Probation Service Officer

Ministry of Justice; Staines-upon-Thames; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 36,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid Working

LGPS Pension scheme

Training and development

Job summary

The Ministry of Justice is recruiting a Probation Service Officer, permanently based within Surrey's Chiron Team, part of IIRMS under the OPD Pathway. You will work with probation and NHS colleagues to support transitions from custody to community through intensive, psychologically informed interventions.

You’ll build relationships, maintain records, coordinate activities and support successful reintegration, with on‑the‑job training and a pathway to competency progression.

Qualifications

• Empathy and resilience when working with service users.
• Strong written communication for accurate records and reports.
• Ability to work in a multidisciplinary team across probation and NHS settings.

Responsibilities

• Manage a caseload of offenders pre- and post-sentence.
• Provide psychologically informed support to service users.
• Contribute to risk assessment, case planning and reporting to courts.

Skills

Empathy

Communication

Report writing

Job description

This permanent Probation Service Officer post is initially based within the Chiron Team, Surrey's Intensive Interventions and Risk Management Service (IIRMS), part of the Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) Pathway for a minimum of 12 months. Working alongside probation and NHS colleagues, the role supports individuals transitioning from custody to the community through intensive, psychologically informed interventions. This is an exciting opportunity to join Surrey as a permanent Probation Service Officer initially based within the Chiron Team, Surrey's Intensive Interventions and Risk Management Service (IIRMS), which forms part of the Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) Pathway. The successful candidate will work as part of a multidisciplinary team of probation and NHS professionals, providing tailored, psychologically informed support to a small cohort of individuals transitioning from long custodial sentences into the community. The team adopts a psychosocial approach, informed by desistance theory, the Good Lives Model and individual psychological formulations, to support people in building stable and meaningful lives in the community. The role is varied and rewarding, involving pre-release prison visits, accompanying individuals to community appointments, supporting engagement with services, undertaking community-based work and contributing to the operation of the Chiron community hub.

The postholder will build positive working relationships with service users, colleagues and partner agencies to promote rehabilitation, manage risk and support successful reintegration into the community. In addition, the postholder will contribute to the effective delivery of the OPD Pathway through maintaining accurate records, coordinating activities, monitoring information and liaising with a range of internal and external partners to support service delivery and positive outcomes for service users.

The successful candidate will have access to a range of specialist training, professional development and learning opportunities to support their ongoing growth and development. Helping to keep the public safe. Giving people the chance to turn their lives around. Building a rewarding professional career. There are many reasons to join the Probation Service. What will yours be? We're looking for empathetic, patient, and organised people to join us in this varied role, which offers the chance to make a difference, gain new skills and build a rewarding career within the Probation Service.

Your starting salary will be £28,064. 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.

The postholder will undertake the full range of work with people on probation before and after sentence. This will include assessment, sentence implementation, offender management and producing reports. The postholder will provide case management support to a full range of people on probation utilising service procedures and practice directions that underpin professional judgement.

Right to work in the UK You must have the right to work in the UK and Civil Service (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules).

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 probation services officer 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 probation services officer 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.

HMPPS is a proud member of the Polaris Alliance group, a coalition of senior UK Public Service lawyers and ex-Civil Service officers, supporting talented service professionals.

About us: By managing offenders in the community, the Probation Service protects the public from the effect of crime and gives offenders the chance to turn their lives around. Join us and you'll be part of a supportive team that thrives on sharing knowledge and expertise. Successful applicants may be based a wide variety of office, court, team, or prison locations within the Probation Service region. Allocations will be made according to business need. To find out more about working as a Probation Service Officer please click here (removed).

