Prison Service jobs in West Sussex

Trainee probation officer programme

Starting salary of £28,064 (during training), moving to £37,238 once in a qualified probation officer role. There is a London weighting allowance of £4,505 which is additional to these salaries for eligible office's within the M25 boundary.

An extraordinary job. Done by someone like you.

As a probation officer, you can change lives. Working with offenders in the community, in prisons and in courts - you’ll support them to get back on track and turn their lives around. You’ll also gain a professional qualification with our support, along with a competitive salary, generous leave and great training.

What the role involves

You’ll work as a probation services officer while you earn your qualification. Visiting prisons and attending courts, you’ll make interventions with offenders that enable them to understand their behaviour and want to change it. You’ll help them bring out their potential to build a more positive future and reduce the chance that they’ll reoffend. And you’ll take pride in helping to make our communities safer places.

Growing your knowledge and skills with a mixture of theory and practical training, you’ll also work with victims of crime, colleagues across the criminal justice system, charities and the wider community. You’ll learn from different situations every day.

After you’ve qualified, you’ll be able to apply to become a probation officer with opportunities to keep developing and growing your knowledge, and progress through structured career paths.

Skills and experience

Our people come from a variety of backgrounds, so there’s no single type of probation officer. To join, you’ll need emotional intelligence, resilience and the ability to stay calm under pressure. You’ll also need to be the kind of person who can build rapport quickly and de-escalate potentially volatile situations. As well as being happy to self-manage, you should have passion for and commitment to your work. Excellent report-writing skills are also a must. Lastly, you should have some experience of working with people who’ve demonstrated challenging behaviour. It doesn’t matter whether its paid or voluntary – just that it involves the kind of behaviour we see from offenders.

What you need to apply

To apply, you’ll need a recognised Level 3 qualification or above, such as A level, access to higher educational diploma, advanced apprenticeship, applied general or AS level. It doesn’t matter what subject your Level 3 qualification is in.

We offer different learning programmes dependant on the level of qualification you hold. These range from 15 months for Graduates with a level 5 qualification to 27 months for our non graduate programme.

If your application is successful, we’ll assess your previous education in order to offer you the correct length of the programme – 15,21 or 27 months.

What we offer

You’ll receive a competitive salary and benefits package, including enrolment into the Local Government Pension Scheme. Under the scheme you would make contributions of around 6.5% of the pay you receive, with employer contributions of around 29.6% of your pay. You’ll also be part of a supportive, diverse and friendly team environment, with support and guidance from your divisional training manager, your line manager and practice tutor throughout your studies.

Job Types: Full-time, Part-time

Pay: £28,064.00 per year

Work Location: In person