Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) Lay Adviser for (Kent)
- Body
- HM Prison and Probation Service
- Appointing Department
- Ministry of Justice
- Sector
- Regulation
- Location
- The successful candidate will attend meetings and other events across (Kent) and will need their own transport.
- Skills required
- Regulation
- Number of Vacancies
- 1
- Remuneration
- This is a part-time unpaid post (expenses paid).
- Time Requirements
- The successful candidate will usually provide up to 8 hours a month and will not be asked to provide more than 16 hours per month.
Campaign Timeline
-
Competition Launched
17/01/2022
-
Closed for Applications
14/02/2022
-
Panel Sift
TBC
-
Final Interview Date
TBC
-
Announcement
TBC
Vacancy Description
MAPPA Lay Advisers assist the police, probation and prison services in establishing arrangements for managing serious sexual and violent offenders in the community. These arrangements, called Multi- Agency Public Protection Arrangements or MAPPA, are required by Section 325 of the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) 2003. Lay Advisers contribute to the monitoring and evaluation of MAPPA and act as critical friends in challenging professionals. Their responsibilities include:
- Attending strategic meetings to develop the arrangements.
- Attending meetings to manage the risks presented by specific offenders.
- Assisting in the preparation of MAPPA annual reports.
- Participating in any sub-groups, working parties or projects.
- Participating in reviewing the Business Plan and broader communication strategy.
MAPPA are not an organisation, but a framework designed to enable criminal justice and social care agencies to share information on violent and sexual offenders, assess and manage risk and direct the available resources appropriately. Lay Advisers work with professionals from a range of agencies, including social services, healthcare, housing and employment, as well as police and probation.
Person Specification
The successful candidate will have an interest in community and social issues, a capacity for emotional resilience and the ability to understand the needs and priorities of a range of parties including agencies, victims and offenders. They will be able to effectively challenge the views and assumptions of senior professionals and maintain confidentiality. They will also have an awareness of and commitment to equality and diversity. No formal educational qualifications are necessary, but the successful candidate will be able to understand complex information in written and numerical form.
Additional Information
Eligibility Criteria:
Applicants must be resident within Kent. In exceptional circumstances they may, live just outside Kent, but must still be able to demonstrate strong and sustained connections with the communities within Kent.
In order to preserve the “lay” status of those who are appointed to the role, there are certain categories of people who are ineligible for appointment due to their current or previous experience. These comprise:
- Members of Parliament or the Welsh Assembly;
- Local Authority Councillors; where the MAPPA is within their area of councillor responsibility
- Civil Servants at the Home Office or Ministry of Justice.
- Members of staff currently employed in any Criminal Justice Agency whose paid employment involves working with offenders that fall within the remit of MAPPA. A similar exclusion may apply to voluntary work where the primary focus is with MAPPA offenders, such as sexual offenders.
In addition to the above criteria ineligibility for this role would include:
- Anyone whose personal or family circumstances may give rise to a conflict of interest with the duties and responsibilities of the MAPPA role.
- Lay Advisers who have served two terms in any area (by this time they may no longer be sufficiently independent).
- Please note that the role of Lay Advisor will require security vetting and the commission of some offences will exclude the applicant from the Lay Advisor role.
Lay Advisers need to be independent of the MAPPA organisations with which they work. Otherwise it will be difficult to challenge the thinking of the professionals in the criminal justice agencies and duty to co-operate agencies.