Vacancy -- Head of Perpetrator Policy

We are keen to utilise the expertise of staff across the Civil Service to make a practical, positive impact during these unprecedented times.

We are all driven by the values set out in the Civil Service Code: integrity, objectivity, honesty and impartiality. In addition to the code we have our own values and expectations which encapsulate our 'Welsh way' of working, reflecting the ambitions set out in the Well-being of Future Generations Act

The post holder will use their expert subject knowledge and experience (at a strategic and operational level) & leadership skills to develop a joined up and integrated, evidence-based approach to tackling offending in Wales. The post holder will work with Welsh Government officials and Ministers, and key external stakeholders as Head of Perpetrator Policy for the relevant priority areas:

• The Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse & Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) work stream of the Integrated Offender Management (IOM) Cymru Board’s framework to support positive change for those at risk of offending in Wales, 2018-23.
• The blueprints for youth justice and female offending (2019-2023), which set out an aspirational, whole systems approach to supporting children, young people and women to live crime free, positive and healthy lives, improving well-being and making communities safer.

VAWDASV

To be the Senior Responsible Owner of the Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse & Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) work stream of the IOM Cymru Board framework to support positive change for those at risk of offending in Wales, 2018-23. This will include:

• Chairing a pan-Wales multi-agency group, ensuring appropriate Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service in Wales, the Welsh Government, police forces, Offices of Police and Crime Commissioners, third sector and other key stakeholder representation and meaningful contribute contribution.
• Strategic oversight of multi-agency task and finish activity to meet the objectives of the work stream through partnership working.
• Responsible for overseeing an effective practice sharing network for VAWDASV perpetrator services across Wales, to upskill providers, hosting regular events to disseminate regional, national and international developments in research & practice.
• Presenting highlight reports to the IOM Cymru Board & Programme Management Boards as required and updates as requested by the All Wales Criminal Justice Board, VAWDASV team and other networks.
• Providing applied research expertise in relation to VAWDASV perpetrators at IRAP (Integrated Research and Analysis Panel).

Leading the ongoing implementation of the Welsh Government’s Standards for VAWDASV Perpetrator Services, ensuring a consistent approach to delivering high quality, safe and effective services to those at risk of committing VAWDASV.

Providing ad hoc consultancy to regions on achieving objective 3 of the VAWDASV national strategy, advising on appropriate use of resources, service development, effective approaches to needs analyses and service mapping, etc.

Working with commissioners and funding bodies to influence the funding of evidence-based, safe and effective VAWDASV perpetrator services in Wales. This may include the Home Office, Ministry of Justice, PCCs, HMPPS, Domestic Abuse Commissioner, The Big Lottery, etc.

Using knowledge and expertise to act as a ‘critical friend’ to civil service colleagues and external partners, identifying ineffective practice and advising on service improvements (e.g. in relation to Drive), leading audit/Quality Assurance activity and associated lessons learned events at a regional, national (including in England) and international level. 

Conducting, supervising and commissioning research (at a publishable, Government Social Research standard) to support an evidence-based approach to working with perpetrators. This may include developing costed research specifications and overseeing the related tendering and contract management.

Working across Welsh Government policy portfolios to ensure perpetrator policy is integrated with the wider VAWDASV agenda for example, in relation to the new national strategy, national indicators, etc.

Oversight of the allocation & management of Welsh Government grants (revenue or capital) related to perpetrator policy. 

Blueprints

To lead the development and piloting of a psychology-led model for female justice in Wales, providing expertise and leadership to ensure that all work stream activity across the female offending blueprint is psychology-led, gender-responsive, and trauma-informed.

To lead the pan-Wales multi-agency community sentences work stream of the female offending blueprint, setting the direction for the work stream, galvanising members to contribute towards milestones and ensuring momentum is maintained. This will include (for example) leadership of the development & implementation of the training framework for the overall blueprint.

To provide expertise (reflecting subject matter knowledge as well as a working understanding of the CJS landscape in Wales) to inform the development of the Residential Women’s Centre for Wales, ensuring it is integrated with the broader community sentences work stream and blueprint delivery. 

To lead the research & evaluation work stream for both the female offending and youth justice blueprints, providing expertise to ensure that activity across both blueprints is data and evidence-driven and robust evaluation of effectiveness (at an individual project and whole systems level) is embedded.

To work as part of the female offending blueprint project team to ensure an integrated approach to implementation.

To sit on the Deputy Directors blueprint group, working with policy leads across Welsh Government to ensure relevant alignment and support.

To lead discussions with policy leads from HMPPS in Wales, HMPPS, MoJ and Home Office to ensure relevant governmental alignment and support for the research & evaluation work stream objectives, as well as for the overarching psychology-led model for the female offending blueprint. 

