202103: Prison Officer - HMP Wandsworth

£30,219
London
London
Merit
HM Prison Wandsworth, SW18 3HS
Band 3
Permanent
Full Time, Part Time, Part Time/Job Share, Flexible Working, Other
Operational Delivery, Prison Officer

Prison Officer – HMP Wandsworth

HMP Wandsworth, Heathfield Rd, London SW18 3HU

Starting salary:    £31,728 (for a 39 hour week inc 17% unsocial)

City/Town:           London      

Region:               Inner London         

Vacancy type:     Merit

One career, many roles

Role model, negotiator, referee, educator, influencer, life changer – as a prison officer, no two days are the same.

You will work with people from all kinds of backgrounds to create a safe and secure prison environment. You will support adult offenders with rehabilitation while protecting the public too.

You will play a leading role in offenders’ lives, meeting regularly with a small caseload of 5-6 offenders. You will manage their development, from learning new skills to participation in education programmes, so there is a better chance they won’t reoffend on release.

You will also have the opportunity to grow your career, specialising in different areas such as negotiation, supporting prisoners at risk and resolving incidents.

It can be a tough job, but in return you will receive great pay, training, benefits and have the support of a strong team.

Read more about prison officer careers >> - https://prisonandprobationjobs.gov.uk/prison-officer/

During the recruitment process you will be assessed on the behaviours, strengths and abilities required to become an effective prison officer. The behaviours assessed are: Communicating and Influencing, Managing a Quality Service, Making Effective Decisions and Caring. Your natural strengths are assessed to find out what motivates and energises you. Your numerical, written English and spoken English abilities are also assessed.

How to apply

The online application begins with important details such as your National Insurance number and right to work in the UK.

You will then be invited to complete stage 1 of the online tests, to see if you have the basic judgement and numerical skills expected of a prison officer.

If you are successful, we will invite you to stage 2 of the online tests, to see if you have the right natural strengths and preferences to become a prison officer.

Due to the number of vacancies currently available this campaign will only be open for a short period of time and we will only be taking the highest performing candidates at online tests to our online assessment centre

The Online Assessment Centre

If you pass the online tests, we will invite you to an online assessment centre.

We test to see if you have the abilities, behaviours, strengths to be a prison officer.

Following successful completion of this we will then invite you to carry out a medical and fitness test. We carry out an eyesight test, hearing test and basic health screening, including blood pressure check.

We will tell you what to expect and bring before the day.

Find out about the application process >> - https://prisonandprobationjobs.gov.uk/prison-officer/tips-for-applying/

Job details

Eligibility

To become a prison officer, you will need to:

be at least 18 years old,

have the right to work in the UK,

be reasonably fit and able to pass our fitness test,

have good eyesight in both eyes (both with and without corrective lenses) and good hearing.

To work in a high security prison (category A) you must have been a resident in the UK for the last 3 years.  

Essential skills

You don’t need qualifications to become a prison officer. Personal qualities are more important. You need to show:

Good communication and influencing skills

Commitment to quality

Effective decision-making

Care and understanding

Pay

The initial training is 37 hours a week. After training, you can choose to work 37, 39 or 41 hours a week. Your annual salary will reflect your weekly hours.

37 hours a week =   £30,219 a year

39 hours a week =   £31,728 a year

41 hours a week =   £33,237 a year

All salary figures quoted include any additional allowances.

The standard working week of a prison officer is based on a 39 hours per week shift pattern.

You may also have opportunities to work additional paid hours.

Benefits

25 days of annual holiday (rising to 30 days after 10 years’ service)

Paid time off for public holidays and 1 extra privilege day

Civil Service pension of up to 20% of your salary

Cycle to work scheme, travel loans and other benefits

Training and career progression

Launched in 2021 - Level 3 Custody & Detention Officer Apprenticeship. New prison officers starting in 2021 in many of our establishments will be enrolled on our new purpose-built apprenticeship.  This new apprenticeship has been developed to replace the current Prison Officer Entry Level Training (POELT) and offer a more supportive and varied learning experience.  If you are successful in being offered a prison officer position in 2021 you may be enrolled on to this professional apprenticeship.  If you are not enrolled onto the professional apprenticeship you will complete the same training as an apprentice with dedicated support and work towards obtaining a Professional vocational Diploma in Custodial Care.

Full details of the apprenticeship scheme and how it will enhance your experience as a prison officer can be found here – https://prisonandprobationjobs.gov.uk/prison-officer/apprenticeships/

Job offers: ‘merit’ vacancy

This is a ‘merit’ job vacancy. If you are successful at the online assessment centre, you will be added to a merit list based on your score.

When all applicants have completed the assessment centre, the prison will make job offers to those with the highest scores first when positions become available.

You can stay on the merit list for 12 months. After this, you’ll need to apply again.

Your successful pass from the online assessment centre will be valid for 12 months if you want to apply for vacancies at other prisons.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order

1-    To Shared Service Connected Ltd (0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com);

2-    To Ministry of Justice Resourcing (resourcing-services@justice.gov.uk);

3-    To the Civil Service Commission (details available here)

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s recruitment principles.

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity  

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity

Disability support

Tell us if you have a disability when you apply, we can offer reasonable adjustments to help with the online tests and online assessment centre.

If you require any assistance, please call 0345 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am-6pm) or e-mail MoJ-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com. Please quote the job reference 42761.

The jobholder must be able to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in English or (when specified in Wales) Welsh.
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If you require any assistance please call 0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am-6pm) or e-mail MoJ-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@sscl.gse.gov.uk. Please quote the job reference 42761.

Closing date 5th August 2021.

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

The "Making the Civil Service a Great Place to work for veterans" initiative includes a guaranteed interview scheme to those who meet the minimum criteria to provide eligible former members of the Armed Forces with opportunities to secure rewarding jobs. Allowing veterans to continue to serve their country, and to bring highly skilled individuals with a broad range of experience into the Civil Service in an environment, which recognises and values your previous service in the Armed Forces.
For further details about the initiative and eligibility requirements visit : https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans

Redeployment Interview Scheme

Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ are committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.

MoJ are able to offer an interview to eligible candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. Candidate's will not be eligible for the Redeployment Interview Scheme if they are applying on promotion.

What’s it really like to work as a prison officer?

Our interactive online activity will give you an insight into some of the situations prison officers may experience day-to-day in their work.

This is to help you decide whether the prison officer role is right for you, and your responses in the activity will not form part of your application.

You can access the activity using the Interactive Activity button      Interactive Activity

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

· UK nationals

· nationals of the Republic of Ireland

· nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK

· nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window) https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families

· nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)

· individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020

· Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules

This Vacancy is closed to applications.