About the job

Job summary

Please see Job Description.

Job description

Prison officer - HMP Lancaster Farms HMP Prison Futures  

HMP Lancaster Farms -HMP Lancaster Farms, Stone Row Head, Lancaster LA1 3QZ

Starting salary: £32,851 (for a 39 hour week inc 20% unsocial)

City/Town:         Lancaster/ Morecombe

Region:              Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire

Vacancy type:   Merit

                       

HMP Lancaster Farms 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 twenty-three months before returning to HMP Lancaster Farms permanently.  

 

We are recruiting not just for officers who are needed today, but for prison officers to fill vacancies at HMP Lancaster Farms 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 Lancaster Farms permanently but for the first 23 months of your service you will be working at HMP Elmley, Isle of Sheppey.

 

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 Lancaster Farms at the end of their 23 month deployment.

 

You may also be able to transfer to your deployed prison permanently if you wish.

 

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?

• We will pay your accommodation costs (up to £589 per month).
• You will be able to reclaim the cost of a monthly trip home by public transport.

• plus a £1500 Recruitment & Retention Premium while on deployment paid at 12 month and 23 month point.

 

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.

 

 

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

 

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. All salary figures quoted include any additional allowances which are payable.

 

Starting salary at HMP Elmley

• 37 hours a week = £34,402 a year
• 39 hours a week = £36,351 a year
• 41 hours a week = £38,300 a year

 

You will also get:

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

• plus a £1500 Recruitment & Retention Premium while on deployment paid at 12 month and 23 month point.

 

Salary when returning to HMP Lancaster Farms

• 37 hours a week = £30,902 a year
• 39 hours a week = £32,851 a year
• 41 hours a week = £34,800 a year

 

Opportunities, once trained to earn Payment Plus. (Payment Plus is paid at £22 per hour)

 

Prisons operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This means you will have to cover various shift patterns that will include evenings, some nights, weekends and public holidays (these days are added to your holiday allowance).  Most prisons work with a changing shift pattern of 39 hours a week.

 

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 of up to 20% of your salary
• cycle to work scheme, travel loans and other benefits

 

Prison officer rewards & benefits , HM Prison & Probation Service (prisonandprobationjobs.gov.uk)

 

Assessment Process

 

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
• 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.

Online Test

You will be invited to complete the online test, to see if you have the basic judgement and numerical skills expected of a prison officer.

The online assessment centre (OAC)

 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 successfully 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.

Read more about the application process.

 

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.

 

If your application is unsuccessful at the sift/Interview stage, a six month waiting period will be applied during which time you will not be allowed to submit any further applications for prison officer positions.

 

Operational Support Grade Role

Our Online Assessment Centre (OAC), will not only assess you against the key criteria to become a prison officer but will also determine your suitability for appointment as an operational support grade  OSG   If following attendance at your OAC, you are unsuccessful in your application to become a prison officer, we may instead offer you an alternative role as an OSG. Operational support grade - Ministry of Justice at HMP Lancaster Farms. Please note an OSG role does not include the relocation scheme benefits / allowances.  Further information will be provided to you if you offered an alternative OSG role.

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:

 

1. Shared Services Connected Ltd: call 0345 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or email Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com
2. Ministry of Justice Resourcing
3. 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.

Person specification

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 78652.

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: 11th January 2024

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £30,902, HM Prison & Probation Service contributes £8,374 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Please see Job Description.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

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)
• 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)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.