Prison Officer

HMP Exeter Prison Futures

Applying for your first prison officer role and happy to work away from home? Get your career off to a great start, gaining valuable experience working at another prison for two years before returning to HMP Exeter permanently.  

 

We are recruiting not just for officers who are needed today, but for prison officers to fill vacancies at HMP Exeter in years to come.  We need officers now to fill vacancies at other prisons and that is why we are recruiting to this special futures scheme that guarantees you a prison officer role at HMP Exeter permanently but for the first two years of your service you will be working at HMP Isle of Wight.

 

It’s a great opportunity.  You will benefit from a greater variety of experience, you will also get your accommodation costs paid for up to 23 months, receive a recruitment and retention payment paid at 12 months and 23 months and a paid monthly trip home. You won’t be on your own and you will be with other new officers who, like you will be returning to HMP Exeter at the end of their 23 month deployment.

 

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.

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 £589 per month).
• You will be able to reclaim the cost of a monthly trip home.

You’ll also benefit from comprehensive paid training, plus a range of other employee benefits and career progression opportunities.

 

For more information about prison futures click here  Prison Futures

How to apply

 

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

 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 test, hearing 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.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
• certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals

 

Visa sponsorship

Please note we are unable to sponsor any individuals via the Skilled Worker Sponsorship / Tier 2 (General) work visa.

Successful applicants must ensure they have and maintain the legal right to live and work in the Civil Service and in the United Kingdom.

 

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 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.)

Salaries quoted include an unsocial hours allowance

Starting salary at HMP Isle of Wight

£30,702 (for a 39 hour week inc 20% unsocial hours) plus a £1500 Recruitment & Retention Premium while on deployment paid at 12 month and 23 month point.

 

Opportunities, once trained to earn Payment Plus.

(Payment Plus is paid at £22 per hour)

 

You will also get:

• your accommodation costs paid (up to £589 per month)
• the cost of a monthly trip home.

 

Total length of deployment 23 months, after which you will return to HMP Exeter, your permanent prison.  You may also be able to transfer to your deployed prison permanently if you wish

 

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

• Civil Service pension with employer contributions of over 25%
• rental deposit loans

• cycle to work scheme, travel loans and other benefits

 

Training

All new prison officers in England and Wales will begin their career by completing a skill’s led foundation training programme.

Week 1 to 9: following a local induction at your deployed prison (Isle of Wight) you will go on a foundation training programme at a designated learning centre. This will usually be close to your deployed prison location but may be residential.

Week 10:  you will be back at your deployed prison where you will embed and expand on your skills and knowledge with local support.

You will receive full pay and expenses.

What to expect during training

The skills led foundation phase prepares you for life as a prison officer. You will learn and practise all the essential skills and behaviours that are vital to the 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 0345 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.

Salary

£28,880 - £32,523

Additional Information

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 .

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

Closing Date: 08th June 2023