Specialist Production Instructor Commercial Horticulture

Ministry of Justice; Great Bowden; Hybrid; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A governmental organization in the UK is seeking a Horticultural Supervisor responsible for day-to-day garden maintenance and supervising prisoners in horticultural activities. The ideal candidate should have supervisory experience, be knowledgeable in crop production and have a Level 3 horticulture qualification. This role offers hybrid working arrangements where feasible and involves managing safety and production standards on-site.

Qualifications

• Experience in a supervisory role is required.
• Must be conversant with crop production and preparation for sale.
• Current knowledge of Health and Safety and COSHH regulations is needed.

Responsibilities

• Maintain soil husbandry for crop development.
• Supervise prisoners and manage workload effectively.
• Ensure safety protocols and quality assurance practices are followed.

Skills

Supervisory skills

Soil and growing medium husbandry

Crop production technology

Plant protection technology

Grading and presentation of produce

Education

Level 3 qualification in horticulture

Tools

Industrial standard machinery

Tractors

Job description

Overview

The job holder will be responsible for the day-to-day maintenance, harvesting and cultivating of the establishment's gardens, ensuring protected cropping is grown and harvested to the highest standards and assess accredited vocational qualifications to prisoners. This is a non-operational job in an establishment with no line management responsibilities.

Responsibilities, Activities and Duties

• Maintain correct field-scale soil husbandry, ensuring all stages of crop development are followed in accordance with good horticultural practice.
• Maintain the growing plant/crop to ensure optimum development and/or cropping, ensuring that the plant’s needs are fully met.
• Maintain effective biological pest control measures and any necessary chemical crop protection programmes.
• Resolve any prisoner work issues, setting tasks to match their ability whilst ensuring safety and production is maintained at all times.
• Ensure produce grown on-site is prepared and packaged appropriately, taking into consideration appropriate labelling, grading and overall presentation.
• Maintain sports fields as per agreed plan with both the Farms and Gardens Manager and PE Department.
• Carry out preventative pest control measures across area of responsibility.
• Undertake other instructor tasks including: participate in the selection process of prisoners for the workshop/area of work; induct prisoners to the workshop/area of work and train them in Health and Safety, COSHH, machinery and tools usage; provide support for prisoners where required; tailor learning and training requirements to individual needs; set work schedules and manage targets/quality standards.
• Assess and evaluate skills of prisoners up to national qualification standards.
• Supervise and maintain discipline of prisoners within workshop/area of work, responsible for performance, motivation, discipline, appraisal and development of prisoners.
• Maintain regular communications via radio net in accordance with Local Security Strategy (LSS).
• Open and complete Assessment Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) forms, Violence Reduction Incident Reports (VRIR) and Security Information Reports (SIRs) when required and contribute to Incentive Earned Privileges (IEP) reports.
• Conduct metal detector scan or rub down search of prisoners attending and leaving their own workshops.
• Provide quality assurance against product specification.
• Log attendance and approve prisoner hours worked and wages including recording piece work where appropriate.
• Carry out fabric and tool checks of workshops and maintain security of areas, logging any tool/equipment faults; undertake planned maintenance programme on machinery.
• Contribute to prisoner reports including parole and sentence planning.
• Complete regime monitoring information and update prisoner training records.
• Contribute to Health and Safety risk assessments relating to the workshop/work of area and specialist areas.
• Request materials and estimate usage in order to meet work targets.
• Initiate product development reviews to maintain workshop/area of work output levels, and to provide variety of work and experience for prisoners.
• Participate in self-audit and in achieving Service Delivery Indicators (SDIs).
• Complete administration activities to support the smooth running of the workshop.

Additional Information

The duties/responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is at present and are 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.

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. This role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas. Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working; arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and are 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. Details will be discussed and agreed on 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. 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 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 suitably qualified staff. The Loan/Secondment is subject to approval by the selected candidate's Business Unit, which should be obtained before confirmation of appointment.

You must ensure that any evidence submitted as part of your application, including your CV, statement of suitability and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Plagiarism can include presenting ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.

Essential Experience - Must have experience in a supervisory role. - Must be conversant with soil and growing medium husbandry, crop protection, crop production technology, plant protection technology options, and preparation of fresh produce for sale, including grading, labelling and presentation. - Should have experience of using industrial standard machinery and equipment.

Technical Requirements - Staff must hold a Level 3 qualification in horticulture or a recognised horticultural industry equivalent, or be trained to the appropriate level within two years. - Holding PA2 and PA6 pesticide qualifications would be a requirement. - Must have current knowledge of all relevant Health and Safety and COSHH regulations. - May be required to be an accredited Assessor. - Must hold a full current UK driving license to enable tractor and other vehicle driving operations in the course of the post holder's duties, in addition to prisoner instruction duties on farm vehicles. - When transferring to a Young Persons establishment the job holder will be required to undertake an assessment to demonstrate suitability to work with Young People.

Ability IT Skills, Basic Maths, Basic English. Behaviours Making Effective Decisions; Communicating and Influencing; Working Together; Managing a Quality Service; Developing Self and Others.

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