Drug Strategy Lead

Salary 1
- £47,907

Number of jobs available 1
- 1

Detail of reserve list 1
- 12 Months

Region 1
- North East

City/Town 1
- Barnard Castle

Building/Site 1
- HMYOI DEERBOLT - MAIN GATE BARNARD CASTLE, DL12 9BG

Grade 1
- SEO

Organisation Grade for HMPPS 1
- Band 7

Post Type 1
- Permanent

Working Pattern 1
- Full Time, Part Time, Part Time/Job Share, Flexible Working, Other

Role Type 1
- Business Management & Improvement

Job description 1

**Overview of the job**

The reoffending rate has remained broadly static at around 29% since 2010, and during the 12 months ending March 2019, 81% of offenders convicted or cautioned had at least one previous conviction or caution. Reoffending is costing society approximately £18bn per year and almost half of all prisoners reoffend within 12 months of release.

The job holder will seek to provide a key focus on the prison drug strategy by providing strategic and operational direction within the prison to ultimately reduce substance misuse, developing relationships between HMPPS, drug and alcohol agencies and external commissioners. This is an exciting opportunity as a priority area of work rather than being attached to other roles with operational responsibility.

The Drug Strategy lead will be responsible for the delivery of the HMPPS Drug Strategy (“the strategy”) and associated Guidance and Good Practice in the establishment, ensuring the agency is reducing the level of drug misuse amongst prisoners through a comprehensive range of activity brigaded under each of the three themes of the strategy, which align to the overarching Government Drug Strategy:
1. Restricting Supply
2. Reducing Demand
3. Building Recovery

The post holder will focus on the reducing demand and building recovery strands of the drugs strategy as well as developing relationships to manage other strategy actions.

This an opportunity for an experienced and skillful individual to oversee a whole prison approach to the continuing development of processes and procedures around reducing the harm caused by drugs in our prisons. The post holder will be required to build effective relationships with colleagues across HMPPS and MoJ to ensure the strategy is delivered.

The role may be operational or non-operational and establishment based. It is focused on achieving operational improvement in prisons and so requires the post holder to have (or to develop) a good understanding of the operational realities of drug misuse in prisons and the operational context in which the activities sit.

Experience of working in prisons would be highly desirable.

**Summary**

The job holder provides strategic leadership and is responsible for planning and managing the Drug Strategy in the establishment ensuring effective arrangements are in place for governance, risk management and monitoring. This involves responding to fluctuating workload and maintaining a calm approach in the face of competing
interests.

They will provide advice and progress updates to senior managers throughout HMPPS regarding the drug strategy delivery in the establishment.

The role will be establishment based with the expectation that post holders will travel as and when required.

This post may be operational or non-operational. If operational, please see Technical Requirements.

**Responsibilities, Activities & Duties**

The job holder will be required to carry out the following responsibilities, activities and duties:

- Review and support the establishment in design, implementation and updates of drug strategy ensuring effective governance is in place and alignment to the national HMPPS strategy. Identify and communicate current trends in relation to substance misuse in the establishment.
- Develop a detailed understanding of, and map the key barriers and opportunities to success in order to inform longer-term national approaches.
- Lead innovation and new initiatives within the prison that reduce demand and build recovery, ensuring collaboration with key partners, staff, prisoners and families. Ensure person centred pathways for recovery that empower individuals to lead a substance free life.
- Work in collaboration with the Health and Justice lead offering advice and support to manage the transition into the community to improve continuity of care.
- Collaborate with PGD Drug Strategy leads and the national HMPPS Drug Strategy and Delivery team to address individual concerns from visits and follow up reports.
- Support strategic discussions with partners and stakeholders to ensure a whole prison approach to the delivery of the prison strategy. Ensure that best practice is shared through a variety of forums, including drugs lead meetings, internal learning events, opportunities to promote projects on the intranet.
- Act as a single point of contact for the prison drug strategy promoting staff knowledge and ensuring health services are aligned to prison processes and procedures.
- Dependant on operational experience will undertake