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We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.

Position

HMPPS Sustainable Operations Lead

Location

National

Band

Grade 7

Contract Type

Permanent 

Join over 79,000 staff at the Ministry of Justice and help us make a positive and meaningful impact to the lives of thousands of people and the environment.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is a major government department at the heart of the justice system where we work to protect and advance the principles of justice. The MoJ Property Directorate manages one of the most diverse and complex estates in Government – covering a property portfolio including Prisons, Probation centres and approved premises, courts as well as the offices of the HQ and Arms Length Bodies. The MoJ Property Directorate is a supportive, people-focused organisation that provides high quality, easy-to-use services for customers, and positive, collaborative working environments for staff.

In this role, you will be part of Property Directorate’s exciting new multi-disciplinary team - the Climate Change and Sustainability Unit (CCSU). Our mission is to develop, deliver and embed key MoJ and wider Government sustainability programmes throughout our entire estate. We aspire to be a sustainability leader within Whitehall, and to do this we are seeking passionate, motivated people to lead and deliver meaningful and impactful environmental outcomes nationally. This is a great opportunity to cultivate an interesting and rewarding career in environmental sustainability while working with a dynamic and supportive team.

The MoJ is continuously dedicated to building staff capability and promoting staff wellbeing, with aspirations to be the best that we can be as individuals and as a directorate. We offer a range of development opportunities including accredited training courses, a work-life balance that works for you, a generous pension and staff discount voucher schemes.

Role Overview

The focus of the role will be leading the delivery of sustainability work across Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) with a specific focus on Community Payback - an alternative to a prison sentence for people who have committed a crime.

The Ministry of Justice has a target of reducing its carbon emissions by 41% from a baseline of 2017/18 carbon emissions by 2025 under the Greening Government commitments and HMPPS has a significant contribution to make in delivering these reductions. HMPPS will also be contributing to other similar targets on waste and water. It is therefore important that HMPPS embeds environmental sustainability in everything we do.

The environmental impact of our probation work, in particular Community Payback (CP) is increasingly a focus of Government attention.  Some CP placements actively contribute to broader Government targets to reduce carbon emissions and support nature recovery whilst all CP activity has the potential to reduce its carbon emissions.  

Within our prisons, we are looking for opportunities to improve our environmental performance whilst also creating opportunities for rehabilitation and for prisoners to develop skills which will help with getting employment on release. We want to integrate environmental projects between prisons and CP for example by CP planting trees on our estate or using equipment made/repaired in our prison workshops.

If you are inspired by the extensive scope of this role, love working at pace across diverse teams, enjoy using innovations and your initiative to solve complex problems and have brilliant communication and persuasion skills - we want to hear from you.

Team Overview

You will be part of a lively and creative multidisciplinary team responsible for the delivery of key MoJ sustainability priorities. The MoJ intends to be a sustainability leader within Whitehall, and as such, seeks high performing and highly motivated individuals to inspire and deliver meaningful environmental improvements. We work collaboratively across our areas of expertise to deliver positive environmental outcomes across a large range of themes including: 

• Meeting the Greening Government Commitment targets (GGC)
• Energy management & carbon reduction in line with net zero carbon ambitions
• Waste management and circular resource models
• Water efficiency
• Sustainable construction
• Sustainable procurement
• Sustainable travel
• Biodiversity protection and enhancement.

The Climate Change and Sustainability Unit is responsible for embedding environmental sustainability across MoJ, its agencies (including prisons, courts and probation centres) and its Arm’s Length Bodies. Sustainability needs to be embedded across the department’s policy making, operations, finance, governance, estates and commercial activity. Working in a large and diverse organisation presents the team with huge scope to deliver national scale sustainability leadership. 

Directorate Overview

The Climate Change and Sustainability Unit sits within the MoJ Property Directorate.  The Property Directorate is a customer focused organisation that exists to enable our customers to perform to their very best.  We do this by providing high quality, easy to use services, and working environments that our customers want to work in, which support them to deliver their individual outputs efficiently.  Our job is to manage one of the most diverse and complex estates in Government with a property portfolio including Prisons, Probation, and MoJ HQ and Arms Length Bodies.  We also provide property services on behalf of the Home Office. 

MoJ Property provides specialist services including facilities management, health and safety, fire safety and security, technical design expertise, and sustainability.  We also have business management teams who support the entire Directorate and each of our partners is supported by account management teams.  We are responsible for a great deal - our portfolio consists of properties valued at £8.5bn for the MoJ alone.  We are part of the Government Property Profession (GPP) and through active membership and engagement we will work with the Office of Government Property to develop the maturity of the profession and also encourage our people to join the GPP. We continue to build our capability through training and recruitment, aspiring to be the best that we can be as individuals and as a directorate. 

