15332 - Information Technology (IT) Officer - Prisons and Probation Ombudsman in Brighton

The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) is an Arm’s Length Body (ALB) of the Ministry of Justice. We have three key duties:

• To investigate complaints made by prisoners, young people in detention, offenders under probation supervision and immigration detainees.
• To investigate deaths of prisoners, young people in detention, approved premises’ residents and immigration detainees.
• To investigate deaths of recently released prisoners that occur within 14 days of release from prison (except homicide).

The Ombudsman receives around 4,000 new complaints a year, of which around half are assessed as eligible for investigation. The number of deaths in custody requiring investigation is generally between 300 and 350 per year.

To support these investigations, we require an Information Technology (IT) Officer, who will be responsible for the day-to-day running of our IT systems and our case management system, known as PPUD. They will also be expected to be the PPO’s AI champion, devising ways that our staff can benefit from this new technology, and, in the future, to work with internal and external stakeholders to drive forward with the creation of a new case management system.

This is a key role and it is part of the Learning, Analysis and Business Services (LABS) team, who are responsible for supporting the PPO’s main duties. While the post holder will be part of the LABS Team, they will regularly liaise with staff from our Complaints and Fatal Incidents Teams. The post holder will report to the SEO Head of Business Support.

This post will suit individuals who are motivated and proactive, experienced with IT and are at the forefront of developments in this field. They will need to be well-organised; have good communication skills, particularly with staff who are nervous of or inexperienced with IT; build relationships with multiple stakeholders; and be confident with project management. The post holder will also need to work predominantly by themselves, albeit as part of a wider team of colleagues. Previous IT experience is essential but previous experience of the Criminal Justice System is not required.

The PPO is based at the HM Government hub at 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf. Staff are expected to work at least three days of the week at the London office (based on full-time hours), with the rest of the time spent working at home or at commuter hubs. While you will usually have some flexibility to decide which days of the week you work in the office to manage office attendance around your personal circumstances, you may be required to attend the office on occasions such as team meetings, office or function-wide meetings, or to visit establishments belonging to our services on particular days.

Please note that the PPO cannot offer home-working contracts or allow you to permanently work at any location other than 10 South Colonnade for the required office attendance days. Also, due to current immigration rules, it is unlikely that we will sponsor any candidate who does not have the right to work in the United Kingdom. If you are successful, you may need to attend the office more frequently in your first six weeks, to undertake key training and induction activity.

Interviews will be held virtually using Microsoft Teams. The salary range is £40,014 to £42,859. Successful candidates who are already at HEO will keep their base salary on transfer. Allowances do not transfer. Successful candidates joining on promotion will start on either the minimum of the salary range or receive a 10% increase to their current base salary, whichever is higher.