91161 - HM Inspectorate of Prisons - Communications Officer
HMI Prisons also inspects Border Force customs custody (jointly with HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services) and secure training centres (jointly with Ofsted). By invitation, HMI Prisons inspects some military detention facilities, as well as prisons in Northern Ireland and in other jurisdictions with links to the UK, such as the Isle of Man.
The role of HM Inspectorate of Prisons is to provide independent scrutiny of the conditions for and treatment of prisoners and other detainees, promoting the concept of ‘healthy establishments’ in which staff work effectively to achieve positive outcomes for those detained and for the public.
The Inspectorate’s work constitutes an important part of the United Kingdom’s obligations under the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment. This Protocol requires signatory states to have in place regular independent inspection of places of detention.
HM Inspectorate of Prisons is an Arm’s Length Body (ALB) of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). The Chief Inspector of Prisons is a Crown Appointee, while the staff of the Inspectorate are civil servants employed by the MoJ. The established values of the Inspectorate are:
- Independence, impartiality and integrity are the foundations of our work.
- The experience of the detainee is at the heart of our inspections.
- Respect for human rights underpins our Expectations.
- We embrace diversity and are committed to pursuing equality of outcomes for all.
- We believe in the capacity of both individuals and organisations to change and improve, and that we have a part to play in initiating and encouraging change.
About The Role
This is an exciting opportunity to join a small, busy communications team working with a Head of Communications and a second Communications Officer. As the team is small, the range of work and experience that you will gain is diverse, including opportunities to work across media, digital (including social media), publications, events, stakeholder engagement and internal communications.The Communications Team is responsible for publishing reports from inspections of places of detention, including prisons, immigration removal centres and young offender institutions in England and Wales. The team is also responsible for managing a programme of strategic communication to enhance the Inspectorate’s reputation and influence on issues relating to the conditions and treatment of detainees.
The successful candidate will be expected to take up post in [2024], but the exact date will depend on the timescales for interviews and security clearance processes.
Responsibilities
To support the implementation and development of the Inspectorate communications strategy, and specifically to:
Media work- Answer incoming media enquiries, seeking advice in preparing responses as needed.
- Draft and issue media releases, using Cision to prepare lists for distribution to appropriate outlets.
- Provide support to the Chief Inspector or other spokespeople, preparing briefings on key issues, attending studio interviews with them, organising transport or setting up Zoom interviews as needed and taking note of issues covered.
- Monitoring media coverage, working with the Head of Communications to identify risks and opportunities, and building an understanding of issues different outlets and correspondents respond to.
- Create and publish content on the Inspectorate’s website, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts including short videos, simple infographics and other content to bring the Inspectorate’s work to life.
- Work with the other Communications Officer to plan and evaluate our social media activity, including reporting on engagement on different channels.
- Improve our use of web and social media analytics to evaluate our activity and identify opportunities for improvement.
- Working with our research and data team, investigate ways of presenting data in informative and effective ways, such as through infographics and animations.
- Publish video content to the Inspectorate’s YouTube page.
- Work with the Head of Communications to evaluate user journeys on the Inspectorate’s website, and implement improvements in response to feedback.
- With the Head of Communications and second Communications Officer, manage a programme of report production from allocating reports to a team of fee-paid editors through to proof-reading, editing and helping to coordinate amends with internal and external colleagues for final sign-off and publication.
- Sending documents for translation into Welsh or other languages as required, and creating Easy Read versions of reports.
- Help to maintain report tracking spreadsheets and manage processes to ensure all reports are published within agreed timescales and meet quality standards, including accessibility checks.
- Support the delivery of events including helping to prepare invitation lists, setting up the Eventbrite event and managing invitations and RSVPs and any support delegates need in that process.
- Brief the Chief Inspector or other speakers at events, helping to draft speeches or presentations as needed.
- Work with the policy team to support effective stakeholder engagement including maintaining an up-to-date list of stakeholder contacts.
Help to manage the Inspectorate’s programme of internal communication, including the intranet.