Head of Professional Standards

Head of Professional Standards

G4S Care and Rehabilitation Services

Oakhill Secure Training Centre, Milton Keynes, MK5 6AJ

Salary £56,834 per annum

Permanent, Full Time, 40 hours per week

Benefits: Company Pension, free on-site parking, uniform, on-site canteen, access to High Street Shop discounts and ongoing training and development

About Us

At Oakhill Secure Training Centre we look after young people aged 12 to 18 years old who have been remanded or sentenced to periods of detention. The vulnerable young people in our care can be challenging with a wide range of social and emotional complex needs. This is an environment that calls for high standards of social care and service delivery to provide a secure and stable environment for young people to develop their life skills and address the behaviors that have led them into custody.

Oakhill Secure Training Centre works closely with the Youth Custody Services to ensure that its regimes and designs reflect best practice in residential care to prevent offending.

About the role

The Head of Professional Standards will play a central role in sustaining a culture of excellence ensuring behavior is aligned to the organisation’s expectations. You’ll be joining a team that believes in consistency, clarity, and accountability and in shaping the organisation’s delivery model.

You will be responsible for the comprehensive oversight of Professional Standards and risk mitigation across Oakhill STC, contributing to the wider CaRS Business Unit by facilitating equitable, robust, and considerate reviews and investigations of operational concerns, encompassing employee conduct, behavioral expectations, formal grievances and workplace disputes.

The role requires calm focus and attention to detail. The post holder provides clear communication, accurate documentation and thoughtful organisation that reduces unnecessary stress and prevents avoidable harm. You must act with discretion, neutrality and kindness in every interaction.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner with the Director and Senior Leadership Team at Oakhill and CaRS Chief Operating Officer to establish robust Professional Standards and governance mechanisms, offering comprehensive executive assurance.

• Proactively identify organisational risks, delivering detailed assessments of professional conduct vulnerabilities and exposure to the Director.

• Direct and oversee complex formal investigations pertaining to professional standards and organisational integrity.

• Maintain continuous professional development to update expertise, capabilities, and regulatory understanding as required.

• Champion an organisational culture anchored in high professional standards, personal integrity, and rigorous accountability.

• Ensure all documentation is systematically recorded, updated in a timely manner, and securely maintained.

• Drive achievement of organisational key performance indicators by mitigating delays and ensuring clear, transparent stakeholder communications.

• Cultivate a safe, supportive working environment built on mutual respect and active engagement.

• Deliver consistent, compassionate, and precise communication to employees, trade union representatives, and operational managers.

• Maintain meticulous case registers in strict alignment with corporate formats and governance protocols.

• Conduct quality assurance on formal correspondence, hearing bundles, meeting records, and official documentation.

• Exercise complete discretion and confidentiality when handling sensitive organisational and employee data.

• Verify that all case records remain fully accessible, ordered, and thoroughly complete.

• Assist in compiling comprehensive briefing reports and governance updates for Senior Leadership.

• Maintain strict neutrality, ensuring all dialogue remains measured, objective, and respectful. 

• Coordinate effectively with external agencies (including the Police), providing seamless professional oversight and administrative liaison.

• Provide consistent progress updates to stakeholders, ensuring robust follow-up and formal escalation whenever necessary.

• Analyse systemic trends and recurring operational vulnerabilities to refine institutional policy, documentation, and staff support mechanisms.

• Assist in the promotion of creating a positive Health and Safety culture across the site through leading by example, this includes reporting accidents and near misses in a timely manner and following the applicable safe systems of work for the role.

• G4S is committed to safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of children and adults at risk and the post holder must support these goals.

• This role requires active commitment to our Company values and all employees are expected to treat colleagues, service users and third parties with respect, fairness, and professionalism at all times, by actively contributing to an inclusive and supportive workplace, in daily work and decision-making.

• You are required to comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulations (UK GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018, and the organisation’s Data Protection Policies and must ensure that personal data relating to service users, colleagues and others is collected, stored, processed and disposed of in accordance with these requirements.

• You must only access personal information necessary for your role, maintain confidentiality at all times and immediately report any data breaches or suspected breaches in line with G4S procedures.

About you

You will have excellent communication and organisational skills. You will have a can do attitude, along with an attention to detail. You will work collaboratively and openly whilst being a key
member of the team.

You will be a dynamic and engaging individual with a good sense of humour, who shares our ethics and values and is eager to support Oakhill STCs successful delivery.

Essential Skills

• Key relationships with G4S SLT.

• Strong understanding of YCS frameworks and Contract Management and application of processes.

• Key relationships with External Stakeholders - Ofsted, CQC, SPC and External Partners.

• Key relationships with external auditors and regulatory bodies.

• Understanding of Inspector criteria.

• Excellent Management Skills at all levels in order to implement the highest possible Professional Standards along with standards of governance practice.

• Knowledge of regulatory requirements and practice and governance processes and
  methods.

• Proven ability to influence culture change.

• Ability to evaluate Organisational goals and risks.

At G4S, we invest heavily in our people. If you join us you will have a job specific induction programme to equip you with the skills and knowledge for the job. As well as ongoing support
and development opportunities we offer generous holiday entitlement, company pension, an onsite gym, free onsite parking and the chance to do an extraordinary job – every day.

For more information on Oakhill Secure Training Centre please visit, https://oakhillstc.co.uk/

Equality and Diversity is an important part of G4S Care and Rehabilitation Services. We actively encourage applications from all backgrounds and are a fully inclusive employer who aims to support all employees to be their true selves. We are happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments for either the role or during the recruitment process. 

G4S Care and Rehabilitation Services is committed to safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of children and adults at risk and each employee is expected to support these goals.

Safeguarding children and young people is our primary focus and the welfare of the child is paramount. Therefore we have a corporate responsibility to ensure that the safeguarding and
our G4S values are at the centre of all we do.

To apply for this role, you must be eligible to work in the UK and must have been resident in the UK for a minimum of 5 years. This role is subject to safer recruitment practices including a DBS enhanced level security clearance and will need to provide full details of your work and educational history covering the last 10 years as part of the screening process for the role.

G4S is the International business of Allied Universal, the world’s leading security and facility services provider and trusted partner to more than 400 of the Fortune 500. Allied Universal delivers unparalleled customer relationships, innovative solutions, cutting-edge smart technologies and tailored services that enable clients to focus on their core businesses. With operations in over 100 countries and territories, Allied Universal is the third largest private employer in North America and seventh in the world. Annual revenue is approximately $23 billion. There is no greater purpose and responsibility than serving and helping to safeguard customers, communities and people. For more information, visit g4s.com. In the UK, the company has an extensive network of offices and more than 31,000 employees.