202601: Prison Officer - HMP Swansea

Prison officers protect the public and help make an impact on prisoners' lives. If you have the integrity, skills and strength of character we are looking for, this fast-paced role could be the start of a successful career.

Our officers come from different walks of life, just like the offenders they work with. Whether you are a parent, a teacher, have worked in retail, the armed forces, or just feel like you are a natural people person, you will have the empathy, self-confidence, great communication skills and resilience we want. No matter the challenge, you will take the time to build constructive, positive and professional relationships with prisoners who could be at the lowest point in their lives. Teamwork plays a vital role in this environment, so you will need to be fully committed to supporting your colleagues and understand the importance of acting as one team to keep the prison, and everyone who works safe.

You will be required to work various shifts and some weekends. In this unique career, you will have the opportunity to carry out many different roles in any one day. One minute you are a peacekeeper, the next you are a counsellor or a teacher. You will work directly with prisoners in a unique environment, helping to protect the public and make a positive impact.

To become a prison officer, you will need to:

• be at least 18 years old at the point you commence employment
• meet the Civil Service Nationality requirements
• pass a medical and fitness assessment as part of the application process
• meet the required eyesight standard in both eyes (both with and without corrective lenses)
• have a suitable standard of hearing (without the use of hearing aids)

While tattoos are permitted, they must not be deemed as offensive, discriminatory, violent, or intimidating in any way. Facial tattoos are generally not acceptable, except when this is for cultural, religious, or medical reasons.

Some prison establishments are situated in rural locations with limited public transport options; therefore, a driving licence and own transport is beneficial but is not an essential requirement of the role. Please note that shift start and finish times are fixed, and it is your responsibility to get to and from your place of work on time for the start of your shift.

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)
• 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

You do not 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

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 = £33,746 a year
• 39 hours a week = £35,875 a year
• 41 hours a week = £38,003 a year

All salary figures quoted include any additional allowances that are applicable to the role/location. 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.

Benefits include:

• 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 with employer contributions of 28.97%
• cycle to work scheme, travel loans and other benefits

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.

Once you have completed your initial application form, you will be invited to complete an online test, to see if you have the basic judgement and numerical skills expected of a prison officer. On successful completion of the online test, we will invite you to an online assessment centre where we test to see if you have the abilities, behaviours and strengths to be a prison officer.

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.

If you require any assistance, please call Monday to Friday 8am-6pm or e-mail. Please quote the job reference 13766.