Job Description (JD)
Band 11
Group Profile: Governor Complex (GC)
Job Description: GC: Governor Complex
Document Ref.
OR-JES-265-JD-B11 : GC : Governor Complex v12.0
Document Type
Management
Version
12.0
Classification
Official
Date of Issue
10th April 2025
Status
Baselined
Produced by
Job Evaluation Assurance and Support Team
Authorised by
Reward Team
JD Evidence
OR-JES-265-JD-B11 : GC : Governor Complex v12.0
Job Description
Job Title
GC : Governor
Group Profile
Governor Complex
Organisation
Senior Management
Level
Band
11
Overview of the
This is a senior management job within an establishment.
job
All staff have a responsibility to safeguard and promote the
welfare of children. The post holder must undertake the
appropriate level of training and is responsible for ensuring that
they understand and work within the safeguarding policies of the
organisation.
Summary
The job holder will provide leadership, vision and strategic
direction for an establishment, holding overall accountability for
ensuring it is secure and operationally stable, whilst maintaining
decency and compliance with performance measures and
targets, this may include the Offender Management in Custody
Model by taking accountability as Governor to deliver the
custodial phase of the sentence including, involving the line
management of a Senior Probation Officer .
This is a non-rotational, operational job with line management
responsibilities.
Responsibilities,
The job holder will be required to carry out the following
Activities and
responsibilities, activities and duties:
Duties
• Accountable for ensuring a safe, decent and secure
environment is maintained for prisoners and staff
• Accountable for providing leadership and direction for staff
including coaching and mentoring for managers
• Lead on the development and communication of a decency
strategy for the establishment that encompasses staff,
prisoners and visitors
• Accountable for the promotion of prison service policy in all
activities and behaviours by promoting diversity, decency,
safety and reducing re-offending agendas
• Accountable for strategic planning and assessing particular
needs of establishment prisoner population and making
changes to regimes accordingly
• Accountable for ensuring the establishment has effective
contingency and emergency plans in place
• Accountable for local employee relations maintaining and
building relationships and partnerships where possible to
facilitate negotiations with trade unions
• Accountable for the establishment’s overall achievement of
Service Delivery Indicators (SDIs) and standards, leading on
the performance and delivery of targets relating to the budget
and People Plan
OR-JES-265-JD-B11 : GC : Governor Complex v12.0
• Accountable for promoting and sustaining a performance
management culture within the establishment
• Accountable for the performance and development of the
Senior Management Team (SMT), actively addressing
underperformance whilst valuing the positive contributions of
staff
• Accountable for ensuring the Deputy Governor and Heads of
Functions comply with HR policies including Governor and
will be required to manage Heads of Function within the
prison which may include the SPO within the new OMiC
process/model in conjunction with the Deputy Directors of the
Local Divisional Units in probation services.
• Accountable for ensuring that Deputy Governor and Heads of
functions comply with action plans as a result of His Majesty’s
Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP), Standards Audit Unit (SAU)
and Measuring the Quality of Prison Life (MQPL)
findings/reports
• Accountable for active participation of the establishment in
national working groups, maintaining a current awareness of
political, social, legislative and policy changes affecting
HMPPS
• Accountable for chairing local grievance appeals, conduct
and discipline and capability hearings
• Accountable for ensuring that appropriate jobs are
undertaken in the establishment during serious incidents
when required
• Accountable for the management prioritisation and allocation
of resources to deliver the Establishment strategic plan
• Accountable for fostering and progressing open and positive
external relationships with stakeholders to the mutual benefit
of the establishment and the community, ensuring the
delivery of these services through Service Level Agreements
(SLA)
• Accountable for ensuring key messages are delivered to all
staff through appropriate levels of communication e.g. full
staff briefings, presentations and staff notices
• Accountable for reviewing and sanctioning impact
assessments for policies before local implementation
• Accountable for representing the establishment in any
litigation claims
• Accountable for overall monitoring and control of the
establishment budget, prioritising expenditure with budget
holders
• Accountable for the completion of ad-hoc projects or
initiatives on behalf of Deputy Director of Custody (DDC)
• Accountable for facilitating and escorting important visits,
including Ministers and MPs
• Accountable for ensuring SMT are visible throughout the
establishment and personally carry out regular visits to all
areas
• Accountable for managing media interest in the
establishment, ensuring that any messages released are
appropriate
• Undertake investigations on behalf of the DDC as required
OR-JES-265-JD-B11 : GC : Governor Complex v12.0
• Accountable for devising a response to delivering a method of
efficiency savings
• Accountable for the submission of compliance statements as
required by Audit Corporate Assurance (ACA)
• Accountable for ensuring a programme of compliance for
covert testing
• Provide leadership, direction, and manage the risk associated
with the 3 escape risk classifications of Category A prisoners,
ensuring they are supervised and managed between
establishment staff and partner agencies at all times both
within the Establishment and when being escorted
• Liaise with and make recommendations to the Director of
High Security on categorisation changes, while maintaining
effective communication with other Directorate of High
Security (DHS) establishments and Police response teams to
ensure the safe dispersal of complex and dangerous
prisoners who require the highest level of security conditions
• Chair Category A reviews when required
• Act as Strategic lead for succession planning for the
establishment
• Chair Diversity Race, Equality Action Team meetings
• Accountable for authorising actions required under RIPA,
taking responsibility for the local corruption prevention contact
The duties/responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is
at present and is not intended to be exhaustive. The job holder is
expected to accept reasonable alterations and additional tasks of
a similar level that may be necessary. Significant adjustments
may require re-examination under the Job Evaluation Scheme
and shall be discussed in the first instance with the job holder.
An ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence
through the medium of English or (where specified in Wales)
Welsh.
Behaviours
• Delivering at Pace
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Bigger Picture
• Managing a Quality Service
• Developing Self and Others
• Making Effective Decisions
Strengths
It is advised strengths are chosen locally, recommended 4-8.
Experience
Technical
The job holder must have either been successfully accredited at
requirements
the Senior Operational Manager (SOM) assessment or been
successfully accredited by passing both the Governor
Assessment Centre (GAC) and the Deputy Governor & Governor
Incident Management Silver Command (IMSC) Assessment (or
i.e. those that have passed national Governor 3 Board prior to
July 2000).
Ability
OR-JES-265-JD-B11 : GC : Governor Complex v12.0
Minimum
Please do not alter this box
Eligibility
• All candidates are subject to security and identity checks prior to
taking up post.
• All external candidates are subject to 6 months’
probation. Internal candidates are subject to probation if they
have not already served a probationary period within HMPPS.
• All staff are required to declare whether they are a member of a
group or organisation which HMPPS consider to be racist.
Hours of Work
37 hour working week
(Unsocial Hours)
Allowances
Required Hours Allowance
This role requires working regular unsocial hours and a payment
at the current approved organisation rate will be made in addition
to your basic pay to recognise this. Unsocial hours are those
hours outside 0700 - 1900hrs Monday to Friday and include
working evenings, nights, weekends and Bank/Public Holidays.
OR-JES-265-JD-B11 : GC : Governor Complex v12.0