Do you have experience of leading a team of managers and building relationships with a range of people in a diverse and dynamic environment? Do you enjoy a challenge where no two days are the same? Do you enjoy driving change and making a difference?
If this sounds like you, keep reading to find out more!
Scottish Prison Service is an agency of Scottish Government. We carry out a service on behalf of the Scottish public; working in partnership with organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors to deliver safe and secure custodial services which empower offenders to take responsibility and to fulfil their potential. We employ around 4600 people in a diverse range of professions across our 15 prisons, College and Headquarters.
No two days are the same in our prisons and the role of Operational Manager provides true variety in a fast paced, complex and unique environment. In this role you’ll play a key part in supporting our organisation to achieve its vision of Unlocking Potential and Transforming Lives and in helping us to deliver our corporate plan.
In role, you’ll be called an Operational Unit Manager. You will be accountable for an area of the prison (for example a residential prisoner hall) or for a specific function such as Operations or Offender Outcomes. Within your area you'll have responsibilities such as budgets, staffing, projects and ensuring compliance with all legislation, rules and regulations. In practice, this means you’ll be a values-based leader with responsibility for a large team of First Line Managers, front line staff and have overall responsibility for those in our care within your accountable area. Every prison establishment has a senior management team, which the Operational Manager role is a part of. You will work alongside a team of other Operational Managers from 3 - 6, depending on the prison establishment size you are assigned to.
You’ll support the achievement of the SPS Vision through the constructive engagement of colleagues, the effective delivery of the establishment Annual Delivery Plan, role modelling the SPS values in all that you do. Additionally, you’ll have responsibility for designing, initiating and/or delivering projects to bring about change which promotes the SPS Values and Vision. You will be responsible for ensuring the highest levels of safety and well-being (physical and mental) for both your team and the people in our care, as well as creating a supportive environment that fosters growth and provides opportunities for development.
Working with those in our care will be a core aspect of the role. Many prisoners have been subjected to trauma at various stages in their lives and there is a proven link between being the victim of such trauma, poorer life chances, health inequalities, succumbing to addiction and being marginalised by society. Our Operational Managers lead other colleagues in tackling these problems and in so doing, making Scotland a safer place. You will engage with those in our care on a daily basis and will have responsibility for making decisions which have the potential to make a real difference to their lives.
You’ll also act as Duty Manager, where, following training and a period of shadowing - you will be responsible for the entire prison on a rotational shift basis, making all necessary decisions and overseeing incident management as required.
You'll be based at one of our 15 prison establishments across Scotland. Many of our prison establishments are situated across the central belt, but we do also have prison establishments located in Dumfries, Inverness and Grampian (Aberdeenshire).
Along with the responsibilities of the role, you will have the opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of those in our care and the staff you are working with. This role provides the opportunity to bring positive change, offers options for development and opportunities to explore different career paths depending on your interests and experience. Explore the rest of the pages relating to the role of Operational Manager to find out more!
Within SPS our strategic intent is to deliver prison services in a way that is focused on being person-centred, inclusive, trauma-informed, and rights-based. We will better promote the health, safety, and well being of all people who live in Scotland’s prison system. Our skilled and dedicated staff will be supported and have the knowledge to do their jobs well.
We will carry out our role and duties in support of a just, safe, and resilient Scotland. We deliver this through:
People in Scotland’s prisons live in establishments that are safe, secure and suitable.
The health, wellbeing and care of the people living in Scotland’s prisons are more effectively managed, promoted and tailored to individual need.
People in Scotland’s prisons are better supported to safely follow a progression pathway towards release, in ways that prioritise public protection.
As an Operational Unit Manager, you will be accountable for an area of the prison (for example a residential prisoner hall) or for a specific function such as Operations or Offender Outcomes. Within your area you'll have responsibilities such as budgets, staffing, projects and ensuring compliance with all legislation, rules and regulations. Most importantly though, you'll provide values based leadership to your team and colleagues, stakeholders, and the people in our care.
You'll also work as a Duty Manager for the entire prison on a rotational basis, which will mean having responsibility for decision making and incident management across the establishment.
If you would like to find out more about the role and responsibilities, you can read the full job description and person specification here.
If you have never been in a prison before, the environment will probably be very different to what you expect. Many of our establishments have been recently rebuilt or refurbished and are bright, open and modern spaces.
Our prison establishments are made up of various departments, functions and teams including our operational staff, psychologists, instructors, chaplaincy staff, administrative staff, HR, finance, external partners and health care. Together they form a community which you will be at the heart of.
Successful candidates will be provided with a company induction programme covering corporate, prison operation and leadership elements. This will include a comprehensive orientation providing a sense of who SPS are; what our mission, values and goals are; what our purpose is and where we sit within the criminal justice system. To support your induction into the SPS you may spend a period of time offline during your induction and on your return to your prison establishment to allow you to continue learning and start to feel comfortable in your new role.
You will have the opportunity to visit different prisons, shadow staff, learn about SPS and prison landscape as well as get to grips with the role of Operational Unit Manager. As part of your induction you will spend some time at the Scottish Prison Service College covering a variety of operational and leadership topics as well as spending time at your establishment undergoing local training and induction.
SPS is dedicated to supporting ongoing development of staff. Following induction, you will have access to ongoing Peer Learning Groups, have access to a Mentor and work through specific tasks (known in SPS as Field Based Applications) to support your operational knowledge and competence. The SPS is committed to supporting all of our staff on their personal and professional development journeys.
There are 5 stages involved in the recruitment process for the Operational Unit Manager role.
The first stage of the process is to submit an application. This is completed online.
You will need to provide some personal information about you, information about your work history and list any qualifications you have gained.
You will then be asked to answer 2 questions relating to leadership experience and operational experience from the person specification and upload your CV.
Once your application form has been submitted, you'll be asked to complete aan online cognitive ability test. This test takes around 20 minutes to complete and will assess:
You will be informed of the outcome by the resourcing team shortly after completing the test.
If you successfully pass the cognitive ability test, then your responses to the competency application questions and your CV will be reviewed by a panel of assessors.
They will score your application against 2 essential criteria: leadership and operational experience.
If you successfully pass the application sift, the next stages of the process will consist of an analysis exercise, a role play exercise and an interview.
It is likely the assessments will take place in person at SPS College in Falkirk, however the interview may be over MS Teams.
Further details on the assessments will be shared with those progressing to the assessment sage(s).
For all successful candidates, prior to any formal offer being made, you must satisfy the pre-employment checking process. These include a face to face pre-appointment medical (which may include a substance misuse test); Enhance Disclosure Scotland application; employment history checks and where required, character reference checks.
Start dates are anticipated for Summer 2024, taking into consideration possible 12 week notice periods. All successful candidates will start on the same date.
Where there are more successful candidates than posts available, a reserve list may be created and held for up to 12 months from the date of interview.
You will find out more information about the competencies you will be assessed against and dates of assessments within the Applicant Pack attached to the vacancy (when this is advertised).
If you would like to know more about the recruitment process, please email the recruitment team.