Head of Education, Skills and WorK

Serco - HMP Thameside

Permanent, Full Time

£55,000 - 60,000 pa + LW allowance of £6,200 pa (based on 40 hr p/w) Mon - Fri

Excellent Corporate Benefits Package

We're recruiting for an Education Leader to join our fantastic team at HMP Thameside, a Category B establishment for adult males, with safety and security at the heart of it.

As our Head of Education, Skills and Work, you will support the prison to become a place of meaningful work with a key focus on leading Education, Skills and Work, along with the accountability of purposeful activity across the regime. You will provide a strategic focus, whilst supporting the Learning and Skills Manager ensuring that sequencing of activities is purposeful and directed towards maximising prisoners’ opportunities to access employment, education, and training on release.

You must have substantial Post 16 education teaching experience and curriculum development and hold relevant teaching qualifications. Your OFSTED knowledge will include Estyn’s EIF (Education Inspection Framework), further education and skills criteria for prisoners with Additional Learning Needs and how these apply in the prison context.

As a strategic lead, you will be responsible for creating a prisoner education service focused on work based training and personal development pathways and you will be accountable for the proportion of prisoners in employment 6 weeks post release.

Other accountabilities will include:

• Ensuring the prison has an effective working relationship with the New Futures Network broker for the region/prison group.
• Creating effective sector- based training opportunities and recruitment pipelines in relationship with the New Futures Network and suitable employment partners.
• Developing and supporting a Quality Improvement group with employment focused agencies, including the Prison Employment Lead, IAG services, DWP Prison Work Coaches, the education provider, and other non-statutory agencies such as charities and social enterprises.

What you’ll need to do the role

Firstly, your qualifications will align to the role - Relevant Degree in Education, PGCE, Cert Ed or Level 5 Teaching Qualification, QTS or QTLS Status.

You will be a confident professional leader with the passion and drive to support our prisoners and you will have experience of working collaboratively with senior leaders, stakeholders and students.

Finally, you must have experience of operating in a specialist neurodiversity role.

Why Serco

A place you can make an impact - The nature of our business means you will do interesting work that matters – delivering essential services that touch people’s lives.

A place you can count on - Our diverse UK-wide operations offer unrivalled opportunities to learn and develop. You’ll be able to broaden your experience and apply your skills in new ways.

A place for you - We are a motivated team who will encourage you and help you to succeed within a supportive and safe culture.

What we offer

• Up to 6% contributory pension scheme
• Serco Benefits package – discounts which include cinema, merlin entertainment and online shopping, mobile phone plans and leisure centre memberships.
• Serco ShareSave - where employees can own a part of the company and invest in their future.
• Employee Assistance Programme
• A safe and supportive culture
• The chance to make a positive difference 
• A company passionate about diversity and inclusion
• Flexible / agile working

About Serco
At Serco, not only is the nature of the work we do important, everyone has an important role to play, from caring for vulnerable people to managing complex public services.  We are a team of 50,000 people responsible for delivering essential public services around the world in areas including defence, transport, justice, immigration, healthcare and citizen services. We are innovators, committed to redesigning and improving public services for the benefit of everyone.

By joining Serco you will have unlimited access to our Global Employee Networks – SercoInspire (Gender), SercoEmbrace (Multicultural), SercoUnlimited (Disability) and In@Serco (LGBT & Networks). Serco Employee Networks, led by colleagues who are passionate about diversity, inclusion and belonging. 

Apply
Please click on the apply button to complete your application. Occasionally we receive a large volume of applications for our roles and when that happens we sometimes bring the closing date forward, so please apply promptly to avoid disappointment. 

At Serco, we see people first and foremost for their performance and potential. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that supports the needs of all. As such we will make reasonable adjustments at interview through to employment for our candidates and strongly encourage applications from a diverse candidate pool. We are open to discussions around flexibility and flexible working. We operate a hybrid work structure in many of our business areas. We are proudly Disability Confident Leader employers and holder of the Gold Inclusive Employer Standard. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at an interview.  For help with your application please contact 0345 010 4000.
 

At Serco we support fair access to employment for those with unspent criminal convictions through the ‘Ban the Box’ pledge (some may be exempt due to the nature of the role and the security clearance required). Please contact our recruitment team directly on 0345 010 4000 to discuss.