Prison Officer

Ministry of Justice; Sittingbourne; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A government department is seeking dedicated individuals to join as prison officers in Sittingbourne. You will build relationships with prisoners and work in a collaborative team to maintain safety. This role requires various skills including communication and decision-making, along with fulfilling medical and fitness criteria. Benefits include paid accommodation costs and recruitment bonuses. A unique opportunity to impact lives positively while gaining valuable experience in a challenging yet rewarding environment.

Benefits

Paid accommodation costs (up to £750 per month)

Reimbursement for monthly trip home

Recruitment and retention bonus of up to £1500

Qualifications

• Must be capable of fulfilling all spoken aspects of the role in English.
• Ability to pass medical and fitness assessments required.
• Must meet required eyesight and hearing standards.

Responsibilities

• Build positive relationships with prisoners and support colleagues.
• Work various shifts including weekends.
• Assist in maintaining safety and security within the prison environment.

Skills

Communication and influencing skills

Commitment to quality

Effective decision-making

Care and understanding

Job description

Overview

This role is not eligible for new Skilled Worker visas in accordance with the current immigration rules. From 22 July 2025, the Government introduced changes to the Skilled Worker visa route. The department cannot consider sponsoring you for this role 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 vetting checks and eligibility will be assessed in accordance with the immigration rules and transitional provisions in place. If you are applying for this role and you have not held a Skilled Worker visa prior to the 22 July 2025 changes, you will need to consider your options for obtaining and/or maintaining your right to work in the UK in light of these changes. Successful applicants must ensure they have and maintain the legal right to live and work in the Civil Service and in the United Kingdom. The Department 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.

There is no such thing as a typical prison officer. Our officers come from different walks of life. You will build constructive, positive and professional relationships with prisoners who could be at the lowest point in their lives. Teamwork is essential; you will support colleagues and work as one team to keep the prison, prisoners and everyone who works here safe. You will be required to work various shifts and some weekends. In this unique career, you can perform many different roles in one day: a peacekeeper, a counsellor or a teacher. You will work directly with prisoners in a unique environment, helping to protect the public and make a positive impact.

The jobholder must be able to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in English or (where specified in Wales) Welsh. Level of security checks required DBS Enhanced Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application; all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Plagiarism identified (presenting ideas and experiences of others, or generated by AI, as your own) may result in withdrawal of applications and disciplinary action. Please see candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

• 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)

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 is not an essential requirement of the role (unless specified). Please note that shift start and finish times are fixed, and it is your responsibility to get to and from your place of work on time for the start of your shift. Please carefully consider the location of this vacancy and your transport options before applying.

You don’t need qualifications to become a prison officer. Personal qualities are more important. You need to show:

• communication and influencing skills
• commitment to quality
• effective decision-making
• care and understanding

Applying for your first prison officer role and happy to relocate? Get your career off to a great start, gaining valuable experience working at HMP Swaleside for 23 months before returning to HMP Humber permanently.

We are recruiting not just for officers who are needed today, but for prison officers to fill vacancies at HMP Humber in years to come. We need officers now to fill vacancies at other prisons and that is why we are recruiting to this special futures scheme that guarantees you a prison officer role at HMP Humber permanently but for the first 23 months of your service you will be working at HMP Swaleside. It’s a great opportunity. You will benefit from a greater variety of experience, you will also get help towards your accommodation costs paid for up to 23 months, receive a recruitment and retention payment paid at 12 months and 23 months and a paid monthly trip home. You won’t be on your own and you will be with other new officers who, like you, will be returning to HMP Humber at the end of their 23 months of deployment.

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 HMP Swaleside to HMP Humber
• You will also be paid a recruitment and retention bonus of £1500 after the first 12 month and 23-month period

As the prisons on First time prison officer recruitment scheme list have an ongoing need for prison officers, you should be able to start your paid training sooner than you would if you applied via our standard application process. An extraordinary job. Done by someone like you. 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. No two shifts or situations are ever the same. And, as you gain experience, you’ll find a range of opportunities to grow and develop into.

Your pay will depend on which prison you work at and your weekly shift hours. The figures below are based on a 37 hour contract which you will remain on until you have completed your initial training. You can then choose to increase your hours to 39 or 41 hours a week. Salaries quoted include an unsocial hours allowance - 37 hours Starting Salary - £37,246 - HMP Swaleside. If you transfer to another prison after your first 23 months, your pay will change to match the salary paid at that prison. You will also get:

• your accommodation costs paid (up to £750 per month) for up to 23 months
• the cost of a monthly trip home from HMP Swaleside to HMP Hull
• You will also be paid a recruitment and retention bonus of £1500 after the first 12 month and 23-month period

Prisons operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This means you will have to cover various shift patterns that will include evenings, some nights, weekends and public holidays (these days are added to your holiday allowance). You may also have opportunities to work additional paid hours. Total length of deployment 23 months, after which you will return to HMP Humber, your permanent prison.

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 of up to 20% of your salary
• cycle to work scheme, travel loans and other benefits

Prison officer rewards & benefits | HM Prison & Probation Service (prisonandprobationjobs.gov.uk)

Assessment Process

• 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

Your natural strengths are assessed to find out what motivates and energises you. We will also assess your numerical, written English and spoken English abilities.

Online Test Once you have completed your initial application form, you will be invited to complete an online test, to see if you have the basic judgement and numerical skills expected of a prison officer.

The online assessment centre (OAC) If you pass the online test, we will invite you to an online assessment centre. We test to see if you have the abilities, behaviours and strengths to be a prison officer. Once you’ve successfully completed the online assessment centre, we will invite you to complete a medical and fitness test. This will cover an eyesight test, hearing test and basic health screening, including a blood pressure check.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) You must ensure that any evidence submitted as part of your application, including your CV, statement of suitability and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note that plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own. Read more about the application process.

The rewards aren’t all you’ll gain from a role in the Prison Service. There’s the sense of achievement you feel when you’ve helped a prisoner to get their life back on track - the kind of experience you simply won’t find anywhere else.

High security prisons requiring CTC vetting

If your application is successful, you will need to undergo and clear pre-employment checks. This will include His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service Enhanced Level 2 vetting, and due to the security status of the establishment Counter-Terrorism Check (CTC vetting) is also required. Proof that you have been a resident in the UK for the last 3 years is needed to complete the CTC vetting process. The residency requirements refer to the period immediately before an application is made, and not any other three-year period, or any other accumulation of time spent in the UK. If you have been out of the country for a significant period of time (usually up to one year) and maintained your UK residency you may still be considered for vetting clearance. For example,

• spent a significant period of time overseas without returning to the UK, but intend to return in the future
• taken a gap year before or following university
• travelled for a year
• spent time overseas visiting family

This is not an exhaustive list. Candidates must be able to provide correct and up to date documentation when requested during the application process.

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.