Please note: This role is based at Ashley House Approved Premises in Bristol and is not suitable for hybrid working.
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.
Approved Premises (AP) provide critical community-based service to accommodate and ly supervise high-risk offenders on release from prison, for the purposes of public protection. AP are staffed 24 hours per day, with staff enforcing an overnight curfew, and other monitoring and reporting requirements. Probation Services Officers lead on the key interventions and rehabilitative activities with the resident group, working regular hours Monday to Friday but also covering at weekends as required. The provision of suitable accommodation on release is a key factor in reducing reoffending and supporting transition into the community.
Helping to keep the public safe. Giving people the chance to turn their lives around. Building a rewarding professional career. T 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.
If this sounds like you, apply now.
If you are successful in the recruitment process to join 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.
Probation Service also increase their pay band ranges annually in line with Civil Service Pay guidance, which will also apply an increase to band pay ranges w applicable.
Overview of the job
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 .
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 (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
About the Recruitment Process
To apply to this role you will be required to complete a short application form and detail responses to Civil Service Behaviours and Experience based question.
As part of this application, you will also be required to sit the Civil Service Judgement test (CSJT). The CSJT is a two-part test which looks at your ability to make decisions in relation to specific civil service behaviours.
The CSJT is stage one of your application process and you will have the option to complete a practice test immediately before taking the test, to give you an insight of what to expect before you start.
If you would like more information relating to reasonable adjustments and the CSJT, please see more details . You can also watch a short a video .
You can find out more about the CSJT and complete a practice test now .
If you are successful in passing this stage, your full application will be sifted once the application deadline has d. You will then receive further instruction on the progress and outcome of your application.
If you are successful in passing both the CSJT and application sift process you will be invited to interview.
If in the event we receive a high volume of applications, we may only assess candidates against the lead behaviour. T is also no guarantee that you will progress to the next stages of the recruitment process; however, we will keep you informed at each stage.
Take a look at a short video about Probation Service Officer Role
About the role
Probation services officers can help make a real difference to peoples’ lives. It’s not always easy to help someone turn their life around, but it can be immensely rewarding.
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. T’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 ly 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.
