Mobilisation Manager

Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact); South Yorkshire; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Pact is seeking a Mobilisation Manager to lead end-to-end mobilisation of new prime contracts for Community Support for Men, including custody services, pre-release and community delivery. You will ensure a controlled, compliant transition from award to Day One, working with Directors and stakeholders to meet contract deliverables and governance standards.

The role requires experience mobilising justice services, strong project and mobilisation skills, and the ability to manage multiple

Qualifications

• Proven experience mobilising publicly commissioned justice or probation services.
• Strong project and mobilisation management capability in complex, regulated environments.
• Knowledge of mobilisation lifecycles, readiness criteria and early-life service management.

Responsibilities

• Lead mobilisation lifecycle activities for Community Support services for Men, developing comprehensive Mobilisation Plans.
• Ensure all mandatory requirements and service specifications are met prior to go-live and through early-life service delivery.
• Establish mobilisation governance, prepare assurance documentation, readiness evidence and progress reports.
• Coordinate internal mobilisation activity across Operations, HR, Recruitment, Finance, IT, Data, Compliance and Quality and with subcontractors.
• Mobilise case management systems, reporting tools and data-sharing processes in line with justice requirements.
• Oversee recruitment aligned to contract volumes and vetting, onboarding and TUPE transfers.
• Maintain mobilisation risk/issue/dep registers with mitigation strategies and escalation routes.
• Act as mobilisation liaison before appointing Services Director, updating stakeholders and managing expectations.
• Monitor mobilisation costs against budgets and identify risks; allocate resources efficiently.
• Collaborate with Services Director on readiness and go-live reviews and capture lessons learned.

Skills

Mobilisation experience

Project management

MoJ/HMPPS familiarity

Mobilisation lifecycles

Compliance knowledge

MS Project / planning tools

Stakeholder management

Audit-ready processes

Education

PM/related degree

Tools

Microsoft Project

Job description

Contract: Fixed-term, November 2026 to August 2027 (available as a secondment)

Location: Supporting mobilisation of potential prime contracts in the South West and/or South Yorkshire, with subcontract activity across England and Wales

Reports to: Director of Justice and Health Services, then Service Director for the relevant contract(s)

About Pact

Pact (the Prison Advice & Care Trust) is a pioneering national charity that cares for men, women and young people in custody, those with criminal convictions in the community, and their children, family members and carers. To find out more about our work, please visit https://www.prisonadvice.org.uk/about/who-we-are/.

About the role

We are looking for an experienced Mobilisation Manager to lead the end-to-end mobilisation of Pact's new prime contracts for Community Support for Men, providing services to men in custody on remand and pre-release, and in the community.

This is a high-profile, time-bound role at a pivotal moment for Pact. You will be responsible for ensuring a controlled, compliant and risk-managed transition from contract award through to full operational delivery from Day One. Working initially to the Director of Justice and Health Services, and then to the relevant Service Director, you will ensure that all contractual deliverables, service specifications, assurance requirements, governance arrangements, workforce readiness and statutory obligations are met in line with MoJ and HMPPS expectations. You will also provide support and advice to contracts being mobilised by Pact as a subcontractor, safeguarding service integrity, public protection and the wellbeing of vulnerable service users throughout.

What you will be doing

As Mobilisation Manager, your work will span the full mobilisation lifecycle, including:

• Leading the mobilisation of Community Support services for Men, developing and managing comprehensive Mobilisation Plans aligned to contract schedules, implementation milestones and commissioner-approved timelines
• Ensuring all Mandatory Requirements, service specifications and implementation conditions are met prior to go-live, and overseeing early-life service delivery through to business-as-usual
• Establishing and maintaining clear mobilisation governance, preparing assurance documentation, readiness evidence, progress reports and exception reports, and supporting commissioner-led readiness reviews and gateway processes
• Coordinating internal mobilisation activity across Operations, HR, Recruitment, Finance, IT, Data, Compliance, Safeguarding and Quality, and managing dependencies with delivery partners and subcontractors
• Mobilising case management systems, reporting tools, data-sharing processes and information governance arrangements in line with justice system requirements
• Commencing recruitment aligned to contract volumes and locations, working with HR to manage vetting, onboarding, training and TUPE transfers in a compliant, transparent and supportive way
• Maintaining mobilisation risk, issue and dependency registers, with clear mitigation strategies and escalation routes, and ensuring all activity meets legal, contractual, regulatory, safeguarding and data protection requirements
• Acting as the initial mobilisation liaison for commissioners, internal leaders, delivery teams and partners prior to appointment of the Services Director, providing clear and timely updates and managing expectations
• Monitoring mobilisation costs against approved budgets, identifying emerging risks related to scope, volume or feasibility, and allocating resources efficiently
• Working with the Services Director on formal readiness and go-live reviews, ensuring a structured handover to operational teams, and capturing lessons learned to improve organisational mobilisation standards

About you

You will be a credible, highly organised and resilient professional who has successfully mobilised publicly commissioned services in complex, regulated environments. You will be confident operating at pace, holding multiple workstreams together, and inspiring the confidence of commissioners, partners and transferring staff.

• Proven experience mobilising or transitioning publicly commissioned justice or probation services
• Strong project and mobilisation management capability in complex, regulated environments
• Experience working with or alongside MoJ / HMPPS commissioning, assurance or contract management teams
• A strong understanding of mobilisation lifecycles, readiness criteria and early-life service management
• Knowledge of justice-sector compliance frameworks including safeguarding, data protection and performance management
• Proficiency in mobilisation planning and reporting tools (e.g. Microsoft Project or equivalent)
• High levels of organisational skill and cultural awareness when working with diverse and vulnerable service user groups
• A degree in Project Management, Operations, Criminal Justice, Social Policy or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience

You will also be resilient and composed under sustained pressure, tenacious and outcomes-focused, values-led and person-centred, diplomatic and credible with senior stakeholders, and instinctively structured and audit-ready in the way you work Please note that you must be able to work weekends depending on rota requirements, and regular travel to custodial, probation, community or partner sites will be required. Flexible working arrangements may apply depending on contract win locations.

What we offer:

Pact offers a range of benefits including a free advice, information and counselling service, contributory pension, corporate eye care scheme, cycle to work scheme and generous holiday entitlement. You will have the opportunity to attend training events to further develop yourself as a professional training and interventions worker. You will undergo a thorough induction process and be supported by a friendly and enthusiastic team.

Other information:

Pact is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all applications including those with a criminal conviction (appointment to post is subject to a risk assessment).

This post is subject to a 6-month probationary period, verification of identity and proven right to work in the UK, satisfactory references from previous employers covering a 3-year period, declaration of any unspent criminal convictions (and where appropriate a satisfactory risk assessment), Prison Vetting and a Disclosure and Barring Service check. Please note that being bankrupt or having County Court Judgements may affect your ability to be successfully vetted to work in a prison.