Starting: March

Contract: 7 months

Unlocked Graduates is an award-winning charity which exists to break cycles of reoffending by developing outstanding individuals to lead rehabilitation in prisons and throughout society.   

At the core of our mission is a leadership development programme that brings top graduates into prisons to work as frontline prison officers for two years. This programme includes mentoring, work placements in partner organisations and a fully funded master’s degree. All of which they take part in while taking on the full duties of a frontline prison officer.  

The project grew out of a recommendation in the Coates’ Review of prison education. Programme participants are selected through a rigorous and competitive recruitment process which is raising the profile of the prison officer role. Last year the scheme was ranked 36th in the Times Top 100 Graduate Employers list.  

We were initially incubated by Catch22, a charity and social business. As of November 2020, we are now an independent registered charity and have ambitious targets for the next 12 months. These include enhancing our programme offer, expanding our fundraising and Partnership work, and strengthening our internal systems and processes.  

The role 

Interns are an invaluable part of our team and work across all areas, undertaking a range of tasks and responsibilities. The successful candidate will work within the Programme team to plan, deliver, and evaluate a suite of programme events, with a key focus being placed on the Summer Institute. They will gain broad experience in event coordination and project management, as well as a specific insight into the training required to become an exceptional prison officer.   

We are looking for an outstanding candidate to take on this exciting and varied role. We offer the opportunity to get involved with a wide range of activities that will help recruit, train, and develop exceptional prison officers across England and ultimately reduce reoffending rates.  

Due to the impacts of Covid-19, this role is currently home-based, with access to the office where required. Once we return to office-based working the role will predominantly be based there, though we will maintain our ongoing commitment to remote working and flexibility to further our staff support. The successful candidate will also be required to be based in Leeds for 6-8 weeks over the summer to support the delivery of our Summer Institute.   

Diversity 

The communities that we exist to serve are diverse, and to thrive in our work towards our mission, we must be too. We believe that diversity not only makes for a stronger team but should also be celebrated. We therefore aim to create a workplace that is welcoming for all, inclusive of ethnicity, disability, age, religious belief, marital status, pregnancy, sexuality, or gender.  

We are committed to keeping our organisation diverse in experience, perspective and thought. Like much of the voluntary sector, we get our largest proportion of applications from white women, and so we particularly welcome applicants from other groups. We are also keen to see more applications from people who may have lived experience or family experience of the criminal justice system.   

To remove bias where possible, we blind assess candidates for interview based on their relevant skills, qualifications, or experience, and have committed to having no all-white shortlists for any role.  

Key accountabilities  

• Sourcing appropriate training venues, accommodation and catering whilst working within a budget and ensuring good value for money  

• Delivery and organisation of training resources and materials  

• Coordinating training events including managing invitations/attendee tracking, relationship management with guest speakers and external stakeholders and post-event follow up  

• Coordinating with our finance team and processing invoices 

• Building relationships with participants through the management of the shared inbox, coordination and monitoring of WhatsApp/message communication and managing newsletter communications 

• Diary support for the senior programme team: arranging external meetings (including coordinating meetings with SLT and prison governors) and booking travel and accommodation  

• Supporting the Head of Curriculum with the development of content for training sessions, and designing internal documents (e.g. guidance, FAQs, itineraries) to support trainers and Head Office staff  

• Use of Salesforce to ensure the accuracy of our participant data  

• General administrative support for the programme team including coordinating meetings, taking minutes/notes and sharing actions, supporting with project management  

Person Specification  

You must be passionate about Unlocked’s mission and values, and be able to demonstrate the following:  

• Organised – able to prioritise and manage your time effectively   

• Able to build productive working relationships with key contacts and suppliers   

• Attention to detail – able to complete both written and data-related tasks with precision, ensuring accuracy and coherence across all your work   

• Keen desire to create a quality training experience  

• Excellent teamwork within and across teams  

• Flexible, eager to get stuck in and develop new skills and to take initiative  

• Computer literate, particularly in Microsoft Word and Excel  

• Good written communication skills in print and email  

• Experience using Teams and Zoom online platforms for professional use (desirable)  

• Experience with Mailchimp and Survey Monkey and Salesforce or other CRM software (desirable)  

Other requirements  

• Right to work in the UK