Prison officer: HMP/YOI Portland & HMP The Verne
HMP: Portland, 104 Grove Road, Grove, Portland DT5 1DL
HMP: The Verne, Verne Common Road, Portland DT5 1EQ
Starting salary: £30,702 (for a 39 hour week inc 20% unsocial)
City/Town: Portland
Region: South West
Vacancy type: Merit
One career, many roles
As a prison officer, you’ll be part of a diverse team, making an impact, doing meaningful work in our prisons.
Working in a prison is fast-paced and varied, and no two days are the same. You’ll work with a range of people and perform a variety of tasks – from keeping the prison safe and secure, to helping vulnerable people through a difficult time in their lives. Once you’ve qualified, you’ll have a range of opportunities to specialise and progress your career and earning potential.
It can be a challenging job, but in return you will get good pay, training, benefits and have the support of a strong team.
Find out more about this varied role and day-to-day life as 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
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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.
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 the online tests, to see if you have the basic judgement and numerical skills expected of a prison officer.
Due to the number of positions currently available, this vacancy is only open for a short period of time and only individuals who perform highest at the online tests will be invited 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 and strengths to be a prison officer.
Once you’ve successfully completed the online assessment centre and we’ve offered you a role, 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.
Read more about the application process
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
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be reasonably fit and able to pass our fitness test
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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 three 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
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effective decision-making
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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 = £28,880 a year-
39 hours a week = £30,702 a year
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41 hours a week = £32,523 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’ annual holiday (rising to 30 days after 10 years’ service)-
paid time off for public holidays and one extra privilege day
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Civil Service pension of up to 20% of your salary
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cycle to work scheme, travel loans and other benefits
Up to £8,000 gross (inclusive of tax) home-to-work travel expenses for a period of 3 years from the date you commence employment paid at 0.45p per mile
These benefits are applicable to individuals applying via this campaign to take up their first prison officer role. Where expenses are received you will be required to sign a written undertaking to make pro-rata repayments on in the event of resignation within two years’ service. Please note that you will only be entitled to these benefits whilst employed as a Band 3 Prison Officer at HMP Portland and HMP The Verne.
Read more about prison officer benefits.
Your training to be a prison officer
We want to make sure you are matched to the right training scheme. Once you have passed our initial selection and as part of the pre-employment procedures, we will undertake an initial assessment with you to identify whether undertaking an Apprenticeship in Custody & Detention or the Initial Foundation Training will be appropriate in getting you ready for working in a custodial setting. The outcome of the assessment will determine which training pathway you take and this will be discussed with you before you take up post.
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.
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
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UK nationals
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nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
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nationals of the Republic of Ireland
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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)
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relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
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relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
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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.
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 can raise a formal complaint in the following order:
Shared Services Connected Ltd: call 0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or email [email protected]-
Ministry of Justice Resourcing
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The Civil Service Commission.
We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society 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 [email protected].