11629 0- Operational Support Grade - HMP Holme House and HMP Kirklevington Grange (Prison Suppo[...]

As part of our prison support team, your work will be varied and help to keep the prison moving. This is an active role where you will be doing a range of physical tasks. These can include lifting and carrying, plus long periods of standing and walking. There will also be periods of lone working whilst undertaking tasks on both day and night shifts. You will not always be in contact with prisoners, it depends on the prison you work in. You will have full training and a supportive team by your side.

Responsibilities

• Gate duties: ensuring safe entry and exit of staff, visitors and vehicles; carrying out searches of staff, prisoners, visitors and vehicles; escorting vessels and contractors; issuing and collecting staff keys and radios; patrolling perimeter fence areas.
• Control room: operating the prison radio system, monitoring CCTV, reporting suspicious activities.
• Visits: welcoming visitors and escorting them if needed.
• Correspondence: monitoring and logging mail; reporting contraband, preserving evidence.
• Night duties: ensuring cell doors are locked and all prisoners accounted for.
• Reception: photographing prisoners and processing property and parcels.
• Prisoner supervision: supervising prisoners and exchanging clothing and property; assisting prison officers in escorting prisoners around the site.
• Food delivery: walking around delivering and collecting food trollies; using an electric tug vehicle when needed.
• Driving duties: collecting mail from local sorting office, lifting heavy sacks.
• Phone calls: maintaining PIN phone system logs and requests.
• Procedures & protocol: understanding and following national and local policies, responding to incidents and emergencies.

Qualifications

No written qualifications are required. The role requires good judgement, common sense, responsibility and teamwork. The jobholder must be able to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in English or, when specified in Wales, Welsh.

Working Hours & Shift Details

Standard full‑time working hours are 37 hours per week excluding unpaid breaks. Shift pattern includes day, evening, night, weekend and bank/public holidays. Employees may be asked to work a rolling shift pattern, including unsocial hours allowance. Part‑time, flexible or job‑sharing arrangements may be considered where business needs and the role allow.

Salary & Benefits

National £29,432 for a 37‑hour week, inclusive of a 20% unsocial hours allowance. Benefits include:

• Annual leave: 25 days on appointment, increasing to 30 days after 10 years.
• Bank, public and privilege holidays: 9 days.
• Paid Level 2 apprenticeship in customer service.
• Access to the Civil Service pension scheme.
• Season ticket loan.
• Employee Assistance Programme and Cycle to Work scheme.
• Retail discounts.

Application Process

The closing date for applications is 28th November 2025, 23:55. Applicants will undergo a criminal record check and baseline personnel security checks. The role is open to UK nationals, nationals of the Republic of Ireland, Commonwealth countries with right to work in the UK, EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members with settled or pre‑settled status, among others.

Equal Opportunity and Employment

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition. If you feel the recruitment process has breached the principles, you may raise a formal complaint to the Civil Service Commission.