Accredited Programmes

• Accredited Programmes
• Structured Interventions & Attendance Centres
• Community Accommodation Services
• Community Integration and Contracts
• Contracts
• Courts
• Integrated Offender Management
• Performance & Quality
• Personality Disorder Projects
• Prisons
• Public Protection (Custody)
• Public Protection (Community)
• The Homeless Prevention Taskforce
• Service Centre
• Unpaid Work (community payback)

We're looking for empathetic, patient and resilient people to join us as probation services officers. As well as making a difference to others, the role offers plenty of on‑job training and a real chance to build a career in the Probation Service. As a PSO, you'll have a similar job to a fully qualified probation officer. The main difference is you'll work with medium and lower risk people of probation. That's not to say it'll be easy. There's no doubt this is a challenging role. Day‑to‑day, you'll manage a caseload of offenders before and after sentence. We'll look to you to assess and manage risks, provide information to courts and work closely with agencies throughout the justice system. You'll also do everything you can to support offenders. This could involve everything from providing practical advice about housing and employment to simply listening and empathising.

About you You don't need a degree for this role. We're much more interested in your personal qualities. Ideally with experience of working with people who have social or personal difficulties, you'll be empathetic, patient and resilient. Good writing skills are also essential. You must be able to produce clear and accurate reports to tight deadlines.

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. The post is currently advertised without VISOR Vetting to enable appointment to take place as soon as possible, however, VISOR vetting will be required to be completed in post offer. Some PSO roles require the completion of an apprenticeship as part of the required learning and development. You will be advised on commencement in role if you are required to complete it.

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 is made. Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week excluding breaks which are unpaid. HMPPS welcomes part‑time, flexible and job‑sharing working patterns, where they meet the demands of the role and business needs. All applications for part‑time, flexible and job‑sharing working patterns will be considered in accordance with the HMPPS' Flexible Working policy.

Pay & Benefits

• Annual Leave Annual leave is 25 days on appointment and will increase to 30 days after five years' service, plus public holidays.
• Leave for part‑time and job share posts will be calculated on a pro‑rata basis.
• Pension The National Probation Service is covered by the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) run through the Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF). Please visit www.gmpf.org.uk for further information. Please note: Any current Civil Servant who is a member of the PCSPS, by accepting an offer of employment to the National Probation Services will be opted out of the PCSPS and auto enrolled into the Local Government Pension Scheme.
• Training The Ministry of Justice is committed to staff development and offers an extensive range of training and development opportunities.
• Networks The opportunity to join employee‑run networks that have been established to provide advice and support and to enable the views of employees from minority groups to be expressed direct to senior management. There are currently networks for employees of minority ethnic origin, employees with disabilities, employees with caring responsibilities, women employees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.
• A range of 'Family Friendly' policies such as opportunities to work reduced hours or job share.
• Access to flexible benefits such as voluntary benefits, retail vouchers and discounts on a range of goods and services.
• For moves to or from another employer or moves across the Civil Service this can have implications on your eligibility to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for alternative government childcare support schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. More information can be found on www.GOV.UK or Childcare Choices. You can determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
• Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave.
• Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.

Eligibility and Security Checks

• All candidates are subject to security and identity checks prior to taking up post.
• To Transformative Business Services (0345 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail [e-mail]).
• To Ministry of Justice Resourcing team ([e-mail]).
• To the Civil Service Commission (details available here).
• We are a Disability Confident employer, MoJ are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. MoJ are able to offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. You will be able to request reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process within the application form. If you need additional help completing the application form, please contact the TBS Recruitment Enquiries Team. For more information on applying for a role as a candidate with a disability or long‑term condition, please watch our animated videos.
• Diversity & Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.
• A Great Place to Work for Veterans The "Making the Civil Service a Great Place to work for veterans" initiative includes a guaranteed interview scheme to those who meet the minimum criteria to provide eligible former members of the Armed Forces with opportunities to secure rewarding jobs. Allowing veterans to continue to serve their country, and to bring highly skilled individuals with a broad range of experience into the Civil Service in an environment, which recognises and values your previous service in the Armed Forces. For further details about the initiative and eligibility requirements visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans. Redeployment Interview Scheme Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ is committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.

Communicating and Influencing Developing Self and Others Making Effective Decisions Experience We will assess your experience for this role via the following methods Experience Questions Experience Questions Application Form Question Word Limit, Ability to communicate verbally and in writing, written communication assessed across application form and verbal communication assessed in the interview. Behaviours Delivering at Pace Managing a Quality Service