202208: First Time Prison Officer Relocation Scheme

£28,880 - £34,523
East Midlands, East of England, South East, South West, Wales, West Midlands
Aylesbury , Bristol , Cambridge , Hemel Hempstead , Ipswich , Leicester , Lichfield , London, March , Melton Mowbray , Milton Keynes , Rugby , Sittingbourne , Stratford-upon-Avon , Weymouth , Winchester , Wrexham , York
Merit
HM Prison Bullingdon, OX25 1PZ, HM Prison Elmley, ME12 4AY, HM Prison Full Sutton, YO41 1PS, HM Prison Gartree, LE16 7RP, HM Prison Highpoint, CB8 9YG, HM Prison Hollesley Bay, IP12 3JW, HM Prison Long Lartin, WR11 5TZ, HM Prison Mount, HP3 0NZ, HM Prison Berwyn, LL13 9QE, HM Prison Stocken, LE15 7RD, HM Prison Swaleside, ME12 4AX, HM PRISON VERNE PORTLAND, DT5 1EQ, HM Prison Wandsworth, SW18 3HS, HM Prison Wayland, IP25 6RL, HM Prison Whitemoor, PE15 0PR, HM PRISON WINCHESTER WINCHESTER, SO22 5DF, HM Prison Woodhill, MK4 4DA, HMP NORWICH NORWICH, NR1 4LU, HMYOI AYLESBURY AYLESBURY, HP20 1EH, HMYOI Onley, CV23 8AP, HMYOI PORTLAND PORTLAND, DT5 1DL, HMYOI Swinfen Hall, WS14 9QS, HMYOI WARREN HILL WOODBRIDGE, IP12 3BF
Band 3
Permanent
Full Time, Part Time, Part Time/Job Share, Flexible Working, Other
Operational Delivery, Prison Officer

202208: First Time Prison Officer Relocation Scheme

Post Type - Permanent

Working Pattern - Full Time, Part Time, Part Time/Job Share, Flexible Working, Other

 Role Type   - Operational Delivery, Prison Officer

 

Job description  

 

First time prison officer – relocation scheme

Applying for your first prison officer role and happy to relocate? Get your career off to a great start, gaining valuable experience working at one of our larger prisons and earn up to £8k more than you would if you applied direct to the prison you’re allocated to under this scheme.

 

Move away to join a prison that’s 75 minutes or more from where you currently live and not only will you benefit from a greater variety of experience than you would working at a smaller prison, you will also get higher take-home pay, your accommodation costs paid for up to 3 years, and a paid monthly trip home – all up to £8k a year.

 

Choose 3 or more prisons you’d like to work at and, wherever possible, we will aim to find you a role at one of these.  You will be allocated to a prison that has the most need for prison officers at the time.

 

You are only eligible for this scheme if you are applying for your first prison officer position – not if you’re looking to move from one prison to another.

 

https://prisonandprobationjobs.gov.uk/prison-officer/first-time-prison-officer-relocation-scheme/

 

What’s on offer?

  • You will benefit from higher take-home pay than is available via our standard prison officer recruitment process.
  • We will pay your accommodation costs (up to £659 per month in London or up to £589 elsewhere) for up to 3 years.
  • You will be able to reclaim the cost of a monthly trip home by public transport.
  • After 2 years you can decide whether to stay at the prison permanently or move to one that’s nearer to your home.

As the prisons on the First time prison officer – relocation scheme list have an ongoing need for prison officers, you should be able to start your paid training sooner than you would if you applied via our standard application process.

You’ll also benefit from Prison officer rewards & benefits | HM Prison & Probation Service  and career progression opportunities.

https://prisonandprobationjobs.gov.uk/prison-officer/life-as-a-prison-officer/.

 

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 have an opportunity to choose 3 or more prisons you’d like to work at, in order of preference. 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. 

 

During the recruitment process you will be assessed on the behaviours, strengths and abilities you need to become an effective prison officer. These include:

 

  • 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. We will also assess your numerical, written English and spoken English abilities.

