Job Overview
We're looking an authentic leader with proven experience achieving operational excellence within a detention or custodial environment.
Someone who can create and embed a culture which recognises and respects individuals, celebrates diversity and is based on safety and security for everyone.
You will provide leadership, coaching and support to staff in order to maximise the efficient and effective operation of the Centre, in line with contractual and budgetary requirements.
Main Duties
1. Lead and coordinate multiple units within the Centre, ensuring resources—whether personnel, financial, or assets – are optimised to meet strategic objectives and standards.
2. Build and maintain strong relationships with clients and stakeholders, fostering long-term partnerships through effective communication.
3. Monitor operational performance, manage financial forecasts, work-in-progress, and debt levels, and identify initiatives to enhance efficiency and service delivery.
4. Develop, implement and monitor strategies that align with business goals and deliver key performance targets.
5. Manage planning and budgeting processes, ensuring accuracy in financial forecasts, resource allocation, and timeline adherence.
6. Establish best practices for resource management, personnel development and continuous process improvements.
What we are looking for
7. Proven leadership experience within Immigration detention or custodial environments at a director level.
8. Experience managing large teams (typically + staff), including Heads of Function, with a focus on performance and development.
9. Strong commercial awareness and a clear understanding of contractual compliance.
10. Demonstrable experience in budget management, particularly relating to operational staffing costs.
11. Level 6 qualification such as a Degree Apprenticeship, Bachelor's Degree (BA/BSc), or equivalent professional qualification.
12. Please note that all employment offers are subject to security clearance and thorough background checks, including verification of citizenship status, financial history, and criminal records.
Eligibility Criteria
13. Must be a British citizen, EU citizen with settled status, or hold Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) from a Commonwealth country.
14. Resided in the UK for at least the past three years, with limited travel outside the UK.
15. No significant criminal record, bankruptcy history, or adverse social media activity.
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,!
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 .