HQ Job Description (JD)
Band 8
Directorate: Prison Supply
Job Description - Mobilisation Manager
Document Ref.
HQ-JES-2728 Mobilisation Manager v2.0
Document Type
Management
Version
2.0
Classification
Official
Date of Issue
17 May 2021
Status
Baselined
Produced by
Job Evaluation Assurance and Support Team
Authorised by
Reward Team
JD Evidence
HQ-JES-2728 Mobilisation Manager v2.0
Job Description
Job Title
Mobilisation Manager
Directorate
Prison Supply
Band
Band 8
Overview of the job
In August 2019, the Prime Minister announced that up to £2.5 billion will be spent on
creating modern, efficient prisons. This investment - part of a wider crack-down on
crime - will create 10,000 additional prison places.
The first new prison will be built at HMP Full Sutton, alongside the already well-
performing maximum-security jail in operation at the site. This, along with further
building works, will be subject to government working through the best-value-for-
money options, however no decisions have been made on whether the new prisons
will be privately or publicly operated.
The 10,000 places will be in addition to the new prisons that have already been
announced at HMP Five Wells and Glen Parva, which will provide 3,360 places by 2023.
The new funding will also be used to bring previously decommissioned prison places
back into use through extensive refurbishment and maintenance work.
The role of the New Prisons Team within the Prison Supply Directorate is to manage
the successful delivery of three key areas:
• Leading the delivery of the additional 10,000 prison places: including new
prisons, major refurbishments, small scale investments.
• Operator Competition: designing and running mini-competitions under the
Prison Operator Services Framework (POSF) for the new prisons at
Wellingborough and Glen Parva.
• Privately Financed Initiative (PFI) Prisons: planning and delivering the safe,
efficient and effective transfer of existing PFI prisons to a new provider once
the contracts expire.
Reporting to the Senior Leaders for the New Prisons Team, the Mobilisation Manager
will be required to manage the successful mobilisation under one or more of the core
work streams identified above. All three of the areas will be subject to a significant
level of scrutiny and require sensitive handling because of the nature of the
information and the decisions around insourcing and outsourcing. The post holder is
required to work closely with key stakeholders i.e. the Commercial and Procurement
Team in HQ, Business as Usual (BAU) Contract Management, wider HMPPS and MoJ
Policy Team, HMPPS Wales as well as external companies.
This is a national post, but the post holder will be required to travel to London on an
ad-hoc basis and significant nationwide travel will be required. As the role post holder
is responsible for working closely with estates on the detailed design of the prison and
the assuring the mobilisation of new prisons, operational experience of working in a
live custodial environment is essential.
The role requires a well-developed understanding of the risks associated with
resourcing and managing prisons. The post holder may be required to hold line
management responsibilities. Commercial awareness is also a requirement as the
post holder will have to assure, they are holding the Operator to account as per the
contract.
HQ-JES-2728 Mobilisation Manager v2.0
Summary
The post holder will need to engage extensively across the business and wider HMPPS
and MoJ as well as external partners and stakeholders to:
• Ensure the timely mobilisation of new prisons to provide modern, safe,
decent and secure facilities.
• Ensure decisions around delivering new prison places are clearly evidenced
and in accordance with wider business considerations.
• Hold the Operator where necessary, to account for mobilising the prison
and therefore requires commercial awareness to ensure they are adhering
to the contractual obligations in the contract.
• Ensure all key relevant stakeholders have been consulted on decisions and
reflect their views appropriately in products and papers to be taken through
governance.
• Support design and build partners ensuring new build prisons are fully fit for
purpose and meet operational requirements.
• Ensure new prisons meet the operational requirements and technical
standards to operate efficiently and safely.
• Engage with key stakeholders, partners and the local community providing
accurate and up to date information on the build programme and the prisons
purpose.
• Work closely with commercial and programme colleagues to develop the
products required to deliver the new prison places.
• Feed into and attend negotiations where necessary with bidders during
procurement phases.
• Ensure a safe and secure transition of service and business continuity for the
transfer of existing privately operated prisons either to the public or private
sector (decision has not been made yet).
• Feed into plans to deliver the long-term estate vision, drawing in an
understanding of contracts, projects and resources required.
Responsibilities,
The job holder will be required to carry out the following responsibilities, activities
Activities and Duties
and duties:
• Assisting Senior Leaders in the overall successful delivery of the portfolio,
engaging extensively across HMPPS and MoJ.
• Engaging with construction and design partners to approve the operational
design and efficiency for new prisons.
• Ensuring that MoJ’s client representative takes into full consideration the input
of HMPPS.
• Attendance at all associated meetings and boards to ensure progress on design,
mobilisation and build continues to meet the business goals.
• Approve operational design elements, escalating to senior leaders as and when
required.
