Probation services officers

About the role

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.

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.

Steps for application: submit a short application form with responses to Civil Service Behaviours and Experience based questions. Sit the Civil Service Judgement Test (CSJT), a two‑part test that evaluates decision making in relation to specific civil service behaviours. A practice test may be taken immediately before the full test. After the Final date to receive applications closes, the application will be sifted.

Candidates will be informed of their progress and outcome.

If a high volume of applications is received, candidates may be assessed in stages (tranches). Candidates who meet the required standard at sift may be held pending future assessment rather than progressing immediately. Interview invitations and subsequent offers will follow the tranche in which candidates were assessed and their position in merit order. If multiple vacancies for the same role are applied for, only one application will progress.

Assessment scores are valid for six months across all applications for that role. Candidates not meeting the minimum benchmark at either the sift or interview stage cannot reapply for six months from the date their assessment scores were progressed. No guarantee of progression to later stages, but…