Better places, thriving communities.
Head of Function – HMP Millsike
Salary: £70,000 + Car Allowance + Bonus
Private Healthcare (Single Cover)
Lead with Purpose. Shape the Future of Rehabilitation.
Are you an experienced operational leader in a custodial, detention, or secure environment? Do you excel under pressure, inspire others, and believe that safe, respectful prisons can change lives?
If so, your next career step could be with us at HMP Millsike.
At Millsike, every decision and every interaction matters. We're building an ambitious OneMillsike culture grounded in safety, dignity, respect, and opportunity — for both staff and prisoners. We're now seeking an exceptional leader to join our Senior Leadership Team and drive this vision forward.
Why Join Us?
* Opportunity to shape a restorative and rehabilitative culture
* Senior leadership role with autonomy, influence, and strategic impact
* Lead large operational teams and contribute to site‑wide decisions
* Work alongside passionate colleagues and valued partner agencies
* Competitive salary, benefits, and development opportunities
The Role
As Head of Function, you will lead a critical operational area – such as Safety & Equalities, Residence & Wellbeing or Security & Operations – ensuring that your teams deliver safe, effective, and respectful services every day.
This is a senior role with significant responsibility. You will:
* Provide clear, confident leadership and set high standards across your function
* Maintain and evolve operational procedures to meet legislative, contractual, and Prison Service requirements
* Develop strategies that enhance performance, efficiency, quality, and rehabilitative outcomes
* Build effective partnerships with HMPPS, the IMB, PPG, contracted partners, and the wider OneMillsike team
* Coach, motivate, and develop staff at all levels, fostering inclusion and continuous improvement
* Manage budgets with accountability and sound financial judgementParticipate in the Duty Director rota, leading the establishment during critical periods
* Work onsite on a 5-in-7 shift pattern due to the operational nature of the role
Essential (What You’ll Bring)
* Proven leadership in a custodial, detention, or secure setting
* Silver Commander qualification and experience acting as Duty Governor/Director in a prison setting
* Experience managing large and diverse operational teams, including first‑line managers
* Financial awareness and experience overseeing budgets and resources
Desirable
* Understanding of commercial and contract compliance
* Level 6 qualification (degree, apprenticeship, or equivalent) in a relevant field
Additional Information
All offers of employment are subject to enhanced security vetting and background checks.
Ready to Make an Impact?
If you want to lead with purpose, empower others, and help shape a truly rehabilitative establishment, we'd love to hear from you.
Join HMP Millsike — and be part of something genuinely transformative.
Our market‑leading offering provides you with benefits that suit your lifestyle.
We have a virtual GP on hand for you and members of your household. So you can get expert advice by video or phone without having to leave your home. We offer financial wellbeing assistance through our Salary Finance scheme. For example, you could access 50% of your earned pay before payday for a small fee. Salary Finance also offers competitive loans.
When you join us, we’ll give you a link to our flexible lifestyle benefits platform, Choices. You might choose to purchase up to five extra days’ holiday each year. You might buy critical illness insurance, seek dental treatment or buy technology products at an affordable cost. There are many choices!
We give you access to high street discounts from thousands of well‑known retailers, gyms and more through our MiDeals platform. And we have a cycle‑to‑work scheme. Life cover of up to four times your salary is available. We also offer enhanced pension contributions, a save‑as‑you‑earn scheme, and a Mitie Matching Share Plan (you could even be awarded free shares in Mitie).
We award our employees with Mitie Stars as recognition for their hard work. There are cash prizes up for grabs each month and at the end of the year there’s a chance to scoop a top prize of £10,000!
Our success is a direct result of the experience and quality of our people. Progressing your career is therefore a top priority for us. We offer a diverse variety of training and development avenues via a wide selection of learning resources to suit you.
We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to all. If you have a disability or long‑term condition (for example dyslexia, anxiety, autism, a mobility condition or hearing loss) and need us to make any reasonable adjustments, changes or do anything differently during the recruitment process, please let us know by emailing Karen Hayes at Karen.hayes@mitie.com.
Apply Now
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