 

 

The online assessment centre

 

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

 

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

 

Once you’ve successful completed the online assessment centre, we will invite you to complete a medical and fitness test.  This will cover an eyesight testhearing test and basic health screening, including a blood pressure check.

 

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

 

 

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)

 

For safety reasons, everyone training to be a prison officer needs a suitable standard of hearing (without the use of hearing aids).

 

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:

 

  • communication and influencing skills
  • commitment to quality
  • effective decision-making
  • care and understanding

 

Pay

Your pay will depend on which prison you work at and your weekly shift hours. The figures below are based on a 39 hour week (you will start on a 37 hour contract until you have completed your initial training. You can then choose to increase your hours to 39 or 41 hours a week.)

Prison

Salaries quoted are based on new pay award from September 2022 and include an unsocial hours allowance

Salary - £30,702*

HMP Berwyn - Wrexham, Wales

HMP Full Sutton - nr York

HMP Gartree - Leicestershire

HMP Hollesley Bay - Suffolk

HMP Long Lartin – Worcestershire

HMP Norwich

HMP Onley - Rugby, Warwickshire

HMP Portland - Dorset 

HMP Stocken - Rutland 

HMP Swinfen Hall – Litchfield

HMP The Verne - Dorset

HMP Warren Hill - Suffolk

HMP Wayland – Thetford, Norfolk

HMP Whitemoor – March, Cambridgeshire

*These prisons also receive a recruitment and retention payment of £1,500 each year, which will be paid at 12 monthly intervals – not as part of your monthly salary.

 

Salary - £32,702 (includes £2,000 market supplement)

HMP Elmley - Isle of Sheppey, Kent

HMP Highpoint – nr Newmarket, Suffolk

HMP The Mount – Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire

HMP Swaleside - Isle of Sheppey, Kent

HMP Winchester – Hampshire

 

Salary - £34,202 (includes £3,500 market supplement)

HMP Aylesbury - Buckinghamshire

HMP Bullingdon – Bicester, Oxfordshire

HMP Woodhill – Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire

 

Salary - £35,931*

HMP Wandsworth – London

*This prison also receives a recruitment and retention payment of £1,500 each year, which will be paid at 12 monthly intervals – not as part of your monthly salary.

 

In addition to the salaries listed you will also get:

  • your accommodation costs paid (up to £659 per month in London or up to £589 elsewhere) for up to 3 years.
  • the cost of a monthly trip home by public transport.

 

Prison officer benefits

 

  • 25 days’ annual holiday (rising to 30 days after 10 years’ service)
  • paid time off for public holidays and 1 extra privilege day
  • one of the best pension schemes in the country
  • rental deposit loans
  • cycle to work scheme, travel loans and other benefits

 

https://prisonandprobationjobs.gov.uk/prison-officer/rewards-and-benefits/.

 

Training and career progression

 

You will start your prison officer career by completing a paid https://prisonandprobationjobs.gov.uk/prison-officer/apprenticeships/. Taking 12 to 18 months to complete, this professional qualification will give you the specialist skills you need to become expert at your job.

 

You will learn and practise all the key skills and behaviours that are vital to the prison officer role, including:

 

  • how to look after people in custody
  • search and security procedures
  • de-escalation techniques

 

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 individuals 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. If you feel the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles, you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order:

Shared Service Connect Ltd: call 0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or email Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com

 

Ministry of Justice Resourcing: email resourcing-services@justice.gov.uk

The Civil Service Commission.

 

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.  

 

Disability support

 

As a Disability Confident employer, the Ministry of Justice is committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. You will be able to request reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process within the application form. 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 email MoJ-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com

The jobholder must be able to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in English or (when specified in Wales) Welsh.
Please refer to additional job description attachment

The jobholder must be able to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in English or (when specified in Wales) Welsh.

If you require any assistance please call 0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am-6pm) or e-mail MoJ-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com. Please quote the job reference 63406.

Closing Date - 16th October 2022

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.