Trainee Probation Officer - Professional Qualification in Probation North West Intake19 Extra

Overview

Train to be a Probation Officer – By investing in your future, you could transform countless lives.

Salary: £26,475 p.a. For London Probation Delivery Units there is an allowance of £4,249 per annum. London allowance is extended to those staff who are contracted to work in workplaces within the M25 boundary.

What the role involves

As a probation officer, you can change lives. Working with offenders in the community and in prisons, you’ll support them to get back on track and turn their lives around. We are looking for people with empathy and resilience to help people change. The role of a probation officer is rewarding but can be challenging – as you often work with people with complex needs, and no two people are the same. In addition, you’ll be working full-time alongside studying – but you’ll be supported every step of the way.

What you’ll need

As part of the Probation Service, we support people on their road to rehabilitation. It involves working closely with all kinds of offenders often with complex needs, including those who’ve committed violent and sexual offences, or struggling with their mental health or substance misuse. As a Probation Officer, you need to be resilient as this can often make their behaviour challenging.

Level 3 Qualification
To be eligible for the non-graduate PQiP programme, you need to have a level 3 qualification (or higher) e.g. A Level, Advanced apprenticeship, AS Level, International Baccalaureate Diploma, Level 3 NVQ. A full list can be found on the website.

Level 5 Qualification
To be eligible to apply to the graduate PQiP programme, you must hold a valid Level 5 qualification, or above, such as an honours degree, a foundation degree, a diploma of higher education, a Level 5 vocational qualification or a higher apprenticeship. It doesn’t matter what subject your Level 5 qualification is in.

Please note: You must be able to provide a certificate for your qualification, this should be an award certificate for a completed qualification or a Level 5 exit award where the full qualification has not been completed.

Please refer to Skills and qualifications you need – Prison and Probation Jobs for minimum eligibility requirements.

Pre-employment checks

If your application is successful, you will need to undergo and clear pre-employment checks, this also applies to existing employees of HMPPS and will include Enhanced Level 2 vetting. For pre-employment checks, including vetting and health checks, the onus is on candidates to provide correct and up to date documentation promptly when requested during the application process. Candidates who fail to engage with the pre-employment checks process early on, may not clear in time to join on the fixed start date.

What we offer

We will sponsor and guide you through your studies, and we’ll give you the opportunity to make the most of your career as a Probation Officer. You’ll receive a competitive salary and benefits package. We offer a generous annual leave allowance of 25 days plus eight public holidays and Local Government Pension Scheme. In addition, we offer opportunities for your onward career progression. Upon successful completion of the programme, you will become a qualified Probation Officer on a starting salary of £35,130 p.a. plus London Weighting Allowance where applicable.

Who we are

As part of His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), The Probation Service plays a vital role in the criminal justice system working with over 230,000 offenders, serving community sentences and pre/post-release from custodial sentences. As well as the management of offenders, we’re responsible for taking preventative measures that protect the public, support victims and reduce the risk of reoffending. Together with the police, prisons and courts, we help people turn their lives around and help our communities feel safer.

To find out more, visit Overview of the probation officer role – Prison and Probation Jobs

Additional Information

Disability support
As a Disability Confident employer, the MoJ is committed to ensuring that everyone can demonstrate their skills, talent, and abilities. Offering reasonable adjustment support to candidates when they apply for one of our jobs is just one way we do this.

Online Assessment Centres

Online assessments centres (OAC) are scheduled to take place April/May 2025. You will be required to log in to an online candidate portal, via a platform called Sova, to access your assessment materials and will be required to join a virtual room with your camera on, via Sova, for the duration of your online assessment.

There may be an opportunity to undertake the interview in Welsh language, pending the availability of a Welsh-speaking assessor.

This is a full-time (37 hr week) post. There may be some part-time learning placements available in your region for applicants who hold a level 5 qualification and are therefore eligible to be placed onto the graduate PQiP programme, but on a part-time basis. (Learners who hold a Level 3 qualification are not eligible to be placed onto the PQIP learning programme on a part-time basis)

Campaign live date: Monday, 8th September 2025
Closing date: Sunday, 21st September 2025 (23:55 pm)

If you require assistance, please call 0345 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am-6pm) or e-mail MoJ-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com. Please quote the job reference 9562