Neurodiversity Support Manager (Ref: 9554)

NSM Overview

Neurodivergent individuals are overrepresented in the criminal justice system (CJS). Evidence suggests that half of the adult prison population can be expected to have needs arising from neurodivergence, compared with just 15‑20% of the general population. Despite a sizeable proportion of our prison population being likely to have needs arising from neurodivergence, HMIP (2021) identified significant gaps in the support available for neurodivergent people in prison.

To improve support, the Rehabilitation and Change Directorate (previously the Reducing Reoffending Directorate) introduced the Band 6 Neurodiversity Support Manager (NSM). NSMs have been recruited across the prison service, across both the English and Welsh estates. The latest update from HMIP (2025) highlights the successes and challenges of the role so far.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide training and guidance to prison staff to equip them to better support neurodivergent individuals and improve processes to identify and support prisoners, ensuring they can access education, skills and work opportunities within the prison.
• Develop and maintain a neurodiversity needs strategy for the prison, incorporating and working with key stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain the systems and structures to ensure delivery of all Education, Skills and Work activity is appropriate to all cohorts, and recommend and test related solutions leading into an improvement plan in collaboration with the Senior Management Team (SMT).
• Collect and collate data on neurodiversity at local level, continually analysing and evaluating current practice for how neurodiversity provision is tailored to a wide range of prisoners, including those who are hard to reach, vulnerable, or whose first language is not English.
• Track progress of neurodivergent prisoners in education, learning and work, analyse data, identify participation and achievement gaps, and address these.
• Case‑manage prisoners who require additional support to access education, skills and work opportunities, ensuring individual prisoners’ neurodiversity‑related information is shared appropriately and lawfully with relevant prison teams.
• Ensure that the needs of neurodivergent prisoners are considered in terms of activity availability, appropriate adaptations and reasonable adjustments, working with the Learning and Skills Manager, Activities and Industries Managers.
• Raise awareness of neurodiversity in the prison through up‑skilling the workforce, full staff briefings, internal communications and 1‑2‑1 processes.
• Work with key stakeholders to ensure that neurodivergent prisoners receive the support and advice they need to prepare for release into the community.

Key Behaviours

• Changing and Improving
• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together

Nationality Requirements

• UK nationals
• Nationalities of the Republic of Ireland
• Commonwealth nationals who have the right to work in the UK
• Nationalities of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre‑settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• Individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals and certain family members of Turkish nationals who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Working for the Civil Service

• The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
• Recruitment is by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission\’s recruitment principles.
• The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities.
• We run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
• The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

• The Civil Service is committed to attracting, retaining and investing in talent wherever it is found.
• See the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy for more information.

Candidate Requirements

• Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
• People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard checks.

Benefits

• Salary of £42,817
• HM Prison & Probation Service contributes £12,404 towards a Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.
• Access to learning and development.
• Flexible working options to enhance work‑life balance.
• Inclusive working culture and diversity support.
• Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
• Annual leave and public holidays.
• Season ticket advance.

For more information about the recruitment process, benefits and allowances and answers to general queries, please see the Candidate Information Page: https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