30965 - Inspector

£43,958 - £71,411 (salary will depend on location)
3
12 Months
London, National
London, National
NATIONAL, 10 SOUTH COLONNADE LONDON, E14 4PU
Grade 7, Grade 6
A
Loan , Permanent , Secondment
Up to 4 Years
Full Time
Other

ABOUT THE ROLE

HM Inspectorate of Prisons are looking for Inspectors to inspect custody across a range of sectors. These include:

  • General/Prison Estate
  • Immigration Detention

HMIP inspect a range of custodial establishments: prisons, young offender institutions, immigration removal centres and police custody suites. On behalf of the Chief Inspector, we assess outcomes against our published healthy prisons tests which reflect the criteria or Expectations against which we inspect. We also follow up the responses to the recommendations we make. Each team consists of a team leader and several core inspectors. Teams are assisted by researchers and specialist inspectors, examining such issues as education and training, health and drugs. The candidates will be allocated to a team according to their skills but will also routinely inspect all types of prison and other forms of custody.

Most inspections take place over two weeks, so role of inspector requires a considerable amount of time working away from home. For example, if you are coordinating an inspection for your team, you might be away for two nights on the first week, and then four or five nights on the following week. This will sometimes include leaving on Sunday afternoon to start work early on a Monday. If you are just attending the full inspection week, rather than coordinating, you will only be required to attend the second week. Essentially, inspectors need to be very flexible, but the Inspectorate will offer a balanced workload that provides time at home between inspections. Across the year, you are likely to complete on average 17 or 18 full weeks away on inspection.

Frequent travel within the UK (and possibly abroad) will be required, and you will spend at least one week in three away on inspection, as well as travelling for meetings and other events. You will also need to be available to come to London for internal and external meetings on a regular basis. A preparedness to travel and work away from home is a key requirement of the role.

Responsibilities

You will:

  • inspect the conditions and treatment of prisoners and detainees, using HMIP’s own Expectations, inspection criteria
  • interact with detainees and staff throughout inspections, seeking their views
  • work under substantial time pressure during inspections
  • spend a lot of your time working on your own each day in the custodial environment (you will be trained in jailcraft and carrying keys)
  • draw accurate and objective conclusions from the evidence gathered
  • discuss, evaluate and debate findings with the team leader and other team members
  • need to be an excellent team player throughout the inspection weeks, supporting colleagues and constructively contributing to on-site discussions and judgements
  • brief senior managers in the establishment about your developing findings, and participate in the debrief at the end of the inspection
  • write up your findings clearly and concisely the week after an inspection, to tight timescales and wordcounts (and using information technology)
  • monitor policy and practice in relation to those in custody and help ensure that your team, and the Inspectorate in general, keeps abreast of these developments •      attend meetings and conferences, where required, on behalf of the Inspectorate
  • assist with policy papers, briefings and thematic reviews, as required.

Essential Knowledge, Experience and Skills:

All candidates will need to have:

  • Experience of working with people at senior levels
  • Experience of developing or influencing policy
  • An interest in working across the range of custodial environments but mainly in prisons
  • Experience that demonstrates support for and understanding of the Inspectorate’s work and values
  • Experience that demonstrates excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to write high quality reports at pace
  • Strong people skills and emotional intelligence

You will be working in difficult and challenging environments. The best candidates will offer a combination of the following skills:

  • Ability to analyse a range of oral, written and statistical evidence
  • Make accurate judgements under pressure and support your findings with evidence
  • Adhere to HMIP’s code of conduct and core values at all times
  • Be resilient in the field and meet tight deadlines
  • Work effectively as part of the inspection team but also able to spend long periods inspecting alone
  • Deliver difficult messages in a constructive manner
  • Be extremely flexible and supportive to colleagues
  • Work closely with colleagues, custodial staff and detainees throughout inspections

Desirable:

  • Experience of criminal justice work and custodial settings
  • Understanding of policy, debates associated with detention and custodial environments • A background in inspection or investigation

Desirable for role in Immigration Team:

  • Extensive understanding of immigration detention policy and debates
  • Understanding of legislation related to immigration detention
  • An ability to work across very varied detention environments, including detention centres and prisons, small holding facilities and overseas escorts.

Behaviours and Strengths

You will be tested against the Success Profiles used across the Civil Service and its agencies at application and/or at interview stage. Please note that as part of the selection process, candidates invited to interview will also be required to sit a written assessment. 

Essential behaviours:

Working Together – Form effective partnerships and relationships with people both internally and externally, from a range of diverse backgrounds, sharing information, resources and support.  

Communicating and Influencing - Communicate purpose and direction with clarity, integrity and enthusiasm. Respect the needs, responses and opinions of others.

Making Effective Decisions - Use evidence and knowledge to support accurate, expert decisions and advice. Carefully consider alternative options, implications and risks of decisions.  

