Land based Activities - Skilled Delivery (SD): Grounds Maintenance - HMP Norwich

Responsible for Grounds Maintenance at a prison, you will enjoy a wide range of responsibilities. We will look to you to help maintain and improve grounds and amenity areas - from gardens and lawns, to ponds, water features and woodland. But your impact in this unique environment will go beyond landscaping, mowing and maintenance. You will carry out projects including soft and hard landscape redevelopment. You will also maintain soil husbandry and growing crops, ensuring optimum development.

Perhaps your most important contribution to development here will be your work supervising prisoners. Leading a team, you will oversee their work with an eye for quality control. This is not always easy, but the difference you can help to make in terms of self-esteem and employability is hugely rewarding., The job holder will be responsible for the day-to-day maintenance of the grounds and amenity areas within the estate.

This is a non-operational job with no line management or supervisory responsibilities.

Responsibilities, Activities and Duties

The job holder will be required to carry out the following responsibilities, activities and duties:

• Carry out soft landscaping - turf laying and hard landscaping - laying patio stones


• Maintain establishment's grounds and amenity areas including maintenance of lawns, ponds, water features and external grounds to the establishment including woodland


• Work inside/outside establishment grounds: cutting, mowing and maintaining areas in accordance with accepted practice


• Maintain sports fields, as per agreed plan, with both the Land based Activities Manager and PE Department


• Carry out pest control preventative measures across area of responsibility


• Undertake small project work as advised/requested: including soft and hard landscape development and erection of horticultural support structures where the situation warrants


• Maintain correct soil husbandry, ensuring all stages of crop development are followed in accordance with good horticultural practice


• Maintain the growing plant/crop to ensure optimum development and/or cropping, ensuring that the plants needs are fully met


• Provide safe access and exits to the estate


• Supervise prisoners parties and undertake quality control over their work, as agreed within the Service Delivery Agreement (SDA)


Undertake other trades tasks to:


• Ensure allocated planned maintenance and small repairs are carried out, undertaking service requests raised by computer aided facilities management system


• Undertake survey inspections in confined spaces and at height, recording all work and completing associated registers/logs


• Carry out project work as required


• Advise on sufficient levels of stock and request procurement of goods and services, and ensure all materials used are logged and are fit for purpose.


• Escort technical contractors as required, working with and supervising them in accordance with Local Security Strategy (LSS)


• Maintain regular communications via radio net in accordance with the LSS.


• Undertake the role of banksman, directing the operation of plant equipment and/or machinery


• Be responsible for all tools and plant machinery, carrying out checks at regular intervals and completing all relevant documentation in accordance with the LSS and National Security Framework (NSF)


• Comply with all Health and Safety policies, procedures and legislation to ensure statutory and mandatory compliance.


• Drive estates vehicles and operate plant equipment


• Carry out locking duties as required


• Operate within command mode in line with local contingency plans


• Undertake incidental and emergency or urgent tasks and assignments as per Service Delivery Agreement timescales, in a safe manner


• Assemble products on site as required


• Contribute to prisoner reports, including parole and sentence planning.


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.,
• Must have a Vocational Qualification at Level 3, or be willing to work towards gaining this qualification within an agreed timescale

Mandatory Eligibility Requirements

Licences
Full UK Driving Licence
Additional Information

Working Arrangements & Further Information

The MoJ offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non-contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different MoJ sites and / or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone's circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review.

For nationally advertised roles, the successful candidate(s) will be appointed to a MoJ office location, which may include their nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office. This will be discussed and agreed on the completion of pre-employment checks.

Some of MoJ's terms and conditions of service are changing as part of Civil Service reform. The changes will apply to staff joining MoJ who are new to the Civil Service. Staff joining MoJ from other civil service employers will transfer onto the new MoJ terms if they are already on 'modernised' terms in their current post or onto 'unmodernised' MoJ terms if they are on 'unmodernised' terms at their current post. Details will be available if an offer is made.

Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week excluding breaks which are unpaid. HMPPS welcomes part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns, where they meet the demands of the role and business needs. All applications for part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns will be considered in accordance with the HMPPS' Flexible Working policy.

