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Location

Croydon, Greater London | United Kingdom

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Job description

Prison officer - HMP Downview
Starting salary: £38,530 (for a 39 hour week inc 20% unsocial)
City/Town: Croydon / London
Region: London
Vacancy type: Merit

This vacancy is open to female applicants only as an occupational requirement exception under Sch 9 of the Equality Act 2010. This post is not open to male applicants.

An extraordinary job
In this unique career, you’ll have the opportunity to carry out many different roles in any one day. One minute you’re a peacekeeper, the next you’re a counsellor or a teacher. You’ll work directly with prisoners in a unique environment, helping to protect the public and make a positive impact.
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

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

If you pass the online tests, we will invite you to an online assessment centre.

You will then be invited to provide a written response to three behaviour-based questions. We will explore your understanding of the prison officer role in a women’s prisons and why you are interested in the role.

Once you’ve successfully completed the online assessment centre and written responses 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.

To become a prison officer, you will need to:
• be at least 18 years old at the commencement of employment
• meet the Civil Service Nationality requirements
• pass a medical and fitness assessment
• meet the required eyesight standard in both eyes
• for safety reasons, meet a suitable standard of hearing.

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 = £36,363 a year
• 39 hours a week = £38,530 a year
• 41 hours a week = £40,697 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.

Benefits

• 25 days’ annual holiday (rising to 30 days after 10 years’ service)
• paid time off for public holidays and one extra privilege day
• Civil Service pension of up to 20% of your salary
• cycle to work scheme, travel loans and other benefits
Read more about prison officer benefits

The rewards aren’t all you’ll gain from a role in the Prison Service. There’s the sense of achievement you feel when you’ve helped a prisoner to get their life back on track - the kind of experience you simply won’t find anywhere else.
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.

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

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 by contacting Shared Services Connected Ltd: call 0345 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm)

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. 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, we are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout the recruitment process and in the workplace. You can request reasonable adjustments within the application form.

If you need assistance, please call 0345 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am-6pm) or email [email protected].

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Job tags

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Salary

£40.7k per annum