Job Title - Chief Executive Officer

GFSL Pay and Grading Band Level - Band 20 - Executive Leadership

Line Manager - Non-Executive Board Chair, GFSL

Line Management Responsibilities - Executive Board Members

Department - Executive Leadership

Purpose of Role

GFSL was established by the Ministry of Justice in response to the Carillion collapse in early 2018. The primary aim of the business is to support Her Majesty's Prison Service in its drive to establish a ‘Safe and Decent’ prison environment by delivering Facilities Management (FM) and associated Project Services within the Southern HMP Prisons Estate. The business is solely owned by the Ministry of Justice and has been set up as a Limited Company and is ‘Not for Profit’.  

The business currently delivers FM services into c48 Prisons, all of which are located within the Southern part of the UK estate. The primary focus of the service is the delivery of general and critical FM services in respect to legislative, statutory and mandatory compliance. All works are carried out through a mixture of direct and indirect resources, currently this resource consists of c1,300+ directly engaged staff and 200 third party specialist service companies.

The CEO will have overall responsibility for the business and will be accountable for - creating, planning, implementing, and integrating the strategic direction of the organisation so that it delivers effectively. This includes responsibility for all components and departments of a business including: core operations and projects, finance, commercial & procurement, human resources, and business improvement. They will also be expected to uphold the Accounting Officers responsibility on behalf of the business and MoJ/HM Treasury.

The role will support strategic engagement with all internal and external stakeholders and ensure effective governance is in place and maintained within the business. They will be responsible for setting out the goals and objectives of the business. This will include the establishment of a proactive and engaging culture that supports the development of a value driven service.

Having a background in the management of large Facilities Management, Construction, or similar Services type business, they must be confident leading a customer focused organisation, and making important decisions that affect the company's direction and its employees. 

The post-holder will be decisive and forward thinking, with strong vision and strategic capability. They will be responsible for the establishment of a strong Health & Safety, and Technical compliance based culture that actively supports continuous improvement. The CEO will drive the culture of the organisation by living the organisation's values of Pride in People, One Team, Do The Right Thing.

The role will be responsible for leading and delivering change and improvements within the business that respond appropriately to wider Government initiatives and developments.

The post holder will be the strategic lead and accountable for:

• Strategic oversight and leadership of the business
• The preparation and upkeep of strategic business plans
• Preparation and approval of annual budgets for approval by MoJ
• The effective governance and assurance of the business
• Ensuring the business supports an effective level of Value for Money for the Taxpayer
• Lead key recruitment
• Work effectively with the senior team, both executive and non-executive
• Build relationships across government in order to advance the organisation’s aims
• Establish and monitor key indicators of the organisation’s impact and financial health
• Strategic oversight and leadership in relation to all H&S compliance and assurance
• Maintain awareness of risks and changes in the internal/external environment that affect the organisation
• Supply regular reports to the non-executive board and MoJ sponsor
• Ensure the organisation’s staff are focused on achieving its aims and objectives
• Ensure the organisation fulfils its legal, statutory and regulatory responsibilities
• Responsibility for technical service and construction standards across all of GFSL’s business areas
• Establish mechanisms for listening to the views of beneficiaries on the organisation’s performance

Principal Accountabilities

Managing the Business

• Responsible for ensuring that the GFSL business delivers all services in line with the assigned framework agreement and service specifications
• Supports the delivery of a compliant estate through effective risk management measures
• Responsible for maintaining control of all matters related to the management of health and safety for services supplied by the business
• Responsible for the oversight and accountability for all budget and VFM activities
• Accountable for appropriate commercial oversight and input into Business Continuity Disaster Recovery (BCDR) plans
• Ensure value for money across the business in respect of the services delivered
• Leads the team to develop and ensure end to end processes are adopted and refined as requirements change, working closely with colleagues across the MoJ Directorate to support the development of a Centre of Excellence for Facilities Management Services

Leadership and Decision Making

• They must possess strong leadership capability, emotional intelligence, creative skills, high energy
• They must be a team leader, strategist, high achiever
• Making timely decisions that are accurately communicated
• Ability to resolve complex issues, some of which may have conflicting deliverables that need trade-offs and compromises for the successful delivery of the business and/or service
• Prioritisation of outputs that drives cost efficiencies and service improvements on behalf of the client