If you are a current NPS employee, this vacancy may be available on a Loan basis for up to 2 years. Applications are invited from suitable qualified staff.

The Loan/Secondment is subject to the approval of the selected candidate's Business Unit, which should be obtained before confirmation of appointment.

What is more, with the chance to enter our annual competition for best kept prison garden, judged by the Royal Horticultural Society, you might find a lot more to be proud of. Whether or not your work wins RHS acclaim, we can certainty offer nationwide opportunities to develop a great career. Ideally, you will bring to the role a relevant vocational qualification or equivalent suitable experience. Naturally, demonstrable skills and experience in grounds maintenance are essential.

Committed to quality in everything you do, you are comfortable working at a fast pace. Strong communication skills are important too - from leading, to persuading and influencing. We expect you to be committed to achieving a safe and secure environment. Please note you may be required to work some evenings and weekends., 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


• Managing a Quality Service


• Communicating and Influencing


• Leadership


Essential Experience


• Competent in relevant skill., Leadership - 250 word limit

Delivering at Pace - 250 word limit
Experience
CV
Statement of Suitability - 500 word limit
Technical Skills
Skills and qualificaitons - 250 word limit
Sustainability - 250 word limit

Annual Leave

-The holiday year runs from 1 March. If you work a non standard work pattern your leave entitlement may be expressed in either hours or days as appropriate. Leave entitlement is calculated on a pro-rata basis and you will be advised of your actual entitlement on appointment. If you were appointed internally and your leave was previously calculated in days, this will continue to be the case.

Bank, Public and Privilege Holidays

-You are entitled to 9 days (66 hours 36 minutes) in recognition of bank, public and privilege holidays. These hours are added to your annual leave allowance. There is a requirement to work some public and bank holidays subject to your shift pattern and the operational needs of the establishment

Pension

-The Civil Service offers a choice of two pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.

Work Life Balance

HM Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) is keen to encourage alternative working arrangements. Work life balance provides greater opportunities for staff to work more flexibly wherever managers and establishments can accommodate requests to do so. HMPPS offers flexible working subject to completion of a satisfactory probationary period and NVQ

Season Ticket Advance

-After two months' service, you'll be eligible to apply for a season ticket advance to purchase a quarterly or longer-period season ticket for travel between home and your place of work

Childcare Vouchers

For any moves across the Civil Service may have implications on your ability to carry on claiming childcare vouchers

Training

HMPPS is committed to staff development and offers a range of training and development opportunities, including areas such as Equality and Diversity, Dealing with Challenging Behaviour, Suicide Prevention and Anti Bullying Programmes

-There are opportunities to access promotion programmes and HMPPS provides a variety of training appropriate to individual posts

-All staff receive security and diversity training and an individual induction programme into their new roles

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 the HMPPS considers to be racist

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order

• To Shared Service Connected Ltd (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com);


• To Ministry of Justice Resourcing team (resourcing-management-office@justice.gov.uk);


• To the Civil Service Commission (details available here)


The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As a Disability Confident employer, MoJ are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. MoJ are able to offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns.

You will be able to request reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process within the application form. If you need additional help completing the application form, please contact the SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team., Supervising Others
Machinery and manufacturing
Technical Skills
Skills and qualificaitons
Sustainability
Strengths may also be assessed at interview but these are not shared in advance.
Any candidate who has been assessed as being appointable to the role they applied for may be offered a similar, lower grade role, if one is available. Furthermore, any candidate who has just missed meeting the criteria for a particular role, may be appointed to a similar role at a lower grade if such a role is available, and if they have been assessed as meeting the criteria for the lower grade role. These appointments will also be made in merit order.

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

The "Making the Civil Service a Great Place to work for veterans" initiative includes a guaranteed interview scheme to those who meet the minimum criteria to provide eligible former members of the Armed Forces with opportunities to secure rewarding jobs. Allowing veterans to continue to serve their country, and to bring highly skilled individuals with a broad range of experience into the Civil Service in an environment, which recognises and values your previous service in the Armed Forces.
For further details about the initiative and eligibility requirements visit : https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans

Redeployment Interview Scheme

Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ are committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.