Industries manager

Sodexo; Peterborough; On-site; GBP 41,000 - 43,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Sodexo retirement plan

Shopping and lifestyle discounts

Gym discounts

Confidential 24/7 Employee Assistance

Job summary

Sodexo is seeking an Industries Manager to lead the Industries function at HMP Peterborough, developing high‑quality vocational training and activities that build skills and improve employability for prisoners.

Reporting to Education, Skills and Work, you will drive continuous improvement, quality assurance and collaboration with partners to deliver resettlement and employment opportunities, while meeting MOJ vetting requirements.

Qualifications

• Qualified teaching qualification or willingness to work toward one.
• Leadership and management qualification or willingness to undertake program.
• Experience in a vocational education setting.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Proactive, flexible and self-motivated with drive to improve.

Responsibilities

• Provide direction and effective leadership to Industries staff.
• Develop and expand vocational training and purposeful activities.
• Create employability strategy for HMP Peterborough.
• Lead quality assurance and ensure standards meet Good rating goals.
• Ensure compliance with health and safety and risk assessments.

Skills

Leadership

Vocational education

Stakeholder engagement

Quality improvement

Communication skills

Project management

Education

Teaching qualification (DTLLS/PGCE/Cert Ed)

Leadership qualification

Tools

CMS systems

VC2

Curious software

Job description

Location: HMP Peterborough

Salary: £41,000-£43,000 per annum

Hours: 37.5 hours per week

Working pattern: Monday to Thursday: 08:00-17:00, Friday: 08:00-13:30

Vetting: Successful candidates must be willing to undergo Ministry of Justice (MOJ) vetting.

Make a difference. Develop skills. Create opportunities.

Are you an experienced vocational education professional with a passion for leadership, quality improvement and helping people build a better future?

Sodexo is looking for a proactive and driven Industries Manager to join our Education, Skills and Work team at HMP Peterborough. This is an exciting opportunity to lead and develop vocational training and purposeful activity, creating meaningful opportunities that support prisoners to gain new skills, achieve qualifications and improve their prospects of employment on release.

HMP Peterborough is the UK's first purpose-built prison to house both men and women on the same site. With high levels of physical security, the establishment provides needs-led personal development services tailored to both populations. As a resettlement-focused prison, it offers a wide range of educational, vocational and behavioural programmes, alongside workshops, accredited training and employment opportunities that build practical skills for life beyond prison. Dedicated healthcare, family services and faith facilities also support the overall wellbeing of those in its care.

As Industries Manager, you will play a key role in delivering this mission by ensuring vocational provision is high quality, commercially sustainable and aligned with local labour market needs, helping prisoners develop the skills and confidence to move towards a more positive future.

About the Role

Working in partnership with colleagues across Education, Skills and Work, prison employment leads, training providers and external employers, you will lead the Industries function, drive continuous improvement and develop opportunities that support rehabilitation, resettlement and employment.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Leadership and team development: Provide clear direction and effective leadership to Industries staff, fostering a respectful, safe and inclusive environment.
• Vocational education and skills: Develop and expand vocational training, qualifications and purposeful activities that meet learners' needs and improve employability.
• Employability strategy: Create and implement an employability strategy for HMP Peterborough, identifying local skills gaps and developing opportunities that reflect employer demand.
• Quality assurance: Lead quality assurance across Industries, ensuring provision meets required standards and works towards achieving at least a 'Good' quality rating.
• Compliance and safety: Ensure all activities comply with relevant health and safety legislation, fire safety requirements, risk assessments and national and local policies.
• Performance and continuous improvement: Contribute to Self-Assessment Reports (SARs), support internal and Ofsted audits, and deliver improvement actions across the male and female prisons.
• Partnership working: Build and maintain effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders, monitor training provider Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and promote high-quality delivery.
• Commercial development: Identify opportunities to grow commercial revenue while ensuring activities meet contractual requirements and local employment needs.
• Data and reporting: Ensure accurate and timely recording across relevant systems, including Curious, VC2 and CMS, and produce reports and performance information as required.
• Resource and business planning: Manage resources effectively, contribute to longer-term business planning and support the wider objectives of the Education, Skills and Work department.

About You

You will be a motivated and adaptable leader who understands the value of vocational education and the role it plays in supporting rehabilitation and successful resettlement.

With experience in a vocational education or training environment, you will be confident in leading teams, improving quality, managing competing priorities and building productive relationships with a range of stakeholders. You will bring a positive, solutions-focused approach, strong communication skills and the drive to develop innovative opportunities that deliver meaningful outcomes.

Most importantly, you will share our commitment to creating a safe, respectful and inclusive environment where people are supported to develop their potential.

To be successful in this role, you will have

• A recognised teaching qualification, such as DTLLS, PGCE or Cert Ed, or a willingness to work towards one.
• A recognised Leadership and Management qualification, or a willingness to undertake the College Leadership and Management Apprenticeship Programme.
• Experience working within a vocational education setting.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• A proactive, flexible and self-motivated approach, with the ability to innovate and drive improvement.
• A commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
• An interest in the rehabilitation and resettlement of offenders.

It would also be desirable if you have

• An Assessor or Internal Verifier (IV) qualification.
• Previous experience working within a prison environment.
• A proven track record of leadership, quality improvement and delivering against performance targets.

What We Offer

Working with Sodexo is more than a job; it's a chance to be part of something greater

You’ll belong to a company and team that value you for who you are. You’ll act with purpose, make a difference through your everyday actions and have the opportunity to thrive in your own way.

In addition to a rewarding role where your work can have a lasting impact, we offer 20+ Sodexo benefits, designed to support your wellbeing, financial security and lifestyle.

These include

• Sodexo retirement plan to help you plan for the future.
• Shopping and lifestyle discounts across more than 1,900 brands, helping you save when shopping online.
• Gym discounts to support an active and healthy lifestyle.
• Confidential 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme, providing independent support when life presents challenges, including emotional support, legal advice and financial guidance.

For further details about our Sodexo benefits, please refer to the attached benefits information

About Sodexo

At Sodexo, our purpose is to create a better everyday for everyone to build a better life for all. As a global leader in services that improve quality of life, we operate in 55 countries, serving over 100 million consumers every day through our combination of On-Site Food and FM Services, Benefits & Rewards Services, and Personal & Home Services.

We’re committed to building a workplace for the future, where equal opportunities are at the heart of what we do and diversity is celebrated. We want everyone to feel welcome, be themselves and have the opportunity to become the best version of who they are.

We recognise that diversity and inclusion are an ongoing journey, and we welcome applications from candidates from underrepresented backgrounds who can bring different experiences, perspectives and skills to our team.

We are also proud to be a Disability Confident Leader employer. We are committed to changing attitudes towards disability and ensuring disabled people have the opportunity to fulfil their aspirations. Through our Disability Confident interview scheme, candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria for the role are offered an interview in line with the scheme's provisions.

Ready to Be Part of Something Greater?

If you’re passionate about vocational education, committed to improving outcomes and ready to lead a team that makes a genuine difference, we’d love to hear from you.

Join Sodexo at HMP Peterborough and help create meaningful opportunities, develop skills and build better futures.

Please note: The successful candidate must be willing to undergo Ministry of Justice (MOJ) vetting.