About the job

Summary

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Job description

Prison Officer – HMP East Sutton Park

HMP East Sutton Park - Workhouse Road, Sutton Valence, Maidstone ME17 3DF

Starting salary: £24,427 (for a 39 hour week inc 17% unsocial)

City/Town: Maidstone

Region: Kent and Sussex

Vacancy type: Merit

One career, many roles

Role model, negotiator, referee, educator, influencer, life changer – as a prison officer, no two days are the same.

You will work with people from all kinds of backgrounds to create a safe and secure prison environment. You will support adult offenders with rehabilitation while protecting the public too.

You will play a leading role in offenders’ lives, meeting regularly with a small caseload of 5-6 offenders. You will manage their development, from learning new skills to participation in education programmes, so there is a better chance they won’t reoffend on release.

You will also have the opportunity to grow your career, specialising in different areas such as negotiation, supporting prisoners at risk and resolving incidents.

It can be a tough job, but in return you will receive great pay, training, benefits and have the support of a strong team.

Read more about prison officer careers >> - https://prisonandprobationjobs.gov.uk/prison-officer/

During the recruitment process you will be assessed on the behaviours, strengths and abilities required to become an effective prison officer. The behaviours assessed are: 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. Your numerical, written English and spoken English abilities are also assessed.

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 stage 1 of the online tests, to see if you have the basic judgement and numerical skills expected of a prison officer.

If you are successful, we will invite you to stage 2 of the online tests, to see if you have the right natural strengths and preferences to become a prison officer.

Due to the number of vacancies currently available this campaign will only be open for a short period of time and we will only be taking the highest performing candidates at online tests 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, strengths to be a prison officer.

Following successful completion of the online assessment centre, once we are in a position to offer you a role, we will then invite you to carry out a medical and fitness test. We carry out an eyesight test, hearing test and basic health screening, including blood pressure check.

Find out about the application process >> - https://prisonandprobationjobs.gov.uk/prison-officer/tips-for-applying/

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)

A suitable standard of hearing (without the use of hearing aids) is required for safety reasons for all potential candidates for prison officer training.

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

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

Effective decision-making

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 = £23,144 a year

39 hours a week = £24,427 a year

41 hours a week = £25,710 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 consisting of days, evenings, nights, weekends and bank holidays.

You may also have opportunities to work additional paid hours.

Benefits

Working as a prison officer comes with a range of attractive benefits, including:

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 of up to 20% of your salary

generous maternity cover

cycle to work scheme and travel loans

property rental deposit loans

access to keyworker housing schemes

employee assistance programmes

Training and career progression

Launched in 2021 - Level 3 Custody & Detention Officer Apprenticeship. New prison officers starting in 2021 in many of our establishments will be enrolled on our new purpose-built apprenticeship. This new apprenticeship has been developed to replace the current Prison Officer Entry Level Training (POELT) and offer a more supportive and varied learning experience. If you are successful in being offered a prison officer position in 2021 you may be enrolled on to this professional apprenticeship. If you are not enrolled onto the professional apprenticeship you will complete the same training as an apprentice with dedicated support and work towards obtaining a Professional vocational Diploma in Custodial Care.

Full details of the apprenticeship scheme and how it will enhance your experience as a prison officer can be found here – https://prisonandprobationjobs.gov.uk/prison-officer/apprenticeships/