Delivering at Pace - Take responsibility for delivering timely and quality results with focus and drive.    

Essential strengths:

Challenger: You can bring a fresh perspective whatever the situation or context. You see other people’s views and can appreciate there are many different angles to consider.

Explainer - You communicate thoughts and ideas, verbally or in writing. You simplify complexities and adapt communication so others can understand.

Analytical - You seek and analyse information to inform decisions based on the best available evidence.

Adaptable - You can adapt to variations in work or environment and your effectiveness isn’t impacted by change. You are flexible and versatile and act as an advocate for change.


Working Arrangements & Further Information

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.

Flexible working hours

The Ministry of Justice offers a flexible working system in many offices.

Benefits

The MoJ offers a range of benefits:

Annual Leave

Generous allowances for paid holiday starting at 25 days per year, and rising as your service increases. There is also a scheme to allow qualifying staff to buy or sell up to three days leave each year. Additional paid time off for public holidays and 1 privilege day. Leave for part-time and job share posts will be calculated on a pro-rata basis.

Pension

The Civil Service offers a choice of pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.

Training

The Ministry of Justice is committed to staff development and offers an extensive range of training and development opportunities.

Support

  • A range of ‘Family Friendly’ policies such as opportunities to work reduced hours or job share.
  • Access to flexible benefits such as voluntary benefits,retail vouchers and discounts on a range of goods and services.
  • For any moves across the Civil Service may have implications on your ability to carry on claiming childcare vouchers
  • Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave.
  • Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.

Networks

The opportunity to join employee-run networks that have been established to provide advice and support and to enable the views of employees from minority groups to be expressed direct to senior management. There are currently networks for employees of minority ethnic origin, employees with disabilities, employees with caring responsibilities, women employees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.

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.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity.

There is a guaranteed interview scheme (GIS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Expected 15th/16th/20th January 2020 ( Subject to change)
Week commencing 16th December (Subject to change)

10/12/2019, 23:55 hours.

If you require any assistance please call 0845 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@sscl.gse.gov.uk Please quote the job reference.
Counter-Terrorism Check (CTC)
Please note the successful applicant will need to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Security Check for this post.

To apply for roles in MOJ you will need to confirm your employment history for at least 3 years prior to the date of application so that pre-employment checks (BPSS) can be undertaken. If you have spent significant time abroad (a total of 6 months in the past 3 years) you would be required to give a reasonable account of the reasons why. 

For some roles you will be required to successfully complete National Security Vetting at Counter Terrorism (CTC), Security Clearance (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV) level as a condition of appointment. To meet CTC/SC/DV requirements you will normally need to have been resident in the UK for at least 3/5/10 years prior to the date of application (The level of checks that are required are stated in the advert).

If you do not meet the above requirements, you may still be considered if, for example:

  • You've been serving overseas with HM Forces or in some other official capacity as a representative of HM Government
  • You were studying abroad
  • You were living overseas with parents

In such cases you will need to be able to provide referee cover for the period(s) of residence overseas. The duration of overseas residence and the country of abode will also be taken into account.

Success Profiles will enable a fairer and more inclusive method of recruitment by enabling us to assess the range of experiences, abilities, strengths, behaviours and technical/professional skills required for different roles. This flexible approach to recruitment focuses more on finding the right candidate for the specific role. To find out more about Success Profiles to support your application please click here for further guidance.

if you feel that your application has not been treated in line with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles, please contact SSCL (Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com) in the first instance

We have provided detail of the assessment stages and areas being assessed to help you prepare for completing your application form, and to advise of what will be assessed following this, if you successfully pass the application stage.


Application form stage assessments

Behaviours
Working Together - word limit
Communicating and Influencing - word limit
Making Effective Decisions - word limit
Delivering at Pace - word limit
Experience

Interview stage assessments

There are 2 interview stages for this vacancy.
Behaviours
Working Together
Communicating and Influencing
Making Effective Decisions
Delivering at Pace
Strengths may also be assessed at interview but these are not shared in advance.

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

The "Making the Civil Service a Great Place to work for veterans" initiative includes a guaranteed interview scheme to those who meet the minimum criteria to provide eligible former members of the Armed Forces with opportunities to secure rewarding jobs. Allowing veterans to continue to serve their country, and to bring highly skilled individuals with a broad range of experience into the Civil Service in an environment, which recognises and values your previous service in the Armed Forces.
For further details about the initiative and eligibility requirements visit : https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans

Redeployment Interview Scheme

Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ are committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.

MoJ are able to offer an interview to eligible candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. Candidate's will not be eligible for the Redeployment Interview Scheme if they are applying on promotion.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

· UK nationals

· nationals of the Republic of Ireland

· nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK

· nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window) https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families

· nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)

· individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020

· Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules

This Vacancy is closed to applications.