About the job

Job summary

Please refer to job description.

Job description

HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMI Prisons) for England and Wales is an independent inspectorate which reports on the treatment of, and conditions for, those in prison, young offender institutions and court custody suites in England and Wales, and immigration detention facilities in the United Kingdom. HMI Prisons also inspects Border Force customs custody (jointly with HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services) and secure training centres (jointly with Ofsted). By invitation, HMI Prisons inspects some military detention facilities, as well as prisons in Northern Ireland and in other jurisdictions with links to the UK, such as the Isle of Man. 

The role of HM Inspectorate of Prisons is to provide independent scrutiny of the conditions for and treatment of prisoners and other detainees, promoting the concept of ‘healthy establishments’ in which staff work effectively to achieve positive outcomes for those detained and for the public.

The Inspectorate’s work constitutes an important part of the United Kingdom’s obligations under the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment. This Protocol requires signatory states to have in place regular independent inspection of places of detention.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons is an Arm’s Length Body (ALB) of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). The Chief Inspector of Prisons is a Crown Appointee, while the staff of the Inspectorate are civil servants employed by the MoJ.

The established values of the Inspectorate are:

• Independence, impartiality and integrity are the foundations of our work.
• The experience of the detainee is at the heart of our inspections.
• Respect for human rights underpins our Expectations.
• We embrace diversity and are committed to pursuing equality of outcomes for all.
• We believe in the capacity of both individuals and organisations to change and improve, and that we have a part to play in initiating and encouraging change.

About The Role

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) is looking for someone to join the Secretariat team as a Policy Officer on a full-time basis on a permanent contract.

The post holder will play a key role in the Policy Team, assisting the Chief Inspector in his engagement with policy makers and Parliament. The post holder will also have opportunities to work with HMIPs’ key stakeholders and be given the responsibility and autonomy to lead on significant pieces of work. This is an exciting role for someone who would like to develop their skills and knowledge in policy and parliamentary work and gain exposure to human rights issues and inspection methodologies.

The Policy Officer is managed by the Head of Policy, and the two posts make up the policy team at HMIP, which is part of the wider Secretariat team. The work of the Secretariat overall is managed by the Head of Secretariat.

The policy team carries out a range of functions, including monitoring policy and parliamentary developments; identifying and responding to consultations and parliamentary inquiries; preparing briefings for inspectors providing evidence; advising on human rights; assisting to develop Expectations; stakeholder engagement; and assisting the Chief Inspector and Deputy Inspector to safeguard HMIP’s independence and remit.

The team works with staff across HMIP and closely with the Chief Inspector, Deputy Chief Inspector, Head of Secretariat and the Communications and Publications team.

Our current working arrangements require attendance in our Canary Wharf office in London for three days per week, with the possibility of being in more depending on business needs. This role may involve occasional travel within the UK.

Duties will include the following:

• Monitoring and tracking policy and legislation to ensure the Chief Inspector and other HMIP colleagues are briefed on relevant developments
• Providing policy support to the Chief Inspector, Deputy Chief Inspector, Head of Policy and other inspectorate staff, including supporting and drafting briefing papers, consultation responses and ad hoc requests
• Assisting the Head of Policy to maintain stakeholder relationships and engagement, including attending meetings with stakeholders on behalf of HMIP
• Briefing the Chief Inspector and other HMIP staff ahead of appearances before parliamentary committees
• Supporting and providing policy advice for project work across the inspectorate, such as Expectation and methodology reviews and thematic inspections
• Providing support and policy advice to one or more policy fora
• Coordinating HMIP’s response to sanctions cases, including maintaining records, drafting relevant correspondence, liaising with other scrutiny bodies and providing support to the lead sanctions inspector and Deputy Chief Inspector; and
• Supporting the work of the Secretariat as necessary.

Essential skills and knowledge:

• Demonstrable interest in detention related issues and the welfare of those detained
• Experience of analysing government policy, drafting policy submissions and/or contributing to policy debates
• Strong research skills
• Experience of preparing reports, presentations and other written materials
• Excellent drafting skills and attention to detail, including the ability to draft in plain English for a range of audiences
• Excellent oral communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to work with people from a range of backgrounds
• Excellent organisational skills, including the ability to prioritise work to meet deadlines; and
• Proficiency in use of Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Powerpoint.

Desirable:

• A degree in a relevant field (such as social sciences, politics, law)
• Understanding of legislative processes
• Understanding of safeguarding
• Experience of working with parliamentary committees; and
• Understanding of detention related issues, criminal justice and/or human rights

Person specification

Please refer to job description.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £37,174, Ministry of Justice contributes £10,074 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.