Customer and Stakeholder Management

• Responsible for managing and maintaining key relationships across the MoJ, HMPPS, other associated Government Departments and externally
• Ensure the business provides effective stakeholder management and monitoring of contractual service satisfaction and the progress of customer service improvement plans
• Contract, stakeholder and Supplier Relationship Management
• Generate active participation with key stakeholders to ensure smooth operational delivery of service
• Facilitate early buy-in from stakeholders on initiatives and improvements
• Develop and foster a collaborative working approach with clients built on co-operation, close liaison, openness, and information transparency
• Accountable for setting standards and monitoring performance of the business

Government wide Initiatives

• Responsible for developing the business to support initiatives such as - Prison Decency & Prisoner Rehabilitation Programs

Managing People

• Lead, direct and support the GFSL senior business leadership team and wider staff group
• Responsibility for building capability and capacity through effective review of roles and responsibilities
• The development and provision of appropriate training and support for management and the workforce across the whole business

Managing Resources

• Accounting Officer for GFSL
• Accountable for the budget expenditure for the business
• Ensure appropriate internal governance procedures are in place for procuring and authorising spend to ensure both value for money and appropriate contract delivery
• Ensure resource budget is being used effectively across the GFSL business
• Overall accountability for ensuring appropriate internal governance procedures are implemented by the team in procuring work and authorising spend to ensure both value for money and appropriate contract delivery within spending control limits

Advocacy

• This role requires awareness of broader objectives and the ability to put the contract in that context; it includes championing the business and its benefits
• Ensuring that the relationships with private and public-sector parties are coordinated such that risks are managed coherently

Analytical

• Methodology at tracking delivery of contractual obligations especially on compliance to standards
• Adept at reporting and carrying out performance reviews and delivering on corrective actions

Communication

• Communication of consistent information to the contract management team, other teams in the MoJ, HMPPS and other departments

The duties/responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is at present and is not intended to be exhaustive. The Job holder is expected to accept reasonable alterations and additional tasks of a similar level that may be necessary.

Minimum Eligibility

All candidates are subject to security and identity checks prior to taking up post.

All external candidates are subject to six months probation.  Internal candidates are subject to probation if they have not already served a probationary period within GFSL.

All staff are required to declare whether they are a member of a group or organisation which the Prison Service consider to be racist.

Person Specification: Chief Executive Officer

Essential Experience, Knowledge and Skills

• An experienced operational commercial Facilities Management (FM), Construction, or similar Services professional with an in-depth knowledge of strategic business management with substantial experience in a senior leadership position
• Experience of leading a comparable organisation successfully through change
• Exemplary communication skills with a track record of influencing and motivating others to deliver exceptional outcomes for customers
• Significant experience of customer relationship management and implementing customer service initiatives
• Strong contract and commercial management skills with a track record of delivering financial savings through management of suppliers and the supply life cycle
• Significant experience of estate compliance and health and safety legislation and associated codes of practice  
• A deep understanding of the issues involved in managing a large operational and administrative estate, including customer management and supply chain management
• Significant experience of performance based/driven operations and leveraging management information to continually develop and improve services

Desirable Experience, Knowledge and Skills

• Experience of working with Government and providing oral and written briefings
• Experience of operating service business model that is performance and information led
• Strong strategic planning experience 
• A comprehensive understanding of the issues involved in managing a large operational and administrative estate, including customer and supply chain management

Qualifications

• Appropriate level of qualifications to support the job role

Personal

• Honesty and integrity
• Professional and approachable attitude
• Willingness to learn new skills
• Self-motivated with a positive ‘can do’ approach to work
• Reliable
• Well Presented

Other Attributes and other requirements

As the business CEO there will be a requirement for all roles to travel to the current or any future designated sites as and when required. 

The organisation is supportive of and encourages flexible working.

GFSL embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As a Disability Confident employer, GFSL is committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. GFSL is able to offer an interview to candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of positions.

You will be able to request reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process within the application form. If you need additional help completing the application form, please contact the recruitment team by emailing gfsl_jointheteam@govfsl.com

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. 

It is our ongoing aspiration to be an employer of choice.

We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and provides a sense of belonging.

How to Apply

Please send your CV to the GFSL recruitment team by email to gfsl_jointheteam@govfsl.com. A member of the team will get in touch to discuss your application.

Closing date for applications is 30th August 2022.