Judicial Vice Chair of the Parole Board

£437.50 per day – 3 days/week

About the appointment

Introduction

We are inviting applications from serving Court of Appeal, High Court, or Senior Circuit Judges with a minimum of 7 years’ experience, who will retire by 31 December 2025 and retired Court of Appeal, High Court, or Senior Circuit Judges with a minimum of 7 years’ experience. Applicants should have recent relevant involvement in the criminal justice system. (All references to Senior Circuit Judges include Circuit Judges of the Central Criminal Court).

Introduction from the Chair

Dear Candidate

Thank you for your interest in becoming Judicial Vice Chair of the Parole Board for England and Wales. This appointment is made by the Parole Board with the approval of Ministry of Justice (MoJ) Ministers.

The Parole Board is an independent body which sits as a court to protect the public by risk assessing the most serious and complex prisoners to decide whether they can be safely released back into the community or not. Our work is of critical importance to victims and public safety, as well as prisoners and their families, but it also has a wider role in maintaining public confidence in the criminal justice system.

The Judicial Vice Chair’s key roles and responsibilities are to: deputise for the Chair; take a leading role on legal matters; be the Director of Education and so oversee the training of our 330 members; lead on liaising with the judiciary and other key stakeholders; and serve as a member on some of our most serious and complex cases.  The Judicial Vice Chair is also a member of the Management Committee which is responsible for setting the Parole Board’s objectives and business plans; reviewing key management information relating to the performance and operations of the Parole Board, and approving the Parole Board’s budget and annual accounts.

We are very keen to increase the diversity of our organisation. A significant proportion of the prison population are from a black, Asian or other minority ethnic groups and a lack of representation can impact on trust and confidence. We are an inclusive organisation and recognise that diversity is one of our greatest strengths. We welcome applications from people from all backgrounds.

This is a very exciting time to join the Parole Board. We have modernised our ways of working, we are updating our Rules and we are becoming more transparent and we are implementing the changes arising as a result of the recent Victims and Prisoners Act.

If you believe that you have the experience and qualities that we are seeking, we hope that you will consider applying for this important position. It should be noted that to be eligible for this role you must be a senior member of the judiciary which for these purposes means Court of Appeal, High Court, or Senior Circuit Judges with a minimum of 7 years’ experience, who will retire by 31 December 2025 and retired Court of Appeal, High Court, or Senior Circuit Judges with a minimum of 7 years’ experience. Applicants should have recent relevant involvement in the criminal justice system. (All references to Senior Circuit Judges include Circuit Judges of the Central Criminal Court). 

If you have further questions about this post, you are welcome to speak to Caroline Corby, Chair, Cecilia French, Parole Board CEO or the current Judicial Vice Chair, HH Peter Rook KC.

If you have questions about the appointment process, you can contact the Public Appointments Team at: PublicAppointmentsTeam@Justice.gsi.gov.uk, or call Caroline Banjo on 07540262437.

Appointment description

  • Chairing or sitting on Parole Board panels deciding cases considered high profile, or otherwise noteworthy.
  • Supporting the Parole Board to fulfil both its statutory functions and performance objectives on member practice and decision making.
  • Deciding non-disclosure applications in accordance with the statutory Parole Board rules.
  • Approving panel listings for noteworthy or other nominated cases.
  • Assisting the Board as necessary when dealing with reconsideration applications.
  • Encouraging and fostering a culture of trust and respect amongst the Parole Board membership.
  • Deputising for the Chair, as required.
  • Providing a minimum of 30 days per year to Parole Board activity, including a minimum of 15 days per year to chair Parole Board panels.
  • Serving as a Member of the Parole Board Management Committee
  • Serving as a Judicial Member of the Parole Board. The successful candidate will be appointed a Judicial Member by ministers

Organisation description

The Parole Board works to protect the public by risk assessing prisoners to decide whether they can safely be released into the community. It was established under the Criminal Justice Act 1967, and is classified as a Non Departmental Public Body, that makes independent and impartial decisions.
It sits as a court-like body and makes risk assessments which are rigorous, fair and timely, based on information supplied by the prisoner, the prison and probation service and other expert witnesses.
Parole Board decisions are solely focused on whether a prisoner would represent a significant risk to the public after release. The risk assessment is based on detailed evidence found in the dossier (a collection of documents relating to the prisoner) and evidence provided at the oral hearing.
The Parole Board is responsible for considering parole reviews for prisoners serving indeterminate sentences – sometimes called ‘life’ sentences – where the sentence has no end date. It also considers certain types of determinate sentence cases – where there is an end to the sentence – and some prisoners who have been sent back, or ‘recalled’, to prison.
To be eligible for parole, a prisoner will have served the minimum ‘tariff’, or punishment part of their sentence, set by the courts. Prisoners eligible for parole are only released into the community if the Parole Board decides it is safe to do so.
An offender released on a parole licence continues to serve the rest of their sentence in the community while being supervised by the Probation Service. This is known as ‘release on licence’ or parole.
The Parole Board’s work is of critical importance to public safety, as well as prisoners and their families, but also has a wider role in maintaining public confidence in the justice system.
To read more about the Parole Board and its work click here.

Board composition

Details about the composition of the Parole Board can be found here

Regulation of appointment

This post is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. For more information, please refer to the Commissioner’s website 

Person specification

Essential criteria

  • A demonstrable commitment to fairness, justice, independence and valuing the protection of the public.
  • An understanding of the criminal justice system.
  • Aptitude and ability to sit as a Parole Board member to deal with sensitive complex cases which requires the ability to apply knowledge and judgement to offenders’ cases to decide whether they can safely be released into the community and to set conditions where release is appropriate.
  • A demonstrable commitment to education and training.
  • Experience of working with others on a strategic committee or other decision-making group, equivalent to Board level, to be able to play a leading role in the strategic management of a complex, independent but publicly funded organisation.
  • Ability to work with and influence a wide range of individuals both within the Board, and its membership and external organisations.
  • The aptitude and ability to work with the Chair and other members of the Management Committee to help modernise the way the Board deals with cases (e.g. digitalisation)

Desirable criteria

  • An understanding of the policy, operational, political and media landscape in which the Parole Board works.
  • Knowledge of the workings of Government and Whitehall.
  • An understanding of Arms-Length Bodies and sponsorship arrangements.

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