Prison Officer Operations

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.
- 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

breaches of security and order. You will demonstrate good housekeeping and

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, interprison 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**
- 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.

**Essential**

**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 i