Probation services officers

Ministry of Justice; Barnsley; Hybrid; GBP 24,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid Working

Training & development opportunities

Flexible working patterns

Job summary

The Ministry of Justice's Probation Service is recruiting Probation Services Officers to manage caseloads before and after sentence and to assess risks for court guidance. You will work with the wider justice system to support offenders and provide information to courts.

You don't need a degree for this role; emphasis is on empathy, patience and solid report writing. The role offers training and hybrid working patterns across UK locations.

Qualifications

• Experience working with people who have social or personal difficulties.
• Good writing skills and the ability to produce clear reports to tight deadlines.
• Ability to work with multiple agencies and courts and maintain professional judgement.

Responsibilities

• Manage a caseload of offenders before and after sentence.
• Assess and manage risks and provide information to courts.
• Work closely with agencies throughout the justice system.
• Support offenders with practical advice and empathetic, client‑centred assistance.

Skills

Empathy

Patience

Resilience

Written communication

Job description

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?, The job holder 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 job holder will provide case management support to a full range of people on probation utilising service procedures and practice directions that underpin professional judgement. For further information on the summary, responsibilities, activities, duties of the role and the Civil Service Success Profile Criteria which will be used in the assessment process, please refer to the full Job Description Attachment. 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. You can read more about Skilled Worker visas and the eligibility criteria here. Civil Service recruitment: nationality rules Civil Service This guide is intended to assist departments with managing their responsibilities on nationality rules related to Civil Service recruitment. You can read more about Skilled Worker visas and the eligibility criteria here (https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa) 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.

• 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-the-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.

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.

Communicating and Influencing

Developing Self and Others

Making Effective Decisions Experience

Experience

• 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

Eligibility All candidates are subject to security and identity checks prior to taking up post Support

Eligibility

• 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.

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.