Detention Custody Officer - Drumkeen VB in Antrim

£28,648 per annum
40 hours per week (plus overtime opportunities)
24-hour service, 365 days a year.

We're looking for respectful, caring people to join our teams. If you're the right one for us, your strong communication & interpersonal skills, non-judgemental approach, excellent problem-solving skills and ability to keep calm under pressure will be the foundations to develop your Care & Custody career.

Your working time will require you to cover day, mid and night shifts with varying start and finish times as this contract is delivered 24 hrs per day and 365 days a year.

Your new role as a vehicle base DCO will be to escort and transport immigration residents within the UK. This may be by land, sea or air. You'll spend time both driving a small mini bus sized vehicle and escorting inside that vehicle at different times during your shift while maintaining high standards of security and safety, and promoting the welfare and decency of detainees in your care. There will be requirements to fly as part of escorted removals back to England. There will be occasions when you will support your colleagues in Larne House Residential Short Term Holding Facility.

No specific role experience or qualifications are required to be a DCO as full training and supported development are given. Experience of dealing sensitively with a wide variety of people who have been agitated, confused or angry would be an advantage.

You'll begin your Care & Custody career completing a 4-week initial training course in England and then continuing your development over the next 6 months with on the job mentoring. We will support you every step of the way, developing your skills to professionally deliver this rewarding, sometimes challenging role with integrity and respect.

Essential Criteria

• Be a UK citizen, Citizen of the Commonwealth with your own indefinite leave to remain (not through marriage) or EEA citizen.
• Have a valid and in date passport, with no restrictions on your stay in the UK. Please note Visa's in out of date passports cannot be accepted as proof of Right to Work in the UK. A Biometric card alongside a current in-date passport must be provided.
• Have continuously resided in the UK for the previous 5 years. Applicants must not have spent more than 3 months at any one time overseas during the previous 3 years.
• This position is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and Applicants must be prepared to undergo an Enhanced DBS check, complete employer referencing for the previous 5 years and vetting to the level of Counter Terrorist Checked (CTC) if offered a role.
• Specific driving compliance is attached to this role.
• Full Northern Ireland manual driving licence with at least 12 months qualifying experience.
• Fewer than 7 points on your Northern Ireland Driving Licence.
• No driving ban/ disqualification within the previous 5 years.
• Not currently bankrupt.
• You must be able to pass a red/green colour-blind test as part of your air side driving requirement.

Due to the safety-critical nature of this role, we require that employees are not under the influence of any substance—including prescribed medication—that may impair their ability to perform their duties safely. This includes any THC-based prescriptions due to the lack of reliable evidence on safe levels of THC in the system. If you are currently prescribed medication that may affect your ability to carry out safety-critical tasks, we encourage you to discuss this with us as part of the recruitment process. We are committed to making reasonable adjustments where appropriate and in line with our obligations under the Equality Act 2010.

To ensure the highest standards of safety and compliance, we operate a random drug and alcohol testing programme. By applying, you acknowledge that participation in this testing is a condition of employment.

Benefits

• Ability to achieve a successful work/life balance.
• Structured career development in a ‘People Centred' company - a top 100 UK Employer 2021.
• Opportunities to grow and develop new skills to reach a whole new potential.
• Continued personal development, beginning with your Level 3 Apprenticeship in Detention & Custody, moving onto accredited leadership qualifications with promotion to line management roles.
• A huge benefits package including pension schemes, private medical cover schemes, share schemes and MiDeals discount scheme with over 3000 offers available from your favourite retailers, leisure and utilities companies.
• Our market-leading offering provides you with benefits that suit your lifestyle.
• We have a virtual GP on hand for you and members of your household.
• We offer financial wellbeing assistance through our Salary Finance scheme.
• When you join us, we'll give you a link to our flexible lifestyle benefits platform, Choices.
• We give you access to high street discounts from thousands of well-known retailers, gyms and more through our MiDeals platform.
• Life cover of up to four times your salary is available.
• We also offer enhanced pension contributions, a save-as-you-earn scheme, and a Mitie Matching Share Plan.
• We award our employees with Mitie Stars as recognition for their hard work.
• Our success is a direct result of the experience and quality of our people. Progressing your career is therefore a top priority for us.

We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to all. If you have a disability or long-term condition and need us to make any reasonable adjustments, changes or do anything differently during the recruitment process, please let us know.