202606: Prison Officer - HMP Garth in Preston

Full Time, Part Time, Part Time/Job Share, Flexible Working

Location: HMP Garth, Ulnes Walton La, Leyland PR26 8NE

Starting salary: £35,875 (for a 39 hour week inc 20% unsocial)

City/Town: Preston

Region: North West

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

Someone like you

We value officers from all walks of life. Whether you’re a parent, teacher, retail worker, armed forces veteran or simply a natural people‑person, you’ll need empathy, self‑confidence, great communication skills and resilience. Teamwork is vital – you will be required to support colleagues and act as one team to keep the prison and everyone who works here safe. Work will involve various shifts and some weekends.

An extraordinary job

In this career you will carry out many different roles. One minute you’re a peacekeeper, the next you’re a counsellor or teacher – you’ll work directly with prisoners 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 of commencement
• Meet Civil Service nationality requirements
• Pass a medical and fitness assessment as part of the application process
• Meet the required eyesight standard in both eyes (with and without corrective lenses)
• Have a suitable standard of hearing (without the use of hearing aids)
• Ensure visible tattoos are not offensive, discriminatory, violent or intimidating; facial tattoos are generally not acceptable except for cultural, religious or medical reasons
• For a high security (category A) prison, be resident in the UK for the last 3 years

Travel to Work

Some prison establishments are situated in rural locations with limited public transport options; therefore, a driving licence and own transport is beneficial but not essential unless specified. Please consider your commute and transport options carefully before applying.

Nationality requirements

• 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 their family members with settled or pre‑settled status under the EU 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

Successful applicants must ensure they have and maintain the legal right to work and reside in the Civil Service and in the United Kingdom.

Essential skills

• Communication and influencing skills
• Commitment to quality
• Care and understanding

Pay

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 and may include additional allowances. Prisons operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so you will cover shift patterns that include evenings, nights, weekends and public holidays (added to your holiday allowance). Most prisons work with a 39‑hour week pattern. You may also have opportunities to work additional paid hours.

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

During the recruitment process you will be assessed on behaviours, strengths and abilities required to become an effective prison officer, including communication, influencing, numerical, written English and spoken English.

Online Tests

After submitting your initial application you will be invited to complete stage 1 of the online test to establish basic judgement and numerical skills. Successful candidates will be invited to stage 2 (values‑based assessment) to demonstrate the values required of a prison officer. Once you have passed the online tests you will be invited to an online assessment centre (OAC) where your abilities, behaviours and strengths will be evaluated. This is a merit job vacancy. Successful candidates are added to a merit list based on their score. When all applicants have completed the assessment centre, offers are made to the highest‑scoring individuals as positions become available. The merit list remains open for 12 months; after this you will need to apply again. If your application is unsuccessful, a six‑month waiting period will apply, during which you may not submit further applications for prison officer positions. Applicants who are unsuccessful in becoming a prison officer may be offered an alternative role as an operational support grade (OSG).

Medical and Fitness

When a vacancy is identified you will be invited to complete a medical and fitness test, covering eyesight, hearing and basic health screening including blood pressure. Assessments must be completed within the UK. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition. If you feel the recruitment process has breached principles, you can raise a formal complaint in the order outlined by the Civil Service Commission. As a Disability Confident employer, we provide reasonable adjustment support to candidates. Request adjustments in advance of the assessment centre; we cannot accommodate on‑day requests. Applicants must be able to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in English (Welsh where specified in Wales).

Understanding what it is like to work as a prison officer, we offer an interactive online activity that provides insight into day‑to‑day situations. This activity is not part of the application evaluation.