Head of Learning and Skills at Hydebank Wood College

Duties & Responsibilities:

Planning and Contract Management

• To contribute to the planning and contract management processes for the delivery of the Learning and Skills programme across the NIPS sites in line with the ongoing requirements of the Prison Service and College - this will focus on site specific planning for your specific site.
• To work with the Head of Prison Programmes in developing and implementing appropriate performance targets / metrics for delivery of services in relation to a specific site in line with the Service Level Agreement
• To contribute to the identification and development of new initiatives where appropriate to support the strategic direction of the NIPS programme and further enhance the offering provided by the College
• To work with the Head of Prison Programmes in developing and implementing a performance culture for the delivery of the NIPS programme through appropriate performance targets / metrics - this will include working with both seconded NIPS staff and directly recruited College staff
• To contract manage the annual operating budget for offender learning on a particular site, within the guidelines of the financial regulations of the College and the Service Level Agreement
• To monitor and review budgets and spend profiles against targets and take prompt corrective action to address any areas of overspend
• To manage all financial and other resource allocations to deliver learning and skills solutions within a specific site, including identify staffing, materials, capital and revenue resource needs to achieve objectives
• To establish effective working relationships and work pro-actively with senior counterparts in  NIPS, North West Regional College and Belfast Metropolitan College to ensure services delivered are fit for purpose within the specific prison learning estate
• To contribute to the negotiating process with NIPS on the service level agreement - this will include scope of services, additional services and services which are not in line with requirements
• To lead on the delivery and take responsibility for the success of the NIPS Learning and Skills Programme ensuring contribution to the achievement of NIPS strategic objectives
• To lead on the implementation of strategies to develop a responsive and innovative offender learning curriculum in collaboration with other partners as appropriate
• To support the development of a programme evaluation mechanism to assess the strengths of the programme and identify areas for further development / focus - this will include a specific focus on quality assurance, learner journey, delivery excellence and risk management
• To develop and operate agreed contract management and operational delivery processes within your specific site  allowing early identification and resolution of issues identified
• To  support the development and delivery of a stakeholder engagement strategy to communicate, consult and partner with other organisations to enhance the delivery of the NIPS Learning and Skills Programme
• To support the development of quality culture, systems and processes in line with College policies and procedures and taking into account and external recommendations from CJINI,  ETI and awarding bodies, taking care to avoid the risk of blocks and sanctions
• To establish effective working relationships and work pro-actively with senior counterparts in  NIPS, Belfast Metropolitan College  and other partners to ensure services delivered are fit for purpose

Operational Delivery

• To take responsibility for the implementation of the offender learning operational plan in relation to all engagement, learning and skills delivery, and academic outcomes, paying particular attention to the development and update of appropriate curriculum offer
• To continually review operational priorities and plans making appropriate adjustments to reflect changes in service demand and delivery
• To ensure that delivery of services are planned and scheduled within each NIPS location and appropriate staffing resources are in place
• To develop and embed learner policies and programmes as appropriate to the environment.  This will include careers guidance, learning and skills solutions, employability, pastoral support and discipline
• To develop new and innovative ways to improve operations of the NIPS programme within your area of responsibility streamlining for efficiency where appropriate
• To ensure ‘risks’ are identified and managed as appropriate within your area of responsibility in line with agreed processes - this will include engagement with the Head of Prison Programmes to agree on appropriate action
• To hold regular meetings with your trainers ensuring they understand that the priorities of the site in line with the service level agreement
• To operate systems and procedures in order to maintain learner records, class registers, course registrations, results, awarding body registrations and accreditations etc.
• To prepare required reports to comply with NIPS service level agreement and College requirements
• To bid for resources as required in line with NIPS policies and processes
• To procure services and resources as required in line with NIPS procurement policies and processes
• To ensure work appropriate business continuity measures are in place to maintain the scope and schedule of the services delivered within your area of responsibility
• To ensure all services delivered comply with leading practice, industry and awarding body standards
• To complete risks assessment as appropriate for staff under your control working in secure sites
• To ensure that all courses delivered and staff under your control comply at all times with the Prison’s security policies and procedures

Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Development:

• To lead on, manage and implement the learning and skills curriculum model within the prison learning estate ensuring the curriculum meets the needs of the learner and enhances chances of success on release
• To take responsibility for the implementation of the offender learning service level agreement and corresponding operational plan in relation to, learning and skills,
• To assist in the development of learning support materials to underpin the curriculum paying particular attention to the learning styles and the quality of the learners’ experience
• To manage the employment of effective learning strategies and processes in delivery of the curriculum to ensure the quality of teaching and learning
• To support performance review in learning and skills areas in line with College wide approaches to service evaluation reviews
• To keep abreast of current developments in the education, skills and training environment which are applicable to the prison learning environment

Quality Assurance

• To implement and manage quality review processes for learning and skills delivery including reporting requirements and learner satisfaction
• To have oversight of every step of the learner journey within the courses delivered at your specific site ensuring learners have an excellent learning experience and succeed
• To support performance reviews in learning and skills delivery and measure the impact of this and related outcomes against agreed targets relating to the service level agreement reporting metrics
• To research and support the identification of wider curriculum areas and or social economy opportunities to support current and future learner needs and economic priorities
• To drive continuous improvement and to promote within a high quality learning and skills environment, a culture of innovation within learning and skills in relation to offender learning
• To ensure that learning and skills provision within the prison meets and exceeds the requirements for all internal and external quality assessments / awarding body standards and inspections
• To manage and take part in the self-assessment and quality assurance procedures of the College and to monitor carefully the work, attendance and progress of all learners and take necessary steps when a learner is in difficulty or making inadequate progress
• To collate and monitor relevant learner attendance data ensuring that tutors are familiar with agreed course quality targets and actions plans
• To ensure that tutors/trainers are fully responsible for courses and course delivery including : quality of written schemes of work/assessment schedules, review of assessment results, review, evaluation and action upon stakeholder evaluations
• To support the development and management of MIS systems, to support the maintenance of high quality learner data.

Staffing / Human Resources

• To provide overall management to the staff delivering the NI Prison Service contract within your specific area of responsibility with the aim of maintaining the highest possible professional standards
• To ensure that reporting staff are trained and developed and that College policies and procedures, appropriate external professional standards and Codes of Conduct are consistently followed
• To support the selection, recruitment and induction of all staff in the learning estate in line with relevant College procedures
• To be responsible for managing the induction and probation of staff involved in delivery of learning and skills in line with NIPS and relevant College policies and procedures
• To participate in College programmes of staff appraisal/performance management and continuing professional development
• To ensure all relevant HR issues are identified and appropriate actions in place to resolve
• To maintain, develop and motivate team and individual performance to achieve significant, sustainable improvements and outstanding outcomes
• To motivate and communicate effectively with reporting staff and consistently encourage others to contribute to improvements in working and learning environments.
• Where necessary to challenge underperformance and support improvement through the application of College procedures

General

• To promote, implement and ensure compliance with all College policies and procedures in relation to the specific NIPS learning environment.  In particular this will relate to equality of opportunity and health & safety procedures for all College staff and NIPS learners
• To contribute to the achievement of the College’s and NIPS mission, values and strategic directions.
• To promote a positive image of the College and the NIPS Programme with external bodies and key stakeholders
• To act as a spokesman and ambassador for the College as required e.g. attending conferences etc.
• To implement and embed the college’s equality and diversity policies and response to its equality and diversity duties as they relate to all stakeholders.
• Act, as directed, as Fire Marshall or Fire Warden.
• To undertake such other relevant duties as may be reasonably expected of the post holder.