Member - Volunteers needed on Independent Monitoring Boards (IMB) at Port of Dover Short Term Holding Facility (STHF).
- Body
- Independent Monitoring Board (IMB)
- Appointing Department
- Ministry of Justice
- Sectors
- Judicial, Prison & Policing, Prison & Policing
- Location
- Kent Intake Unit (KIU), Eastern Docks, Dover, CT16 1JA
- Skills required
- Regulation
- Number of Vacancies
- up to 4 vacancies
- Remuneration
- Unremunerated though reasonable expenses will be re-imbursed
- Time Requirements
- Approx. 3-4 visits per month during probationary year, later reducing to around 2-3 visits.
- Closing Date
- 22/12/2019 0000
- Interviews
- TBC – anticipated end January 2020 onwards (We regret that we cannot reimburse expenses incurred in attending familiarisation visits or interviews).
Vacancy Description
We are currently looking for new volunteers to join the IMB Port of Dover board to help ensure that proper standards of care and decency are maintained for those detained in Holding Rooms
Person Specification
Applicants do not need any special qualifications or experience as we will provide all necessary training and support; however, you will need to undertake Counter Terrorism Checks (CTC) if successful. Candidates need to be over 18 years of age and live within approx. 20 miles of the Port. You need to be enthusiastic, open minded, possess effective communication skills and have the ability to exercise sound, objective judgement.
Additional Information
Time requirements:
This generally includes:
One 2.5-hour Board meeting per month (at a date and time agreed within the Board)
One or two 1-2-hour monitoring visits per month (carried out any time of day or night with timings generally at Board Members’ discretion)
Occasional induction and training activities
Occasional additional monitoring visits when high numbers of detainees are present in the holding room.
More information:
Dover Independent Monitoring Board monitor the welfare and treatment of people detained at the short-term holding facility at the Port of Dover. The holding facility – known as the Kent Intake Unit (KIU) – is located within the Eastern Docks. The purpose of the facility is to detain people who attempted to gain entry into the UK without detection, usually in vehicles but sometimes in small boats or via the Channel Tunnel. The facility consists of a large room designed to hold up to 58 detainees, with a small separate room for families and areas for searching and the storage of property. Most detainees will be present in the holding room for no longer than 36 hours. The holding room is a 24-hour facility which can receive detainees at any time of day or night. A Member of the Board will visit at least once each week to monitor the facilities, speak to detainees and to report on their welfare and treatment. The Board as a whole meet once a month to discuss their observations and any issues with immigration and holding room officials and report annually on their findings to the Minister for Immigration. The holding facility can be accessed by car or public transport and arrangements may be possible those with accessibility needs. The Board welcomes applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences and may be able to offer some flexibility in the way monitoring duties are carried out in order to accommodate Board Members’ commitments. IMB members are independent, unpaid and work an average of 4 visits per month depending on the needs of the Board and the individual. Your background can be as a student, a person of working age or retired. We welcome applications from people over 18 and are particularly keen to hear from those of working age and individuals from black and minority ethnic communities, since these groups are under-represented on the existing Boards. The role is about fairness and decency and is always rewarding, educational and challenging. Please click on www.imb.org.uk to find out how being an IMB member can benefit you. Visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuQ4WxirPlg and view the short film ‘Joining the Independent Monitoring Board’ and hear current IMB members talking about their role.
How to Apply
An application pack along with further details on how to apply is available from http://www.imb.org.uk/join-now/current-vacancies/.Completed applications should be emailed to IMBrecruitment@justice.gsi.gov.uk by the closing date. Alternatively, please telephone 020 3334 3265 providing your name and address and we will post one to you. Completed applications should be posted to IMB Secretariat, 3rd Floor, Post Point 2, 10 South Colonnade, London, E14 4PH by the closing date
Reference Number: 1021/Dover/2019 (to be quoted in all correspondence and on application form)