About the job

Job summary

Please refer to Job Description

Job description

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.

Any queries regarding this vacancy please email Bronwen Elphick, Regional Probation Director - North East:  bronwen.elphick@justice.gov.uk

New entrants to the Civil Service will be expected to join at the entry point salary for the advertised band 

Existing Civil Servants will have their salary calculated in accordance with the Department’s pay on transfer / pay on promotion rules.

Overview of the Job

The post holder will be the strategic lead for partnerships, commissioning and contract management. They will be a key member of the regional leadership team, reporting directly to the Regional Probation Director, and line manage the regional commissioning and partnerships and operational contract management teams.

Ensuring a comprehensive and equitable range of high-quality rehabilitation and resettlement interventions are in place and managed effectively across the region, building on local, regional and national joint-working opportunities such as co-commissioning, to ensure service users receive well-targeted, well-designed and well-delivered interventions that maximise their chances of leading non-offending lives.

They will work closely with the national NPS/HMPPS commissioning and contract management functions and the MoJ Commercial and Contract Management Directorate.

Summary

The post holder will set the strategic direction and oversee the management and development of all regional contracts and grants to provide assurances that effective and appropriate supplier oversight arrangements are in place, services are meeting agreed expectations and delivery across suppliers and/or local areas are integrated. This includes the mobilisation of new contracts and exit from existing contracts where appropriate.

They will oversee the review of existing contracts and development and implementation of the short, medium and long-term regional commissioning strategies to ensure that the right services are in place to meet service user, operational and wider needs. Accountable for the renewal/extension of existing contracts and delivery of new procurements.

They will oversee the management of key external relationships with the voluntary and private sector markets and wider partners, such as Police, Police and Crime Commissioners, Sentencers, Local Authorities, Devolved Authorities and Health Authorities, to ensure relationships are established, maintained and enhanced at a local and regional level. Maximising joint-working outcomes, such as improving service design, influencing and aligning priorities and co-commissioning of services.

In delivering their responsibilities, post holders will establish close working relationships with their operational counterparts within the region, other regional Heads of Community Integration, HM Prison Service, national NPS/HMPPS partnership, commissioning and contract management functions, MoJ commercial, policy, finance and legal teams, and other government departments.

Responsibilities, Activities & Duties

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

Commissioning
* Consider best routes for future delivery once existing contracts expire and implementing make or buy  decisions within the region.
* Agree new services to be commissioned, including the approach to contracting, the service specification, the length of time, geographical scope and ensuring new contracts are put in place in a timely manner and in line with priorities.
* Ensure regional commissioning strategies have a robust evidence-base, account for service user and local needs, offer adequate provision across the region and offender groups, align with what services are available through statutory and other organisations, encourage a diverse market, are financially robust and offer best value-for-money.
* Ensure strategies influence, inform and align with national and wider community safety and criminal justice priorities and incorporate best practice and a pan-regional understanding.
* Manage supply and demand for all services to ensure offenders can access the services they need.
* Lead the development of service user involvement in the commissioning of services.
* Accountable for the Regional Outcomes and Innovation Fund budget and ensuring its use on initiatives to tackle cross-cutting social outcomes that are key to reducing reoffending and complement the wider landscape of services that sit alongside probation.

Contract Management
* Ensure all regional contracts have the appropriate levels of oversight and assurance, are managed in accordance with National Audit Office, Cabinet Office and HMPPS procedures and have effective controls, including ensuring financial payments are made in line with performance and Managing Public Money guidance.
* Oversee and, where appropriate, lead relationship management and governance of regional suppliers, including contract negotiations and change resolution.
* Ensure a consistent approach is taken across all regional contracts and working at a national level to develop, coordinate and implement a national approach to strategic or cross-regional suppliers.
* Oversee management of operational contract management and commissioning and partnership teams to ensure teams are fully focused on key priority areas.
* Ensure that performance and quality of contract delivery by suppliers across the region are consistently of a high standard, embedding a culture of continuous improvement and actively addressing underperformance.
* Ensure regular and effective reporting of supplier performance to regional senior leadership team and nationally.
* Accountable for all the regional contract and grant budgets and approval of monthly invoices.

Partnership-working
* Lead stakeholder engagement with key senior stakeholders.
* Drive the development of strong and positive relationships with local and regional stakeholders and partners to increase system integration, encourage collaboration in designing and delivering resettlement and rehabilitation services locally and identify joint-working or co-commissioning opportunities so as to improve service outcomes for service users.

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.

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £74,106, HM Prison & Probation Service contributes £19,638 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

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)
• 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)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.