Prison Employment Lead
Job Introduction
We are seeking a dedicated and compassionate Prison Employment Lead to join our team,
The Prison Employment Lead plays a vital role in enhancing prisoners' employability and supporting them in securing employment upon release. The PEL is responsible for developing and leading an end-to-end Prison Employment pathway, introducing the prospect of employment to prisoners early in their journey. A key focus of this role is to support prison leavers in finding meaningful, long-term employment by building strong partnerships with community employers, ensuring a successful transition back into society.
- Engage with prison stakeholders to set up a system identifying work-ready prisoners and actions needed for employability.
- Collaborate with staff to match work-ready candidates to job opportunities arranged by the New Futures Network and other agencies.
- Support IAG and Education providers to ensure prison induction highlights employment, education, and skills training for new arrivals, records prior experience and skills, and encourages employability skills development.
- Manage an Employment Hub to centralise employment support, promote live vacancies to leavers, and track vacancies.
- Champion innovations in industry recruitment practices (e.g., hospitality and construction drives).
- Partner with the Strategic Employment Advisory Board to align employability programs with employer standards.
- Organise events for stakeholders to bring employers into the prison and facilitate prisoner forums.
- Work with Community Offender Management (COM) to share prison leaver information, reduce duplication, and refer those needing post-release support to Education, Training, and Employment services for ongoing assistance.
Essential
- Demonstrates a genuine interest in the rehabilitation and resettlement of offenders.
- Communicates effectively across various mediums, both spoken and written.
- Proficient in IT, including the use of prisoner databases relevant to the role.
- Manages data and information with strict confidentiality.
Desirable
- Strong knowledge of procedures, policies, and standards related to the Learning, Skills, and Employment pathway.
- Skilled in analysis and scheduling.
- Experience in partnership working.
Working Hours - 37.5 hours per week.
We’re a Disability Confident Leader employer. We’re committed to changing attitudes towards disability, and making sure disabled people have the chance to fulfil their aspirations. We run a Disability Confident interview scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria for the job.
To be considered for an interview you must:
- have a disability defined by the Equality Act 2010
- provide evidence in your application that you meet the minimum criteria in the job description
- meet all of the qualifications, skills or experience defined as essential.