Operations Officers – National Campaign 

Job Description

Locations – HMP Barlinnie, HMP & YOI Cornton Vale, HMP Dumfries, HMP Edinburgh, HMP Glenochil, HMP Greenock, HMP Inverness, HMP Low Moss, HMP Castle Huntly, HMP Perth, HMYOI Polmont, HMP Shotts, HMP & YOI Grampian, CCU – Bella (Dundee), CCU – Lilias (Glasgow), HMP & YOI Stirling 

Salary – Operations Officers joining the SPS from 1st April 2024, will receive a starting salary of £28,425 progressing to £32,200 within 3 years, subject to pay progression’ 
 
 
About the role 
 
As an Operations Officer, you will be in an almost unique position of being able to make a real difference to the community that you live in and be at the very heart of delivering the SPS’ vision of ‘Helping to build a safer Scotland by Unlocking Potential and Transforming Lives’. 

Your role will be challenging and immensely rewarding with responsibility for maintaining custody and order whilst facilitating opportunities for those in our care. You will influence and encourage offenders to maintain contact with their families, access education and training and ultimately assist them on their journey to be contributory citizens within our communities. 

 
Contributing towards the prevention and management of challenging behaviour; you will provide safe and secure custodial services that empower offenders to take responsibility and transform their lives. 

 
In this role you will be responsible for the overall functioning and security of the establishment, working as part of a team and carrying out roles in Front of House, Visits, Electronic Control Room, Patrol and Prisoner Reception. 

Please note: as part of the Operations Officer role, you will be expected to work shifts in line with a set roster. These shifts will cover a variety of working patterns including; early shift, day shift, back shift and night shift 
 
Responsibilities  
 

• You will be the first point of contact for meeting and greeting visitors to the establishment and will interact with people from a wide range of backgrounds, including offenders’ family and friends, lawyers, solicitors, pastors, ministers and SPS staff.  
• You will follow procedures and demonstrate effective communication and interpersonal skills; showing compassion, empathy, building rapport and offering advice where necessary.  
• You will have responsibility for maintaining security, by screening, searching and facilitating entry and exit of individuals from the establishment. In doing so you will confidently and constructively challenge individuals appropriately when required. 
   

Family contact is important for offenders to maintain relationships with their family and friends. The SPS encourages visits to maintain family contact and support the development of these important relationships.  

• You will be responsible for observing and supervising visits as well as being a key point of contact for family support.  
• You will be responsible for safety and security within the visit room and demonstrate effective problem solving skills when addressing emerging situations. In doing so you will demonstrate respect for individuals’ needs and human rights. 

The Electronic Control Room (ECR) manages the movement and security of staff and prisoners throughout the prison establishment.  

• You will be responsible for monitoring security systems, including closed circuit television, alarm and communication systems to maintain the safety and security of everyone within the establishment; demonstrating strong team working and effective communication skills. 
   
• You will be responsible for ensuring the safety of staff, offenders and the public by checking physical barriers in and around the establishment. You will be required to apply your effective problem solving skills to identify and respond to any potential breaches of security and order. You will demonstrate good housekeeping and adhere to procedural requirements applying high ethical, moral and professional standards. 

Within the Reception area you will be responsible for managing the entry and release of offenders from prison, assessing the needs of individual offenders and ensuring the correct procedures are followed.  

• You will be faced with a diverse range of situations and you will be required to demonstrate care, compassion, dignity and respect in determining the most appropriate course of action. 

• You will be responsible for the safe and secure escorting of offenders throughout the establishment and externally as directed by management i.e. hospital, inter-prison transfer, court procedures as required. Managing the movement of offenders between residential accommodation and other areas of the establishment, such as education, health centre, visit room and offender work areas.  
• You will also be responsible for escorting external contractors and visitors, ensuring the safety and security of individuals, buildings and equipment.  
• You will remain vigilant and confidently deal with emerging issues, in line with SPS policies and procedures. 

Person Specification 

SPS recruitment and selection practice is based on the fundamentals of our Behavioural Competency Framework. This identifies behaviours and standards required both of applicants seeking to join us, and our staff in their respective roles. Assessment of specific behaviours, of which there are twelve, will be determined by the role you are applying for. Whilst it is unlikely you will be assessed on all of them , you will be assessed on these identified as key to role. 

Qualifications Requirements 

Professional development 

Commitment to undertake formal training and qualifications to support your learning and development 

Essential 

Experience Requirements 

Working with others 

• Work experience which demonstrates your ability to work effectively within teams, interact with people and build successful working relationships 

Influencing the behaviour of others 

• Evidence of your ability to confidently and positively influence or challenge the behaviour of others. 

Essential 

Problem solving 

• Experience of solving problems, demonstrating your ability to proactively identify the issue, explore options and take the necessary action to resolve the issue. 

Essential 

Knowledge Skills Requirements 

Numeracy & literacy skills 

• Basic level of numeracy and literacy skills in order to comprehend and clearly articulate information. 

Essential 

Following processes & procedures 

• Evidence of an ability to follow processes, procedures and instructions to ensure accuracy and standards are met 

Essential 

Selection method  

Situational Judgement Test 

Selection method  

Cognitive Ability Test 

Selection method  

Interview 

Selection method  

Fitness Test