• Assure operator mobilisation plans ensuring they are fit for purpose and
oversee compliance with the same.
• Oversee and ensure operator’s mobilisation from preparation for service, to
service commencement, handover from first prisoner to BAU Contract
Management/Prison Group Director (PGD) and continued ramp up.
• Work with all work stream leads to ensure ongoing achievement of targets in
line with the mobilisation plan at Check Point meetings.
• Work with a broad range of stakeholders to define and develop the products
required to make key decisions in regard to all three key areas of work, including
developing appropriate governance arrangements so that decisions are made by
the right people at the right level and meet audit standards.
• Ensure effective and timely delivery of the work in partnership with HMPPS
stakeholders and operators to ensure that plans are implemented.
• Support commercial negotiations (direct procurement/commercial
responsibilities remain with the MoJ Procurement team) through the evaluation
and moderation of bids.
• During the negotiations with bidders (where there is a competition), help lead
on mobilisation planning providing operational technical advice on the design
and build when required as well as leading on all mobilisation and build
HQ-JES-2728 Mobilisation Manager v2.0
clarification questions from bidders and ensuring all documents are provided in
the Data Room.
• Organise, chair, facilitate and support stakeholder and working group meetings
as well as ad-hoc meetings and workshops. Attend formal and informal
programme meetings and advise on process, taking take minutes / action points
where necessary.
• Prepare and present reports and products to the relevant governance boards
and other forums, providing any supplemental information required.
• Work with stakeholders to ensure effective, collaborative partnering approach
with statutory, voluntary and third sector agencies for the effective safe and
secure mobilisation of new and competed prisons.
• Ensure mobilisation and transition plans deliver a safe and secure transition to
the new private or public operator via contracts or SLAs.
• Provide input for competition announcements, stakeholder meetings and bidder
conferences by working with Internal Communications. Activities include
developing the material issued to staff/providers around competition
throughout the entire competition process, relaying decisions round the 10,000
additional spaces and PFI prisons coming up for expiry.
• Escalate issues where these are outside own remit to resolve or where there are
conflicting issues or matters which could affect delivery of the programme or
beyond.
• Provide timely contributions responses to Parliamentary and Ministerial
questions relating to the programme.
• Ensure stakeholders are kept informed routinely and at key milestones as
appropriate. Manage the development and implementation of stakeholder
management and communication plans and tools (e.g. question and answer
process).
• Oversee planning with key workstream representatives and suppliers in relation
to the activities required to be delivered by the mobilisation and wider
programme.
• Identify and monitor the critical path, reporting on delivery against agreed
milestones and the implications of any changes.
• Identify and manage dependencies the portfolio may have, whether internal
between workstreams, or external to constructors, designers and prison
operators as well as other programmes or activities inside or outside of HMPPS.
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.
Behaviours
• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Seeing the Bigger Picture
Strengths
It is advised strengths are chosen locally, recommended 4-8.
Experience
• Operational prison experience
• Mobilisation of large-scale, preferably custodial, projects
• Risk management within a mobilisation context
• Proven track record in collaborating across a wide range of external
stakeholders and partners
Technical
None
Requirements
HQ-JES-2728 Mobilisation Manager v2.0
Ability
• Understand how a prison operates, the operational risks and how a prison is
resourced
• Understand how prison design maintains safety, decency and security
• Understand procurement, contract management and commercial processes
• Understand and explain government policy and priorities to others
• Understand and engage with stakeholders, including senior HMPPS leaders, work
stream leads and public services
• Understand and engage with external private stakeholders such as constructors,
client representatives, designers and architects
• Persuade and influence, including through papers and presentations
• Strong interpersonal skills to manage complex work stream relationships
Minimum 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
Leave Blank
(Unsocial Hours)
Allowances
To be used by the JES Team only
HQ-JES-2728 Mobilisation Manager v2.0
Success Profile
Strengths
Behaviours
It is advised strengths
Ability
Experience
Technical
are chosen locally,
recommended 4-8
Delivering at Pace
Understand how a prison
Operational prison experience
operates, the operational risks
and how a prison is resourced
Making Effective Decisions
Understand how prison design
Mobilisation of large-scale, preferably
maintains safety, decency and
custodial, projects
security
Communicating and Influencing
Understand procurement,
Risk management within a
contract management and
mobilisation context
commercial processes
Working Together
Understand and explain
Proven track record in collaborating
government policy and
across a wide range of external
priorities to others
stakeholders and partners
Seeing the Big Picture
Understand and engage with
stakeholders, including senior
HMPPS leaders, work stream
leads and public services
..
E
Understand and engage with
external private stakeholders
such as constructors, client
representatives, designers and
architects
Persuade and influence,
including through papers and
presentations
Strong interpersonal skills to
manage complex work stream
relationships
HQ-JES-2728 Mobilisation Manager v2.0