Programme Facilitator - North East

The role of Programme Facilitator is to deliver a range of group work programmes aimed at changing the attitudes, beliefs and behaviour of People on Probation. Responsibilities include: To provide guidance/feedback to Probation Practitioners on People on Probation's progress within a group (including post programme reports).

Liaise with Probation Practitioners, Partner Link Workers and partner agencies. As a Programme Facilitator, you will be required to work evenings and could be required to work up to 4 unsocial shifts a week (i.e. evenings and/or a Saturday). Role Requirements include: To train in and deliver group work programmes for People on Probation as outlined in the Accredited Programme Manuals, and other interventions run by the Programmes Team. Undertake regular feedback sessions and respond constructively to feedback. Participate as required by the Treatment Manager in the preparation and planning of programmes. To monitor participants' progress within the group, providing them with feedback and recording their progress on the relevant systems. To contribute to the assessment of risk that a group participant may pose. To identify and take the necessary actions to protect children and vulnerable adults and promote their welfare in accordance with safeguarding policies and procedures. To work as a team to support performance targets and integrity requirements.

The post holder may be required to travel to other locations within the NE region.

Are you passionate about rehabilitation? Could you help people make meaningful and sustained changes in their lives? If so, then a career as a Programme Facilitator in the Probation Service is for you.

Providing interventions to people who engage in harmful behaviour to help reduce their likelihood of reoffending is an important part of our work in HMPPS. Our Programme Facilitators deliver a range of Accredited Programmes and Structured Interventions. You will be delivering groupwork and individual work to people subject to Community Orders or on licence after release from prison. These programmes are designed to support people to desist from crime, help people build on their strengths and lead more fulfilling and pro‑social lives. You will be working with people who have perpetrated domestic abuse, sexual abuse and/or committed other violent and acquisitive offences.

The majority of our Programmes are delivered in the evening and therefore evening work is essential in this role. You will also travel to different locations to your office base to deliver these programmes. Travel expenses can be claimed.

If you are successful in the recruitment process to join the Probation Service, your starting salary will be £28,064

In addition to the base salary, you will be entitled to unsocial hours payments for working in the evenings and/or a Saturday. Working on a Saturday attracts an additional premium of 50% and working evenings an additional 30%.

The Probation Service offers the opportunity for annual pay progression through a Competency Based Framework (CBF), which if eligible, will see your pay increase. CBF is designed to enable you to move up through the pay band range as your competence grows.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Probation Service also increase their pay band ranges annually in line with Civil Service Pay guidance, which will also apply an increase to band pay ranges where applicable.

Overview of the job

The job holder will deliver a range of rehabilitation interventions aimed at changing the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviour of people on probation with a full range of offence types and a full range of levels of risks (including those convicted of sexual and domestic abuse offences), as determined by sentences of the Courts and on the recommendation of Probation Practitioners.

The main objectives of this role are to reduce re-offending, protect the public, prevent future victims and rehabilitation to help people to build constructive and meaningful lives in the community, through the delivery of effective evidence based Accredited Programmes and Structured Interventions.

The post holder will be Regionally based and sit in the Interventions Team and report to the Programme Manager. They will deliver interventions across a large regional area where travel will be required. There will be no line management responsibility in this role.

There will be a requirement to regularly work unsocial hours (including evenings and weekends).

For further information on the summary, responsibilities, activities, duties of the role and the Civil Service Success Profile Criteria which will be used in the assessment process, please refer to the full Job Description Attachment.

Skilled Worker visa changes from 22 July 2025

In accordance with current immigration rules, this role is not eligible for a new Skilled Worker visa.

From 22 July 2025, the Government introduced changes to the eligibility criteria for Skilled Worker visas. As a result:

HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) cannot consider sponsoring you to work as a programme facilitator unless you have held a Skilled Worker visa prior to the 22 July 2025 changes.

If you have held a Skilled Worker visa continuously, please raise this during your pre‑employment checks and your eligibility will be assessed in accordance with the immigration rules and transitional provisions in place.

If you apply to be a programme facilitator and you have not held a Skilled Worker visa prior to 22 July 2025, you will need to consider your options for obtaining and/or maintaining your right to work in the UK in light of these changes.

If your application is successful, you will need to ensure that you have and maintain the legal right to live and work in the Civil Service and in the United Kingdom.

HMPPS will continue to comply with UK Immigration Rules applied in the UK and Civil Service. You can read more about Skilled Worker visas and the eligibility criteria here.

Civil Service recruitment: nationality rules

The work is varied, challenging and meaningful and comes with job security, great benefits and career progression opportunities - not to mention the chance to make a real difference to people’s lives and our communities.

About the Recruitment Process

To apply to this role you will be required to complete a short application form and detail responses to two Civil Service Behaviour and one Experience based questions.

Your application will be sifted once the application deadline has closed. You will then receive further instruction on the outcome of your application.

If successful at sift you will be invited to an interview which will include a facilitation exercise.

