Regional Employment Broker

Role overview

This role sits within the Reducing Reoffending Directorate in HMPPS and forms part of the New Futures Network, the specialist national team that works with employers and prisons in England and Wales to open up job opportunities for people in custody and those leaving prison. The team helps build the systems, partnerships, and infrastructure needed to increase sustainable employment outcomes.

The post supports the South East and Eastern Area and may be based at one of several prison or MoJ/JCC locations across the region, including sites in Newmarket, Woodbridge, Norwich, Chelmsford, Woking, Rochester, Sheerness, Arundel, Huntingdon, Maidstone, Thetford, Bedford, Lewes, Bovingdon, and Ipswich.

Role purpose

The Regional Employment Broker will lead employer engagement across the South East and Eastern Area, with full responsibility for building employer relationships that create reliable employment pathways for prisoners. These partnerships will support outcomes through employment on release, commercial workshops, and release on temporary licence.

The role covers prisons across the South East and Eastern regions, including women’s prisons within the area. The postholder will work closely with Governors, Prison Group Directors, Prison Employment Leads, and a wide range of local and regional employers. A key part of the job is identifying and approaching businesses in priority growth sectors, using labour market insight and intelligence from Prison Employment Leads to focus on suitable employers. The role acts as a trusted link between employers and prisons, helping shape opportunities that meet business needs while improving employment outcomes for prisoners. Although the role reports into the central NFN team, close day-to-day collaboration with the South East and Eastern group is required.

Key responsibilities

The job holder is expected to carry out the duties described for the post, while also accepting reasonable changes and additional tasks of a similar level when needed.

Responsibilities include:

• Developing and managing employer engagement activity across the South East and Eastern Area.
• Using employer partnerships to support employment on release, commercial workshops, and release on temporary licence.
• Building strong working relationships with Governors, Prison Group Directors, Prison Employment Leads, and other key stakeholders.
• Creating and maintaining relationships with local and regional employers.
• Proactively targeting businesses in key growth sectors using labour market intelligence and local prison employment insight.
• Acting as an intermediary between employers and prisons to align commercial demand with meaningful prisoner employment outcomes.
• Working across the central NFN team and the South East and Eastern group to deliver regional priorities.

Selection criteria and behaviours

The person specification is as set out in the job description.

The selection process will assess candidates against Success Profiles, with a focus on behaviours and strengths. The behaviours being tested are:

• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace

Experience and capability

Employer engagement experience is essential, along with strong influencing skills and the confidence to work at a senior level. The role requires someone who can deliver impact across a varied and strategically important region.

Pay and benefits

The salary for this position is £57,398. HM Prison & Probation Service also contributes £16,628 towards the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme, with an employer pension contribution rate of 28.97%.

Benefits mentioned for this role include access to learning and development, flexible working options to support work-life balance, an inclusive working culture, annual leave, public holidays, and Season Ticket Advance.

Security and vetting

Successful applicants must complete a criminal record check. Anyone working with government assets must also pass baseline personnel security standard checks.

Nationality requirements

This role is open to UK nationals, Republic of Ireland nationals, Commonwealth citizens with the right to work in the UK, eligible EU/Swiss/Norwegian/Icelandic/Liechtenstein nationals and certain family members with settled or pre-settled status or a valid EUSS application, eligible individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who could apply for EUSS by 31 December 2020, and Turkish nationals and certain family members who have acquired the right to work in the Civil Service.

Inclusion and recruitment principles

The Civil Service recruits on merit through fair and open competition. It also supports the Disability Confident Scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The organisation promotes diversity and equal opportunities, supports veterans, and welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or who have an unspent conviction.

Application support

Applicants were invited to attend an online information session on Thursday 9 July from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm via Microsoft Teams. The session was intended to give candidates an overview of the role and its responsibilities and to allow time for questions. Meeting ID and passcode were provided in the source advert.

For queries about recruitment or vetting, the contact point listed was the SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team by email or telephone.

If a candidate believes the Civil Service Recruitment Principles have been breached, the source advert states that the matter should first be raised with SSCL. A further complaint route to the Civil Service Commission was also referenced.

The advert notes that once the vacancy closes, the listing will no longer be available and applicants may want to save a copy for their records.

Additional information

The source advert includes a reference to artificial intelligence use in applications: AI may be used as a support tool, but all examples and statements must be truthful, factually accurate, and drawn directly from the applicant’s own experience. Plagiarised or AI-generated content presented as original may lead to withdrawal of the application and possible disciplinary action for internal candidates.

The selection process was stated to use Success Profiles and assess Behaviours and Strengths, and feedback would only be provided to candidates who attended an interview or assessment.

The job was advertised as temporary and onsite.

No opening count, application deadline, or start date was stated in the source.