This role sits within the South West Prison Group Director's Team and offers an excellent opportunity to work across a diverse range of establishments and functions. The successful candidate will be expected to travel regularly across the South West region.

This role may particularly appeal to candidates seeking to broaden their experience and develop towards more senior leadership positions, including those aspiring to become an accredited Band 7 Head of Function. We welcome applications from both operational and non-operational colleagues who can demonstrate the skills, knowledge and behaviours required to deliver effective assurance, scrutiny and continuous improvement activity.

You will lead a small team consisting of two Band 5 colleagues and an Analyst, supporting the delivery of a varied and rewarding portfolio of work. Responsibilities include undertaking audits and assurance reviews, supporting inspection activity, producing high-quality reports, and engaging with Governors and Heads of Function across the region. The role also involves working collaboratively with establishments to identify opportunities for improvement, providing support, challenge and upskilling to help drive sustainable positive change.

This is an excellent opportunity for a motivated individual with strong analytical, communication and stakeholder management skills who enjoys working across a broad range of business areas to support operational excellence and organisational improvement.

Interested Candidates are encouraged to reach out to the Group Safety Lead; Sheena Prout.

Improving safety in prisons is HMPPS top priority. Those working in the Group Safer Custody Teams have a key role in making establishments safer for all those who live and work in them by reducing deaths, self-harm and violence.

This is a management role located within each region, reporting to the Group Safer Custody Lead (GSCL), working to a consistent direction set out by HQ. The post will be part of the Group Safer Custody Teams (RSCTs) who are responsible for providing support to establishments to deliver safer prisons. The deputy GSCL will support the GSCL in the delivery of this essential work across their establishments, to Directors of Prison Group and Reform Prisons and HQ.

The Deputy GSCL role is located within Prisons Directorate and post holders will support a number of establishments in accordance with prison structures (establishments grouped by region, function, and Wales). In the interests of promoting safer custody outcomes for all, support from RSTs is available to private sector establishments.

The role is to support and deputise for the GSCL as required in order to ensure the best possible delivery of safer custody policies and practice. This includes assisting in the oversight and assurance on delivery to the respective Governors, Prisons Group Directors and HQ. In summary the post holder will:

· Provide support directly to establishments in the region on safer custody (preventing and reducing deaths, self-harm and violence in prisons) as well supporting colleagues across regions.

· Provide direct support establishments to implement and embed recommendations from Operational and System Assurance Group (OSAG) audits.

· Support establishments to address recommendations from PPO investigations and HMIP reports.

· Identify learning and good practice from establishments in the region.

· Support the GSCL to improve service delivery, compliance with safer custody and other relevant polices.

· Promote and implement Safety strategic aims for safer custody.

· Work with relevant stakeholders to ensure joined up effective working. The post holder may be either non-operational or an operational member of staff dependant on Group need. The post holder may have line management responsibilities.

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

Establishment Safety in Custody Delivery & Planning

In the interests of promoting safer custody outcomes for all, support from Group Safer Custody Teams is available to private sector establishments and as well as PSP prisons. For all prison establishments, Deputy GSCLs will:

· Provide support to Governors on improving safety in custody (reducing and preventing deaths, self-harm and violence).

· Support establishments to identify, capture and share good practice, learning and operational experience. This includes learning from serious incidents.

· Provide establishments with advice and guidance on the effective application of policy and defensible decisions taken by establishments.

· Assist the GSCL in the use of agreed monitoring tools to enable establishments to understand how effective their safer custody arrangements are and what further support is required.

· Where required assist in operational assessments with PGDs of the effectiveness of safer custody arrangements within establishments.

· Assist establishments in strengthening effective collaborative working with their local Healthcare providers and all other external providers in order to take a whole prison approach to improving safety.

· Support the GSCL in co-ordinating information linked to the mitigation of risks and issues arising from deaths and incidents of serious assault and serious self-harm. This analysis should capture quick learning and disseminate information to PGDs, HQ, Governing Governors and Head of Functions as required to develop better understanding and good practice and should form part of the Group Safer Custody delivery plans.

· Oversight of local protocols at each establishment for learning from deaths and incidents of serious assault and serious self-harm, and that action is being taken to respond to recommendations from internal reviews, HMIP, PPO and Operational and System Assurance Group audit reports.

· Assist in the delivery of safer custody training as required.

Policy Implementation and Assurance

Group Safer Custody Teams play a key role in providing assurance on the delivery of safer custody work working closely with Prison Group Directors and HQ, and will:

· Promote Safer Custody strategic aims to prevent and reduce deaths, self harm and violence in prisons.

· Support delivery of HMPPS priorities and service-wide activities on safer custody.

· Contribute to the delivery of Group safer custody meetings to discuss issues, trends and learning, and chair meetings on behalf of the GSCLs as required.

· If required by the GSCL, attend and contribute to GSCL meetings with HQ to discuss safer custody.

· Assist the development of the training needs analysis for each establishment, and supporting training of staff in region.

· Liaise with stakeholders which is expected to include Police, CPS, Courts, Private Prisons, Coroner’s Office, Health boards, Samaritans, where necessary.

· Attend Community Steering Groups meetings (Ambulance, local council suicide prevention groups, and adult safeguarding meetings) where practicable from a Group perspective as required by GSCL.

Undertake other management tasks including:

· Promotes HMPPS policy in all activities and behaviours e.g. promotes diversity, decency, safety and reducing re-offending agendas. · Attend as directed any relevant boards/meetings and actively contribute.

· Provide direction to staff within their defined work area through briefings, building informal and formal relationships and effective communication.

· Produce relevant reports as required and ensure all correspondence is replied to within agreed timescales.

· If operational - dependant on experience may be required to maintain own operational viability by occasionally acting as a Governor's representative by chairing adjudications and taking charge of day-to-day establishment operations as Duty Governor.

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.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (Al)

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.