We continue to deliver new ways of working across our portfolio – leading on the scale and pace of activity for central government – proposing ways to achieve, and then providing more dynamic and flexible workspace, while driving down the cost of the estate. 

Job Description, Duties and Responsibilities

You will work with colleagues across HMPPS on all matters relating to climate change and sustainability. The tasks will range from training staff to identifying and communicating best practice.

The post holder will:

• Use a baseline of the current environmental impact of CP to chart and support the delivery of improvements and benefits management accountable through the MoJ Senior Sustainability Board. Use data to show regional progress on commitments
• Establish a national operational working group for delivering the Community Payback 10-point plan for Sustainability, with Green Champions attending from across each region. Create a culture of collaboration and sharing of best practice on sustainability, including annual awards for excellence.
• Provide sustainability training to CP placement coordinators, group supervisors and operational managers and update the Community Payback operational guidance to take account of the sustainable objectives. Create content for the ETE learning portal in relation to sustainability.
• Promote training and routes to employment through gaining ‘green skills’ such as horticultural and create a fund for CP to help support projects with a particularly positive environmental impact.
• Reduce the impact of the way we work on CP sites, driving simple changes through awareness education and piloting new systems including waste reduction and elimination of single use plastics, increased use of electrical equipment, use of electric/hybrid vehicles
• Identify, plan and deliver the contribution that HMPPS can make towards greening government commitments, maximising the links between CP and prisons, particularly in terms of nature recovery and the circular economy
• Develop business cases for new sustainability initiatives and identify funding streams
• Raise the profile of the wider environmental and social benefits of Community Payback

We operate in a fast paced and complex environment, so you must be flexible and resilient. A big part of what we do is delivered through others, so you will need to be enabling and inspiring to bring others on board with our vision 

Skills and Experience

Essential skills and experience:

• Demonstrable knowledge and experience of working in the fields of engineering, construction, estates or sustainability.
• Good understanding of environmental legislation and standards.
• Experience and knowledge of leading, developing and implementing carbon reductions and/or other sustainability management programmes
• Experience of creating enthusiasm and commitment within an organisation for sustainability management programmes.
• Ability to research, interpret and summarise complex information in a way that is relevant and easily understood both orally and in writing.
• Proven track record in solving problems by analysing complex information, probing to develop alternatives and proposing sound and timely decisions.
• Ability to work on own initiative, make decisions, work under pressure and deliver within tight deadlines.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to persuade and empower others to deliver sustainable solutions
• Experience of working effectively through others to achieve goals. 

Highly Desirable:

Membership of the Government Property Profession or Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) or Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM)

Qualifications

• Relevant qualification in an environmental sustainability discipline
• Post holder must be willing to work towards achieving IEMA Practitioner Membership Level if not already held 

Government Property Profession (GPP) Technical Skills

The GPP Framework is aimed at staff working in property or property-related roles and consider property to be their career anchor profession. This usually encompasses posts where professional qualifications and experience are directly relevant to the work being undertaken. However, it is also applicable to those who are currently not qualified property practitioners but wish to make this their profession of choice. Those with a property background at any level are encouraged to register with the GPP, which exists to support property practitioners at all levels.  Details of the GPP Framework can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-property-profession-competency-framework. 

This role falls under Technical Specialisms & Assurance – Environmental Sustainability: Senior Practitioner and some or all of the following Technical Skills will be tested during the selection process:

• Sustainability – Level 2

Behaviours

We will assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Seeing the bigger picture
• Working Together
• Communicating and influencing

Flexible working hours

The Property Directorate offers a flexible working system in many teams. Requests for reduced hours contracts will be considered in line with business needs.

We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce and pride ourselves as being an employer of choice. We are happy to accommodate any reasonable adjustments you may require during the selection process. To find out more about how we champion diversity and inclusion in the workplace, visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity

The Property Directorate offers flexible working subject to local agreement.

This post is advertised as Permanent & Full Time, part-time applicants will be considered     under job share arrangements. The unit is supportive of and encourages flexible working and compressed hours candidates will also be considered. Non-civil service candidates would typically start on the pay band minimum.

The role will involve occasional travel to MoJ establishments and supply chain stakeholders throughout England and Wales as necessary.