Probation Service Officer

Please note:

The working pattern for this position is 37 hours per week, working hours start from 9am with the expectation of some evening working to cover late night appointments. 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 (). 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 ()

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.

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.

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.…