Ministry of Justice

Overview of the job

This is a non-operational job within an establishment or a regional delivery team.  This post does not involve remote working.

Upon application, candidates must hold –

• A Degree conferring Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) with the British Psychological Society (BPS).
• Proof of successful completion of academic component of training towards registered status; namely a BPS accredited MSc in Forensic Psychology.  This must be completed prior to application.

Successful candidates will be offered a place on a merit list and will be offered trainee forensic psychology posts as they become available over the next 12 months. The order in which candidates are drawn down will be based on performance at assessment centre and location preferences chosen during the assessment process.

Summary

Working as a psychologist in HMPPS is challenging. People in our care have almost always hurt and harmed people, but often and usually not in clear ways, they have also been hurt and harmed. The role requires a great deal of compassion and perspective taking to work with this reality, as well as a high level of analytical skill, competency in delivering interventions, and an ability to influence others. Some stakeholders depend on you to provide professional assessments to help them judge risk, understand behaviour, and make decisions that balance the interests of individuals with that of protecting the public. Others rely on your research and consultancy skills to inform strategic decisions, improve prison conditions, and support rehabilitative efforts. The demands placed on psychologists in HMPPS can be a heavy responsibility to carry, but it makes for an extremely rewarding role, with an ability to make a genuine difference at an individual, local and national level. 

Trainee Forensic Psychologists (trainees) work with offenders and various stakeholders, and their work is undertaken under the supervision of a senior or principal psychologist. In HMPPS, psychologists in training undertake a variety of supervised work to gain experience and develop competency in working towards becoming a registered forensic psychologist across custody and community. This includes undertaking risk assessments and clinical assessments, writing professional reports, and providing evidence as a professional witness at Parole Board hearings. It also includes delivering and supervising accredited programmes and designing bespoke formulation-driven interventions, undertaking research and consultancy projects to provide psychologically informed solutions to support progressive environments and regimes, and providing training to improve workforce capability. Psychologists in training employed by HMPPS will undertake training to become a registered forensic psychologist via one of several accredited routes.  This training will be funded by HMPPS, and trainees will be provided with a range of opportunities to progress through this route. They are expected to use this opportunity to their advantage to support their training and development.  They are responsible for ensuring they are constantly progressing to the level of a registered forensic psychologist.

This is a non-operational job with no line management or supervisory responsibilities.

Responsibilities, Activities and Duties

The job holder will be required to carry out the following responsibilities, activities and duties:

• All work will be conducted under the supervision of a registered psychologist.
• Offer advice and assist in target/objective setting for offenders.
• Offer advice on the location of a prisoner (both within the establishment or potential relocation to another category establishment).
• Write reports e.g. indeterminate sentenced prisoner reports, reports for Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) and Parole Board Reviews.
• Raise awareness of the range of interventions available with those involved in sentence management so that they are better able to recognise who would benefit.
• Interview and select prisoners to assess their suitability for accredited programmes and other interventions.
• Prepare for and co-facilitate programmes, complete reports and set objectives for offenders following completion of the programme.  
• Participate in risk assessment to determine an individual’s risk of harm to self, others and the risk of reoffending. Undertake Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) and self-harm assessments.  
• Conduct relevant research including data gathering.
• Be involved in the development, delivery and evaluation of training.
• Provide consultancy support where required.
• Develop and utilise skills in crisis intervention.
• Present as 'professional witness' in Parole Board hearings
• Take responsibility for their own Continued Professional Development (CPD) and maintain progression towards registered status.

The duties/responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is at present and is not intended to be exhaustive. The job holder is expected to accept reasonable alterations and additional tasks of a similar level that may be necessary. Significant adjustments may require re-examination under the Job Evaluation Scheme and shall be discussed in the first instance with the job holder.

An ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence through the medium of English or (where specified in Wales) Welsh.

 Behaviours

• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Developing Self and Others
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together

Technical Requirements

• Degree conferring Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) with the British Psychological Society (BPS).
• Proof of successful completion of the academic component of training towards registered status, this may be a BPS accredited MSc in Forensic Psychology.  This must be in place prior to application.
• Job holders must complete specific training in their specialism once they take up post.

The Recruitment Process

1) Your first step is to complete a short online application form. At this stage, you will be prompted to confirm that you meet the minimum requirements for the role.  You will also need to upload evidence of your qualifications in a pdf format.  No other formats are permitted.

2) You will then need to complete an online Task-Based Assessment.  This will allow you to demonstrate the natural behaviours and qualities needed for the role.

3)  Candidates who achieve the required standard in the Task-Based Assessment will be invited to complete a Situational Judgement Test. Results from this assessment will be provided to all candidates at the same time which may mean there is a wait of up to four weeks to receive this outcome and candidates should not chase the outcome of this assessment. 

4) Those candidates who meet the benchmark for the Situational Judgment Test will then have their qualifications reviewed. If your qualifications are provided in the correct format and meet the minimum criteria, you will be deemed to have met the sift requirements.

5) The next stage of the assessment process is an Online Assessment Centre (OAC).  Applicants will be invited to the OAC based on their performance on the sift assessments.  The first group will be invited to an OAC in late 2025.  Others will remain on a waiting list and may be invited to an OAC at a later date depending on operational need.  There is no guarantee that those passing the sift process will be invited to the OAC.  Invitation will be based on performance and in merit order and some candidates may not progress beyond the sift stage. 

6) If you are invited to the OAC and you are successful in meeting the minimum required pass mark at the OAC, you will be added to the merit list for the campaign. We will then appoint candidates when trainee forensic psychologist posts become available.  This will be based on merit order and your location preference(s).  Your location preference will be captured prior to the online assessment centre and you will be able to select a maximum of three location clusters. Please be advised that passing the assessment centre and being placed on the merit list does not guarantee an offer of employment.

The Online Assessment Centre dates are estimated to take place from 4^th December 2025 and last for one week. Please only apply for this position if you have the availability to complete the online assessment centre on one of these dates.

Posts in Wales

Forensic Psychology Services (FPS) Wales will run their own bi-lingual campaigns to fill vacancies in Welsh prisons to comply with the Welsh Language Act.  However, candidates can express a preference to be located at HMYOI Parc to work in the Youth Custody Service (YCS) as YCS does not operate under HMPPS Wales.

High-Level Vetting Checks

Please be advised that some prison locations will require higher-level vetting checks. Candidates who select a location (location preferences captured prior to the OAC) that requires a higher level of clearance may have an extended vetting process to obtain the higher-level clearance required to access these locations. Candidates will be advised during the recruitment process. 

Continued Professional Development (CPD).

Candidates will be enrolled onto one of the contracted accredited Qualifications in forensic psychology which will support them to achieve registered forensic psychologist status with the HCPC.  This qualification will take between 2 and 4 years from the point of enrolment to complete. This is required to progress to registered status. We would expect candidates who are applying for this role to be able to commit to this qualification in its entirety. Each candidate will be supported in meeting their Continued Professional Development (CPD) needs with the support of their supervisor. 

Hours of Work (Unsocial Hours) Allowances

37 hour working week.