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.

Responsibility for the maintenance of grounds and conservation areas at a prison is just the beginning of this important role. You will also help offenders to develop skills, confidence, and employability by delivering and assessing accredited vocational qualifications.

Leading a party of prisoners, you will instruct them in every aspect of gardening duties, including the use of machinery. Under your guidance, they will take responsibility for their own environment - maintaining everything from lawns to water features, to woodland, and carrying out both soft and hard landscaping. Crucially, you will deliver on the prison’s bio-diversity action plan by developing the conservation area, and monitoring flora and fauna. We will also look to you to submit surveys for land-based activities.

Perhaps most rewarding of all, you will enjoy scope to deliver a project that may lead to a truly unique achievement for you and your party. Every year, the Royal Horticultural Society judges our best kept prison garden. Perhaps next time it will be your work that leads the way. You will certainly enjoy excellent scope to develop your career with us.

Ideally, you will bring to the role a relevant vocational qualification or equivalent suitable experience. We expect you to be familiar with grounds maintenance practice across grass, turf culture, drainage, soil husbandry, ornamental horticulture, tree and shrub culture. Knowledge of different types of habitats will be an advantage.

You will certainly bring a caring and resilient approach to your work. Strong communication skills are important too - from leading, to persuading and influencing. We expect you to be committed to achieving a safe and secure environment. Please note you may be required to work some evenings and weekends.

Overview of the job    

This is a non-operational instructional job in an establishment.

Summary    

The job holder will be responsible for the day to day maintenance of the grounds and conservation areas within an establishment and will deliver and assess accredited vocational qualifications to prisoners.

This is a non-operational job with no line management responsibilities.

Responsibilities, Activities and Duties    

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

•    Carry out a full range of gardening activities, giving instruction to prisoners on all gardening duties including use of machinery
•    Carry out soft landscaping - turf laying and hard landscaping – laying patio stones
•    Maintain establishments grounds and conservation areas including maintenance of lawns, ponds, water features and external grounds to the establishment including woodland
•    Deliver all actions in the establishment’s bio-diversity action plan with reference to the development of the conservation area
•    Monitor flora and fauna work within the establishment
•    Work inside/outside establishment grounds, cutting, mowing and maintaining areas in accordance with accepted practice
•    Submit surveys for Land Based Activities specific to site
•    Carry out preventive pest control measures across area of responsibility
•    Act on wildlife and conservation group’s recommendations and implement these
within the establishment’s grounds
•    Undertake small project work as advised/requested including soft and hard landscape development including erection of horticultural support structures where the situation warrants

Undertake other instructor tasks including:

•    May 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 aspects such as Health and Safety, Control of Substance Hazardous to health (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, maintaining delivery of contractual arrangements
•    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
•    Will conduct a 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

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

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

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £30,471, HM Prison & Probation Service contributes £8,257 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, Experience and Technical skills.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. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). 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.