201701: Prison Officer - HMP High Down

Successful candidates will be based at the following locations: HMP High Down

Band 3

Working in a prison isn’t for everyone. But if you’re one of the few with the right blend of qualities, it’s a secure and very rewarding career.

Firstly, you’ll need great communication skills. You’ll have to deal with all kinds of situations and your ability to listen well and make yourself clearly understood will be vital. Self-confidence, personal integrity and emotional intelligence are also a must, along with plenty of discipline and physical stamina too. Together, these qualities will allow you to support prisoners with their rehabilitation, while also maintaining a safe environment. At end of the day your resilience will mean you can leave work at work and bounce back from challenging events quickly.

Day-to-day, you’ll help to create a safe, secure environment where rehabilitation is supported and encouraged. In return, you’ll receive great training, excellent benefits and the chance to make build a very rewarding career.

For more information, please visit the NOMS website: nomscareers.com

Responsibilities, Activities, & Duties

Typical tasks include:

• Supervise, manage and control prisoners decently, lawfully, safely and securely.
• Ensure that the routines of the prison operate effectively and that prisoners are managed within it.
• Establish, develop and maintain professional relationships with prisoners and staff.
• Conduct searches on prisoners, staff and visitors.
• Undertake external escorts to hospital.
• Deal with incidents as the ‘first on scene’ and be able to work in a team to resolve them.
• Use of IT to maintain and update records.
• Prepare relevant documentation for managers for verification / quality checking purposes.
• Attend and contribute to meetings as required.
• Complete and update Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan.
• Understand and comply with national / local policies and legislation.

Competencies

All of the competencies in the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) Competency and Qualities Framework are relevant to this group profile. For the purpose of selection, the following competencies will be measured:

• Leading and communicating
• Managing a quality service
• Achieving a safe and secure environment
• Showing drive and resilience
• Caring
• Persuading and influencing

Essential Skills/ Qualifications/ Accreditation/ Registration

• All candidates are required to pass an online application and numeracy assessment, known as a Prison Officer Selection Test (POST), attend and pass a variety of assessments at a Recruitment Assessment Day (RAD); these include a written assessment, role-plays, medical assessment and a fitness test. Candidates who narrowly miss meeting the required standard at the RAD may be invited back to re-sit any of the modules they were unsuccessful in. Unsuccessful candidates may be offered an Operational Support Grade role at the establishment(s) they have applied to.

• Candidates have 10 calendar days to complete the online POST after receiving the email invitation. Your application will not be progressed any further if you fail to complete the online POST.

• For candidates who wish to submit multiple applications; you will be required to complete the online POST for each application. If you pass the POST you will only need to attend one Recruitment Assessment Day (RAD).

• Wherever possible candidates will be given the opportunity to attend a familiarisation day which encompasses a visit to the prison of your application and offers the opportunity to ask further questions about the role.

• If successful in your application, your continuation in this role is dependent on passing all modules within the initial Prison Officer Entry Level Training (POELT), which is a pathway to becoming a fully competent Prison Officer.

• Failure to successfully complete and pass POELT course could result in your removal from this role and may result in the termination of your employment.

• Following completion of the POELT course you will be subject to a 12 month probationary period.

Salary, Working Arrangements & Further Information
37 hour working week (standard).

Unsocial hours working
This role requires working regular unsocial hours. A permanent 17% payment will be paid in addition to your basic pay to recognise this. Unsocial hours are those hours outside 0700 - 1900hrs Monday to Friday and include working evening, nights, weekends and Bank / Public holidays.

Additional conditioned hours at enhanced pay
As a Prison Officer you will also have the option to commit to working between 1-4 additional committed hours at an enhanced rate of pay on top of your standard 37 hour working week. These hours are non-pensionable.

Starting Salary
£25,064 based on a 37 hour week (inc 17% unsocial)
£26,453 based on a 37 hour (inc 17% unsocial) with an additional 2 committed hours.
£27,843 based on 37 hour (inc 17% unsocial) with an additional 4 committed hours

Where available, you may also be able to volunteer to work further additional hours at a premium rate.

Market Force Supplement
In addition, a market force supplement of £5000 per annum is also available to recruits joining at this location. This payment will be made in 12 monthly instalments. This allowance will be paid for a period of two years. It will then be reviewed in accordance with business needs and may continue, removed or be paid at a new value.

Benefits

Annual leave

The holiday year runs from 1 March and your leave entitlement will be managed in hours. You are entitled to 25 days leave on appointment (185 hours). If you are appointed on a part time basis your leave entitlement is calculated on a pro-rata basis and you will be advised of your actual entitlement on appointment. If you were appointed internally and your leave was previously calculated in days, this will continue to be the case.

Bank, public and privilege holidays

You are entitled to 9 days (66 hours 36 minutes) in recognition of bank, public and privilege holidays. These hours are added to your annual leave allowance. There is a requirement to work some public and bank holidays subject to your shift pattern and the operational needs of the establishment.

Pension

The Civil Service offers a choice of two pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.

Work life balance

The Prison Service is keen to encourage alternative working arrangements. Work life balance provides greater opportunities for staff to work more flexibly wherever managers and establishments can accommodate requests to do so. The Prison Service offers flexible working subject to completion of a satisfactory probationary period and NVQ.

Season ticket advance

After two month’s service, you’ll be eligible to apply for a season ticket advance to purchase a quarterly or longer period season ticket for travel between home and your place of work.

Childcare vouchers

The Prison Service offers a childcare vouchers scheme. The scheme enables staff to take part of their salary in the form of childcare vouchers. This is known as a Salary Sacrifice. The vouchers can then be used to help meet the costs of any form of registered or approved childcare for children aged 0-16. The vouchers are exempt from tax and National Insurance contributions.

Training

All Prison Officers receive an initial training programme which includes a six week course (rising to 10 weeks) which is usually provided residentially. This course is designed to equip you to work as a Prison Officer, but your initial training will continue throughout your first year of service and you will be required to complete all parts of it in order to complete your probationary period.

HM Prison Service is committed to development for all members of staff and offers a range of training and development opportunities, including areas such as equality and diversity, dealing with challenging behaviour, suicide prevention and anti-bullying programmes.

There are opportunities to access promotion programmes and the Prison Service provide a variety of training appropriate to individual posts. There are no barriers to further promotion to staff first appointed as Prison Officers.

Eligibility

• All candidates are subject to security and identity checks prior to taking up post.
• All external candidates are subject to 12 months probationary period (internal candidates are subject to probation if they have not already served a probation period with HMPS).
• All staff are required to declare whether they are a member of a group or organisation which the Prison Service considers to be racist.

Existing Prison Officers are not eligible to apply for this campaign.

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.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity.

There is a guaranteed interview scheme (GIS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Civil Service Code

The Civil Service Code, first published in 1996, sets out the core Civil Service values and the standards of behaviour expected of all civil servants in upholding these values.

• Integrity – putting the obligations of public service above personal interests.
• Honesty – being truthful and open.
• Objectivity – basing advice and decisions on rigorous analysis of the evidence.
• Impartiality – acting solely according to the merits of the case and serving governments of different political parties equally well.

To review the Civil Service Code visit: www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/values