JOB DESCRIPTION: Grade 7 Chief of Staff

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 245 secretariat staff and approximately 350 Members who make decisions on risk and hold hearings 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:

The Board is led by a Chair and Judicial Vice-Chair, a Chief Executive Officer (CEO, a Chief Operating Officer (COO) and a Director of Legal. You will be responsible for leading a team of four providing support to the Chair, Vice-Chair, CEO, COO and Director of Legal including diary and business management, promoting effective working relationships with partner organisations and other parties, representing the Chair & vice-Chair, CEO and COO with internal and external stakeholders and to act as a central point for the analysis and provision of accurate & consistent data at the Parole Board.

Person Specification

You will be working within a challenging and fast-paced environment with a high level of responsibility, visibility and exposure to senior leaders. You will be required to work autonomously using excellent judgement and insight to recognise when you need to seek guidance or direction from the senior leaders. You will be responsible for leading the executive office, overseeing the day-to-day processes and ensuring that the Chair and CEO’s diaries are managed, that they are fully briefed, and that a single set of accurate data is used across the Parole Board to support decisions and recommendations.

Main Duties

• Provide support & advice to the CEO & Chair

• Ensure the CEO & Chair are well briefed for meetings, following up actions

• Provide strategic and tactical oversight of Parole Board issues to enable the CEO and COO to focus on delivering the Parole Board strategy and business plan

• Draft the Parole Board Strategy and monitor delivery

• Promote effective working relationships with partner organisations, representing the CEO with internal & external stakeholders

• Ensuring quality standards and deadlines are met, leveraging the senior leadership team and others as necessary. Recognising the sensitivities and reputational impact of your role. 

• Review Parole System Oversight Group data and brief CEO & COO for meetings

• Monitor long-term strategic plans across the Parole Board

• Co-ordinate induction packs for new staff in the senior executive, overseeing induction plan

• Attend Senior Leadership Team and Management Committee meetings

• Represent the CEO at national events

• Being a trusted, professional advisor to the business area on a wide range of, often complex and sensitive, Departmental issues. Use initiative to respond to or direct queries to relevant parties and demonstrate excellent judgement to escalate as required.

• Ensure that relevant issues of concern are brought to the attention of the CEO, or an appropriate member of the Executive team

• Undertake projects assigned by the CEO

• Work with the rest of the SLT to identify and develop PB improvements

• Liaise with the Head of Victims Team to ensure effective briefing & communications on victims issues

• Lead and Manage the Executive office ensuring work is adequately resourced

• Draft PSOG and MC related papers for the CEO and Chief Operating Officer

• Monitor key cases of interest to the CEO

• Acting proactively to anticipate, identify and analyse emerging issues, providing innovate solutions for resolution. Horizon scan and employ vigilance to avert future recurrences

Experience required for the post:

• Drafting papers and documents to a high standard

• excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to exercise upwards management 

• excellent communicating and influencing skills, providing constructive challenge at all levels

• Interpreting and communicating complex issues to wider audiences succinctly

• Building, developing and maintaining strong and effective working relationships at all levels, internally and externally, through collaboration and professional credibility

• High level of personal resilience with the ability to adapt quickly to new demands and work flexibly to manage changing and conflicting priorities at pace

• Having the intellectual curiosity to understand the impact your role and decisions have on the bigger organisational picture

• Ability to interpret large amounts of complex data to inform decisions and initiatives

We will assess you against a statement of suitability and four behaviours

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing

• Delivering at Pace

• Working Together

• Seeing the Big Picture

Security

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

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

Should a large number of applications be received, the initial sift may be conducted using a lead behaviour. This will be the behaviour which is listed first in the job advert.

Any persons successful in gaining an interview will need to bring in photographic ID, and two items which prove address dated within the last 3 months. Failure to do this may result in the successful applicants offer being withdrawn.

If you are part of the Civil Service and are applying for a job in a non-departmental public body (NDPB) (or vice versa) by moving jobs this will involve a change of employer and you may break the statutory rules on continuity of employment.