OFFICIAL - SENSITIVE

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title	Director of Strategy and Corporate Services
Department	Strategy & Corporate Services	Team	Strategy & Corporate Services
Job Grade	Grade 6	Number of Posts	1
Reports to	Chief Executive Officer
Job Purpose	The Director of Strategy and Corporate Services will report to the Chief Executive Officer to shape and deliver the vision, strategy and plans of the Parole Board whilst overseeing a high performing corporate services function. In addition to being responsible for the delivery of the Board’s Strategy and business plan, you will oversee a number of critical services, including IT, human resources, recruitment, finance and commercial. You will need to have strategic skills, be able to lead change, engage effectively with decision makers and foster a culture of continuous improvement.
Main duties and scope of responsibilities:	Lead the development and delivery of the Parole Board’s strategy in line with its overall vision of being constituted as a court - ensuring the strategy is aligned with the business plan and KPIs. Collaborate with the senior leadership team to define and deliver long term objectives and work closely with the COO in the delivery of the Board’s business plan. Create and communicate a clear roadmap for achieving strategic goals, including short-term priorities and long-term initiatives. Work with partners across the Ministry of Justice to instil best practice in the governance of the Parole Board Oversee the provision of the Board’s HR function, recruiting staff and members in line with projected case volume and ensuring that they have the support and resources to carry out their role. Provide advice on finance and budgetary matters to the CEO & Accounting Officer, identifying efficiencies, ensuring VFM is maintained, and forecasts are accurate. Work closely with the finance team to develop financial forecasts, budgets, and resource allocation plans that support strategic initiatives. Oversee the Parole Board’s digital strategy, including development of AI (Artificial Intelligence) Monitor financial performance, ensuring alignment between strategic objectives and financial goals. Assess potential risks and challenges associated with strategic initiatives and develop mitigation strategies. Analyse the Board’s performance and, working closely with the COO, recommend adjustments and improvements. Drive change and transformation projects, including digital transformation, process improvements, and organizational change - working closely with the hub leads. Lead cross-functional teams in implementing transformation programmes which improve efficiency and performance. Act as a thought leader on key strategic issues, advising the leadership team on critical decisions. Deputise for the Chief Operations Officer.
Primary Deliverables	Strategic planning and delivery Transformation and Change Management Risk Management and problem-solving Governance Financial planning and budgeting Oversee recruitment and workforce planning
Person Specification
Essential	Strong track record of developing and executing successful strategies or business transformation. Proven experience in a senior strategy role, such as Strategy Director, Head of Strategy, or similar. Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, with the ability to interpret complex data and make strategic recommendations. Strong leadership and communication skills, with the ability to influence and align cross-functional teams around strategic goals.
Desirable	An understanding of the role, structure, and processes of the Parole Board; Experience of working in Central Government, particularly an understanding of the Public Sector Expenditure framework and managing public money; Experience of working in the Criminal Justice System.

About the Parole Board:

The Parole Board is an independent court-like body that carries out risk assessments on prisoners to determine whether they can be safely released into the community We do that with great care and public safety is our number one priority.

All Parole Board decisions are solely focused on whether a prisoner would represent a significant risk to the public after release. Not all decisions Members make are popular, but they make these decisions fairly and objectively.

The Board is made up of about 240 secretariat staff based in our London Head Office and approximately 350 Members who make decisions on risk and hold hearings virtually or at prisons around the country.

The Parole Board is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Ministry of Justice. Staff who work for the Parole Board Secretariat are Public Servants and not Civil Servants.

About the role:

This is an exciting role on the Senior Leadership Team of the Parole Board, reporting directly to the CEO. We are seeking an experienced and results-driven Director of Strategy and Corporate Services to lead the development and delivery of the Parole Board’s Strategy over the next 3 to 5 years. You will work closely with the leadership team to define and implement medium and long term objectives, manage risk, and drive change and transformation both in response to external change and to ensure the Parole Board is continuously improving. You will also oversee the delivery of the corporate services function, working closely with the Head of Corporate Services who you will line manage, to ensure that the provision of HR, finance and IT functions to staff and members is of a high quality and good governance is maintained.

Main Duties:

As set out in the job description above.

Behaviours

We will assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

Leadership
Managing a Quality Service
Communicating and Influencing
Changing and Improving

Security:

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Security Cleared.

Accessibility

The Parole Board is a disability confident recruiter. Accessibility requests will be carefully considered and, where reasonable, actioned.

Whilst the Parole Board office is principally located in London, and, for the purposes of organisational management and administration, it is not required to conduct business in Welsh. However, the Parole Board welcomes applications from candidates who speak Welsh and English as part of its commitment to treat both languages on a basis of equality in the conduct of public business and administration of justice in Wales, as far as is both appropriate and reasonable, and to reflect the community it serves.

Office requirements

This role is hybrid. You will be required to spend 20% of your time in the office. For some meeting, you will be required to attend in person in the Parole Board’s London office.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your Behaviours and Experience. At the interview stage you will be assessed against Behaviours, Strengths and Presentation.