The purpose of the assessment process is to assess the right behaviours and strengths required for the programme facilitator role and to assess your suitability for the training programme that is required for the role.

The assessment will consist of two activities: A facilitation exercise with some follow up questions (topic will be emailed to you once interview booked) and an interview relating to the role of a programme facilitator.

For the facilitation exercise you will need to prepare a presentation, the topic of which will be shared with you once you book an interview slot.

The facilitation exercise will be measuring you against the behaviours of Communicating and Influencing, Developing Self and Others and Managing a Quality Service. You will have up to 10 minutes to deliver the exercise.

If we receive a high volume of applications, we may assess and progress candidates through the recruitment process in stages (tranches). Candidates who meet the required standard at sift may be held pending future assessment stages rather than progressing immediately. Interview invitations and subsequent offers will be managed in line with the tranche in which candidates are assessed and their position in merit order

If you apply for multiple vacancies for the same role, only one of your applications will be progressed. Any assessment scores achieved will be applied consistently across all applications for that role, this will be valid for 6 months.

Candidates who do not meet the minimum benchmark at either the Sift or Interview stage will not be eligible to reapply for the same role for six months from the date their assessment scores are progressed. There is also no guarantee that you will progress to the next stages of the recruitment process; however, we will keep you informed at each stage.

About the role

Helping offenders turn their lives around isn’t without its challenges. But you’ll play a key role in supporting them through interventions that encourage positive change.

As a programme facilitator, you’ll deliver group and one‑to‑one sessions, creating a safe and structured environment that meets different learning styles and needs. You’ll manage group dynamics, address challenging behaviour, and ensure sessions remain effective.

Our team is made up of a strong and inclusive group of colleagues, from all walks of life, who are passionate about helping and motivating people on probation. You will work alongside your fellow team members to ensure that people on probation receive the highest quality input and support, as well as sharing information and providing guidance to members of the wider Probation Service, such as Probation Practitioners and Domestic Abuse Safety Officers.

You’ll also:

• Monitor progress, risk, and wellbeing throughout the intervention
• Keep accurate records and share insights with relevant teams
• Work closely with courts and criminal justice agencies to support sentence management
• Provide workshops and briefings to probation staff and external stakeholders
• Use pro‑social modelling to reinforce positive behaviours
• With regular feedback and professional development, you’ll have the support you need to grow in your role while making a real difference in people’s lives.

Due to the nature of the role extensive training and support is provided to ensure that all Programme Facilitators are confident and competent to succeed. Through the training programme you will learn about all aspects of programme delivery, including the theory behind the interventions we deliver. It is a requirement to successfully complete a 6‑month probationary period, including undertaking an assessment centre and passing assessed training.

The majority of our programmes are delivered in the evening and therefore evening work is essential in this role. You will also travel to different locations to your office base to deliver these programmes. Travel expenses can be claimed.

Additional Information

Where applicants provide multiple location preferences, reserve lists will be managed in accordance with location preference/s, as indicated in your application. We will appoint in merit list order for each location outlined in the vacancy and hold a separate locational reserve list for each of these locations. After appointments have been made using this locational appointment process, any remaining candidates who met the benchmark for the role will remain on a locational reserve list in accordance with their preferences for 12 months.

Please only indicate preferences where you are prepared to work. If you are subsequently offered a role from the reserve list for a location preference indicated in your application and decline it, you will be removed from the reserve list for the vacancy, across all locational preferences.

All offers of employment will be made strictly in merit order, based on your performance throughout the recruitment process. Candidates at the top of the merit list will be offered vacancies as they arise in their chosen locations.

Once you have accepted an offer for a role, you will be withdrawn from any other live applications for the same role and will no longer be considered for those vacancies.

The addresses listed in the job advertisement are not an exhaustive list of potential base locations, they give an indication of some of the potential locations you could be based at.

We will therefore endeavour to offer you a vacancy within a 60‑minute commute of your home location.

New entrants to the Civil Service will be expected to join at the entry point salary for the advertised band.

Existing Civil Servants will have their salary calculated in accordance with the Departments pay on transfer / pay on promotion rules.

Due to the length of this recruitment campaign, we will endeavour to inform you of your outcome following the interview. Successful candidates will be placed on a reserve list and will be allocated or offered roles once the campaign has fully concluded.

Working Arrangements & Further Information

The MoJ offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non‑contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different MoJ sites and / or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone’s circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review.

For nationally advertised roles, the successful candidate(s) will be appointed to a MoJ office location, which may include their nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office. This will be discussed and agreed on the completion of pre‑employment checks.

Some of MoJ’s terms and conditions of service are changing as part of Civil Service reform. The changes will apply to staff joining MoJ who are new to the Civil Service. Staff joining MoJ from other civil service employers will transfer onto the new MoJ terms if they are already on 'modernised' terms in their current post or onto 'unmodernised' MoJ terms if they are on 'unmodernised' terms at their current post. Details will be available if an offer