JOB DESCRIPTON

PART 1: JOB PROFILE

DEPARTMENT:Operations and Service Support

JOB TITLE:Prison SupportOfficer

LAST UPDATED:April2016

  1. MAIN PURPOSE OF JOB
  • To support the delivery of a programme of work to ensure a high quality and consistent approach torunning Listener schemes in prisons.
  • To lead on specific projects relating to the development and improvement of the Listener scheme.
  1. POSITION IN ORGANISATION
  • Reports into: Prison Support Manager
  • Line Manages: This role doesn’t have line management responsibility
  • Liaises with:All levels internally with staff and volunteers, especially the 13

Regional Prison Support Officers (RPSOs) and the Functional Lead for Prison Support. Externally with representatives of NOMS, other Prison Services and statutory andvoluntary agencies.

  • Works within a team of:Operations and Service Support
  1. SCOPE OF JOB
  • Delivery of products and projects within the overall programme of work
  • Management of communications
  • Support for Volunteer Leadership and service delivery
  • Partnership and stakeholder work
  • Manage processes and office systems
  • General duties of a Samaritans staff member
  1. DIMENSIONS AND LIMITS OF AUTHORITY
  • Reports to the Prison Support Manageron the development and delivery of work within the Prison Supportprogramme of work.
  • Leads on discrete projects within the Prison Support plan.
  • Works independently to manage internal and external relationships relating to delivery of products.
  • Deputises for the Prison Support Manager.
  • Provides first line advice and support to volunteers, staff, stakeholdersand external agencies on all matters relating to Samaritans work in prisons.
  1. QUALIFICATIONS
  • Educated to degreelevel or equivalentis preferable but equivalent experience will be considered.
  1. SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE
    Essential
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • Excellent organisational and time management skills; ability to prioritise tasks and competing timeframes.
  • Experience of planning and leading on specific projects.
  • Experience of facilitating meetings and preparing papers and reports to a high standard.
  • Good presentation skills and ability to deliver presentations to a range of audiences.
  • Good level of IT competency, including Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Desirable

  • Knowledge and understanding of suicide prevention, particularly in the prison context.
  • Experience of working with volunteers.
  • Experience of working within the criminal justice sector.
  1. PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES
  • Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to build and develop positive relationships, including with external partners and stakeholders.
  • Able to remain calm and objective under pressure and when dealing with challenging situations.
  • Able to listen, empathise and offer practical support to volunteers dealing with difficult situations in prison support.
  • Adaptable and responsive to change.
  • Able to work independently,useinitiative and make decisions.
  • Empathises with Samaritans’ values.
  • Hasa customer-focused attitude and a desire to continuously improve the quality and relevance of their work.
  • Is willing and able to work some evenings and weekends, including travel within the UK and Ireland.

Part 2:DUTIES & KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Project delivery

  • Lead on the delivery of a range of work to meet project objectives.
  • Support the Prison Support Manager with delivery of the overall Prison Support programme of work.
  • Manage the Listener Scheme Communications Plan; write communications for both internal and external audiences.
  • Prepare project documentation, updates and reports and take meeting notes as necessary.

Scheme support and service delivery

  • Provide first line advice and support to the Regional Prison Support Officers and other volunteers, in particular with resolving operational issuesaffecting delivery of the Listener scheme.
  • Proactively intervene with situationswhich may indicate non-adherence to best practice, suggesting appropriate action and remedy.
  • Work with the Prison Support Manager and Functional Lead to review and develop new guidance and procedures and maintain the Guide to the Listener Scheme.
  • Work with the Communications team to maintain, develop and supply prison publicity material.
  • Manage the content of the Prison Support section of Samaritans intranet and website.
  • Keep abreast of relevant and pertinent issues in the broad arena of Safer Custody by reading publications, visiting specific websites and attending events.

Partnership and stakeholder work

  • Provide first line information and advice to external agencies, statutory bodies, and Central Office staff about Samaritans work in prisons.
  • Represent Samaritans at relevant events, e.g. NOMS’ Learning Days, Regional Safer Custody Lead Meetings.
  • Provide support on Listener and volunteer involvement in inquests and investigations.
  • Work with the Prison Support Manager to plan and deliver Listener scheme conferences.
  • Develop and deliver presentations to internal and external audiences.
  • Attend operational meetings with National Offender Management Service when required.

Support for Volunteer Leadership

  • Manage the Regional Prison Support Officers induction process.
  • Manage the delivery of organisation wide Regional Prison Support Officer meetings.
  • With the Functional Lead, monitor the intranet regional prison report pages, prison support forums and the Branch Prison Support Annual Reviews, responding and intervening where appropriate.

Manage processes and office systems

  • Organise and manage electronic and paper filing systems for prison support work.Ensure all relevant documentation is kept up to date, cross-referenced and distributed when necessary.
  • Ensure appropriate processes are in place for dealing with and recording specific situations such as inquests and police enquiries

General Duties of a Samaritans’ Staff Member

  • Contribute to the effective and efficient running of the Central Office as appropriate.
  • Participate, as appropriate, in staff forums and meetings.
  • Adhere to Samaritans’ policies and procedures.
  • Represent the CentralOffice appropriately across the organisation and Samaritans to the wider community as appropriate.
  • Treat all colleagues, volunteers and members of the public with dignity and work within and adhere to Samaritans’ equal opportunities statement and polices.
  • Carry out reasonable requests made that are within the broad remit of the role.

Signed by employee:______Date: ______

This job description is a statement of requirements at the time of writing and is not contractual. It should not be seen as precluding future changes after appointment to this role.