staff support services at an establishment level, and to facilitate and drive continuous improvement to the staff wellbeing offer.
• Lead on the development of a local programme of support for staff fitness and wellbeing, in partnership with national teams responsible for Staff Wellbeing and Specialist Fitness Testing.
• Act as internal verifier for all PE accreditations delivered within the PE department.
• Manage the allocation of prisoners to PE activities via the Activity Management Unit ensuring maximum numbers of prisoners in PE activity and employment in order to achieve service delivery indicators (SDIs).
• Ensure that prisoners are appropriately supervised, inducted, trained, deployed and paid within the PE department and that discipline, safer custody and health and safety practices are maintained at all times.
• Plan staff rotas/self-rostering and work activity to plan and manage the delivery of the PE programme.
• Work collaboratively with other departments and functional heads.
• In collaboration with partners, stakeholders and service providers design, develop and facilitate a curriculum of staff support and wellbeing activities, ensuring activities are strategically linked to the establishment People Plan and aligned to the HMPPS Business Strategy.
• It is expected that the job holder will have previous experience of working as a PEI in a custodial setting. They will hold the necessary PE mandatory qualifications which are in date.
• The job holder will be a fully trained Prison Officer and will have completed SO or CM JSAC Assessment. They must hold full accreditation or will have been in post as a substantive Senior Officer prior to 1997 or were a Senior Officer (specialist) who reverted to Senior Officer (mainstream) under the terms of PSI 05/2006 without the requirement to hold the SO JSAC accreditation. They will possess a thorough knowledge of PE policy and standards. They will hold an IQA qualification or equivalent to oversee the delivery of all PE educational qualifications or working towards this.

• Working Together
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Changing and Improving

The duties/responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is at present and is not intended to be exhaustive. The job holder is expected to accept reasonable alterations and additional tasks of a similar level that may be necessary. Significant adjustments may require re-examination under the Job Evaluation Scheme and shall be discussed in the first instance with the job holder.

Around 50% of our population are currently in external paid roles. Employment, training and community engagement are key strands of our rehabilitation aims. Recreation and wellbeing are prioritised by the vast majority of our population.

The MoJ offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non-contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different MoJ sites and / or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone's circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review.

For nationally advertised roles, the successful candidate(s) will be appointed to a MoJ office location, which may include their nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office. This will be discussed and agreed on the completion of pre-employment checks.

Some of MoJ's terms and conditions of service are changing as part of Civil Service reform. The changes will apply to staff joining MoJ who are new to the Civil Service. Staff joining MoJ from other civil service employers will transfer onto the new MoJ terms if they are already on 'modernised' terms in their current post or onto 'unmodernised' MoJ terms if they are on 'unmodernised' terms at their current post. Details will be available if an offer is made.

Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week excluding breaks which are unpaid. HMPPS welcomes part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns, where they meet the demands of the role and business needs. All applications for part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns will be considered in accordance with the HMPPS' Flexible Working policy.

If you are a current NPS employee, this vacancy may be available on a Loan basis for up to 2 years. Applications are invited from suitable qualified staff. The Loan/Secondment is subject to the approval of the selected candidate's Business Unit, which should be obtained before confirmation of appointment.

Behaviours Application Form Question Word Limit 250. Changing and Improving. Seeing the Big Picture. Managing a Quality Service. Leadership Technical. Technical Questions Application Form Question Word Limit 250. Specific qualification requirements Must have passed PEI qualification & CMAC accredited. Interview stage assessments. Interview Dates To Be Confirmed. Behaviours Changing and Improving. Seeing the Big Picture. Managing a Quality Service. Leadership Strengths. Strengths will be assessed but these are not shared in advance. To learn more about Strengths and how they are assessed please click here. Level of security checks required DBS Standard.

An ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence through the medium of English or (where specified in Wales) Welsh.

HMP Thorn Cross is an open prison housing over 400 prisoners. It is a friendly place to work with good relationships between staff and prisoners.

Hours of Work (Unsocial Hours) Allowances 37 hour working week (standard). HMPPS Staff on closed pay structures only: Additional Conditioned Hours Pensionable (ACHP) Staff moving from a closed 39 hour pay structure will be eligible for the two protected pensionable additional committed hours (ACHP). They will work a 39-hour week consisting of the standard 37-hour week and a further 2 additional hours (ACHP) paid at plain time pensionable rate. Unsocial Hours Working: This role requires working regular unsocial hours and a payment at the current approved organisation rate will be made in addition to your basic pay to recognise this. Unsocial hours are those hours outside 0700 - 1900hrs Monday to Friday and include working evenings, nights, weekends, and Bank/Public holidays.

Annual Leave -The holiday year runs from 1 March. If you work a non standard work pattern your leave entitlement may be expressed in either hours or days as appropriate. Leave entitlement is calculated on a pro‑rata basis and you will be advised of your actual entitlement on appointment. If you were appointed internally and your leave was previously calculated in days, this will continue to be the case. Bank, Public and Privilege Holidays -You are entitled to 9 days (66 hours 36 minutes) in recognition of bank, public and privilege holidays. These hours are added to your annual leave allowance. There is a requirement to work some public and bank holidays subject to your shift pattern and the operational needs of the establishment Pension -The Civil Service offers a choice of two pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.

Work Life Balance HMPPS is keen to encourage alternative working arrangements. Work life balance provides greater opportunities for staff to work more flexibly wherever managers and establishments can accommodate requests to do so. HMPPS offers flexible working subject to completion of a satisfactory probationary period and NVQ Season Ticket Advance -After two months' service, you'll be eligible to apply for a season ticket advance to purchase a quarterly or longer-period season ticket for travel between home and your place of work. Childcare Vouchers For any moves across the Civil Service may have implications on your ability to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. Training HMPPS is committed to staff development and offers a range of training and development opportunities, including areas such as Equality and Diversity, Dealing with Challenging Behaviour, Suicide Prevention and Anti Bullying Programmes. There are opportunities to access promotion programmes and HMPPS provides a variety of training appropriate to individual posts. All staff receive security and diversity training and an individual induction programme into their new roles.

Eligibility -All candidates are subject to security and identity checks prior to taking up post -All external candidates are subject to 6 months probation. Internal candidates are subject to probation if they have not already served a probationary period within HMPPS -All staff are required to declare whether they are a member of a group or organisation which the HMPPS considers to be racist. Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able