To report progress to the female offending & youth justice Blueprint Project Board as a member and support the work of other work stream leads, taking a leadership role in ensuring an ethical, evidence-based approach is taken to addressing issues across both blueprints.

To provide regular progress reports on the research and evaluation work streams, as well as the implementation of the overarching psychology-led model to the Blueprint Programme Board, escalating issues where necessary, clearly articulating risks and proposing solutions for approval. Developing and presenting Business Cases to the Programme Board in response to changing/increasing demand on resources. 

To represent the Welsh Government at the Women’s Pathfinder Whole System Approach and Early Intervention 18-25 service commissioning group, this will include leading on the evaluation requirements for this project.

To link with the Welsh Government’s youth justice blueprint team to ensure a consistent approach across the blueprints, providing expertise on priority areas, including the development of a new youth custody model for Wales.

Other 

Use knowledge and expertise to provide ad hoc consultancy and expert advice (internally and externally) on priority areas of policy relevant to criminal justice, such as child sexual abuse/exploitation, child and family courts, prisons and probation, rehabilitative cultures & environments, modern slavery, extremism, safeguarding, offender health (including mental health and substance misuse), offender housing, personality disorder, trauma (including PTSD), public health approaches to violence prevention, workforce supervision & well-being, self-harm and suicide, etc. This may include:

Leadership of the offending population work stream of Traumatic Stress Wales, from inception to implementation, ensuring senior leadership involvement from all key agencies.

Associate membership of the Wales Violence Prevention Unit, providing expert consultancy on the development of perpetrator-related research and practice by the VPU and partners.

Providing perpetrator expertise to the training and learning work stream of the Single Unified Safeguarding Review, advising on systemic improvements to the implementation of learning from Domestic Homicide, Child Practice, Mental Health and other relevant formal reviews

Providing expert advice on the implementation of Community Sentence Treatment Requirements in Wales. 

Line management and supervision of junior staff contributing to any of the aforementioned activity. This may include staff on secondment from external organisations, graduate fast streamers, research interns, etc. 

This post provides the post holder with the opportunity to: 

•    lead on delivering Welsh Government priorities, which includes directly influencing policy
•    have the opportunity to work across government policy areas, collaborating with both internal and external partners.
•    gain an insight into the workings of Welsh Government.

The post holder will have access to all of the relevant training provided by the Welsh Government to enable them to conduct their role effectively. 

If a member of a relevant professional body (e.g. the British Psychological Society), they will (subject to costs and evidence of benefit to the Welsh Government) be supported to access specialty CPD opportunities to meet the related requirements.

The Welsh Government is a bilingual organisation and Welsh language skills are considered an asset to the organisation. We encourage and support staff to learn, develop and use their Welsh language skills in the workplace. 

The following list of language requirements represents an objective assessment by the line manager on behalf of the Welsh Government of the Welsh language skills required to undertake the duties of this particular post.

In Welsh Government, the relationship between the employer and trade unions is based on social partnership. We believe our goals can best be achieved by management and trade unions working together.

Our 3 recognised trade unions are:
•         PCS
•         Prospect
•         FDA

This relationship is underpinned by a partnership agreement. This sets out how our unions work with Welsh Government on issues such as:
•         pay
•         terms and conditions
•         policies and procedures
•         organisational change.

Our Welsh Government trade union colleagues work together to give their members a real say in the workplace. They make sure that the interests of their members are promoted and protected. They also help reduce inequalities and improve terms and conditions.

The Welsh Government has an excellent track record of working in partnership with its trade unions. We encourage staff to get involved. We support you to join a recognised trade union, to ensure your voice is heard in the workplace. and to learn more about trade unions and partnership working.

All applications for this vacancy should be made online via the Welsh Government's online application system.  If you have an impairment which would prevent you from applying on-line, please e-mail SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales to request an application pack in an alternative format, or to request a reasonable adjustment related to an impairment in order to submit your application.

To apply, you'll need to have an account on our online application system.  Click the 'Apply' button below, and you'll be asked to 'Log in' if you already have an account, or 'Register' if you don't yet have an account.  Registration takes just a few minutes to complete.  You'll need an e-mail address to be able to register.  Once you've registered for an account and logged in, you'll be taken to the online application form, which you'll need to fully complete and submit before the deadline on the closing date.  

If you’d like to apply for this vacancy in Welsh, please use the ‘Newid Iaith / Change Language’ link at the top of this page, to take you to the Welsh version of this advert, from which you can apply in Welsh.

For further information regarding the Welsh Government recruitment process, please see the Recruitment Guidance for External Candidates (link).

When evidencing your suitability for the post, it is recommended that you refer to the Civil Service Competency Framework (link)