First Time Prison Officer in Startforth

21684 - HMP Welland Oaks - First Time Prison Officer Scheme

CAPTION:

• Company: Ministry of Justice
• Hours: Full-time
• Location: National, DL12 9BG
• Working pattern: On-site
• Job type: Permanent
• Posting date: 1 Sept 2026
• Closing date: 17 Sept 2026

Summary

HMP Welland Oaks - First Time Prison Officer Scheme

This role is not eligible for new Skilled Worker visas in accordance with the current immigration rules.

You can read more about Skilled Worker visas and the eligibility criteria here.

Applying for your first prison officer role and happy to relocate? Get your career off to a great start, gaining valuable experience working at one of our busier Prisons.

Move away to join a prison that's 75 minutes or more from where you currently live and not only will you benefit from a greater variety of experience than you would working at a smaller prison, but you will also get higher take-home pay, your accommodation costs paid for up to 23 months, and a paid monthly trip from your deployed prison to the prison closest to HMP Welland Oaks, becoming part of the team opening and operating the UK's newest prison.

What's on offer?

• We will pay your accommodation costs (up to £750 per month) for up to 23 months
• You will be able to reclaim the cost of a monthly trip from your deployed prison to your permanent prison
• You will also be paid a recruitment and retention bonus of £1500 after the first 12 month and 23-month period

An extraordinary job

In this unique career, you'll have the opportunity to carry out many different roles in any one day. One minute you're a peacekeeper, the next you're a counsellor or a teacher. You'll work directly with prisoners in a unique environment, helping to protect the public and make a positive impact.

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

Requirements to become a prison officer:

• be at least 18 years old at the point you commence employment
• meet the Civil Service Nationality requirements (see nationality section below)
• as this is a physically active job, you will need to 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)
• For safety reasons, everyone training to be a prison officer needs a suitable standard of hearing (without the use of hearing aids)

Prisons

• HMP Deerbolt
• HMP Norwich
• HMP Onley
• HMP Portland
• HMP Swinfen Hall
• HMP The Verne
• HMP Wayland
• HMP Highpoint
• HMP Stocken
• HMP The Mount
• HMP Bullingdon
• HMP Elmley

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.

Please refer to main advert for pay scales for individual prisons.

Benefits

Read more about prison officer benefits

Job offers: Merit vacancy

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. After this, you'll need to apply again.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. If you feel the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you can raise a formal complaint by contacting Shared Services Connected Ltd: call 0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or email Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging.

Disability support

As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout the recruitment process and in the workplace. You can request reasonable adjustments within the application form.

If you need assistance, please call 0345 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am-6pm) or email MoJ-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com.