The head of the prison and probation service has been asked to step down after nine years amid an ongoing crisis in English and Welsh jails.
BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said Michael Spurr was prompted to resign because a “fresh direction” and new leadership structure was needed.
Mr Spurr will leave his post in March 2019, the Ministry of Justice said.
The news comes after Prisons Minister Rory Stewart admitted problems with drugs and violence in numerous jails.
Last week, thousands of prison officers walked out for six hours in a protest at “unprecedented violence” in British prisons.
Mr Stewart said that he would resign if the situation had not improved within a year.
In a statement announcing the departure, Justice Secretary David Gauke said he was “extremely grateful” to Mr Spurr “for his leadership of HMPPS”.
He added the formal process to appoint Mr Spurr’s successor will start in October.
In June, MPs described the system for supervising criminals in England and Wales as a “mess”.
The Commons justice committee said HMPPS reforms had failed to meet their aims, adding it was “unconvinced” reforms could ever deliver an effective probation service.
One month later, it was announced that private companies that run probation services would have their government contracts ended in 2020, two years earlier than planned.
Richard Heaton, permanent secretary at the MoJ said it was time to “look ahead”.
Mr Heaton said the next chief executive would need to develop “a strategy for the next decade”.
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