GENERAL INFORMATION

Salary
£44,100 - £46,000
Working Pattern
Full Time, Part Time
Vacancy Approach
External
Location
Woking
Region
Kent, Surrey & Sussex
Closing Date
01-Oct-2025
Business Unit
AGY - NOMS Agency
Post Type
Permanent
Civil Service Grade
Other
Number of jobs available
1
Reserve List
12 Months
Job ID
9675

DESCRIPTIONS & REQUIREMENTS

Job description
Overview of the job
This is a management role within the National Probation Service (NPS).
The Senior Probation Officer supports the Head of Operational Function to provide management and a leading role within a Local Delivery Unit (LDU) or other operational unit.

SUMMARY

The job holder will be expected to manage and lead staff within the operational area to the required standard, and will offer support and cover to other teams/functions during periods of absence.
In line with NPS policies and procedures, the job holder must at all times demonstrate a commitment to equality and inclusion and an understanding of their relevance to the work they do.
The post holder must ad to all policies in respect of the sensitive/confidential nature of the information handled whilst working in this position.
If relevant to the role, some out of hours working may be required

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE

• Substantial experience with a proven record of good practice in a variety of settings (including offender risk assessment and management) as a Probation Officer or from working within another criminal justice agency or related work context
• Understanding of the role of the Probation Service in the Criminal Justice System and in a multi-disciplinary setting.
• Knowledge and understanding of the factors which influence engagement with victims
• Experience of risk management and assessment, understanding of multi- agency risk assessment and management procedures
• Evidence of ability to evaluate practice
• Evidence of ability to provide a practice perspective on policy development
• Experience of working under pressure and fulfilling demanding deadlines
• Experience of working flexibly as a member of a team to achieve performance targets
• Experience of contributing to the provision of effective administration and information systems
• Demonstrable achievements in managing/supporting change and effecting improvements in quality and efficiency
• Able to demonstrate well developed IT skills, including evidence of ability to interpret and apply performance reports
• Experience of proactively championing diversity and inclusiveness both internally and externally
• Ability to implement the services health and safety policies
  An ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence through the medium of English or (w specified in Wales) Welsh

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Probation Qualification Framework Graduate Diploma/ Honours Degree in Community Justice integrated with Level 5 Diploma in Probation Practice.
• Or a qualification which was recognised at the time of qualification by the Secretary of State for Justice as per Section 10 of the Offender Management Act 2007.The following qualifications gained in England and Wales were previously recognised as providing such eligibility:
• Diploma in Probation Studies,
• Diploma in Social Work (with Probation Option)
• CQSW (with Probation Option)
  Additional Information
  Within HMP Coldingley, your role will be as the Head of Offender Management Delivery (HOMD/SPO). Leading the work of the Offender Management Unit (OMU) you will have responsibility and oversight for a mixed disciplinary team comprising of Probation Officers and Prison Offender Managers. You will have a key role as a member of the HMP Senior Leadership Team as well as in the wider Kent, Surrey & Sussex Public Protection Team leadership group. Your teams’ work will be critical to public protection and risk management within the prison with a core focus on sentence planning, Parole work, and RoTL activity, as well as supporting case handovers to the community, alongside the development of your staff team. The successful candidate will be line managed by the prison Governor but will remain ly attached to our regional Public Protection Unit for professional development and support. We are looking for individuals passionate about making a real difference to the lives of people in prison, being motivated to lead a team through change and proactive in overcoming operational challenges. The KSS Public Protection Team believes in preventing victims and revictimization through the quality of our professional practice, challenging discrimination and injustice without fear or favour and believing in enabling all those who work in our team or use our service to fulfil their potential.

JOB DESCRIPTION ATTACHMENT

• 
  NPS-JES-0033-Senior-Probation-Officer-v4.0.pdf (Job Description Attachment)

EXPERIENCE

We will assess your experience for this role via the following methods
Statement of Suitability

Senior Probation Officers may be required to undertake any combination, or all, of the duties and responsibilities set out below.

• To provide effective management and leadership to the team
• To be accountable for the quality delivery of good practice and team performance improvement within policy and national standards
• To ensure that all team resources, including interventions, are deployed cost effectively and provide best value in terms of both budget control and realising the organisation’s strategic aims
• To ensure that staff can efficiently and effectively meet the requirements of the NPS’ contract with HMPPS, Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC) and local business plans as required
• To access, interpret, analyse and apply performance data pro-actively in order to maximise LDU/team performance, evaluate practice and deliver organisational aims
• To proactively manage staff development, issues of underperformance, attendance, health and safety, employee relations and diversity matters. Adopt a consistent, fair and objective standpoint when making decisions in relation to individual staff issues
• To ensure that offender managers manage risk appropriately, and meet all public protection standards and targets
• To contribute directly to public protection through multi-agency arrangements and individual casework review, discussion and feedback
• To promote a culture of innovation and continuous improvement to service delivery
• To manage financial resources for your area of responsibility as required by your Head of Operational Function and in line with HMPPS financial regulations and policies. To authorise expenditure within financial limits
• In accordance with the business plan, to provide a leading role and direction in work with partners and key stakeholders, and represent the NPS as appropriate to the role
• To facilitate effective communication between the LDU/Operational Unit management team and internal and external partners
• To play an active part in the corporate management of the NPS as necessary, as a member of the LDU/Operational Unit Management Team
• To undertake specific areas of responsibility as delegated by the Head of Operational Function.
• Demonstrate pro-social modelling skills by consistently reinforcing pro-social behaviour and attitudes and challenging anti-social behaviour and attitudes
• Carry out safeguarding children duties in accordance with the NPS statutory responsibilities and agency policies
• To work within the aims and values of NPS and HMPPS

The duties/responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is at present and is not intended to be exhaustive. The Job holder is expected to accept reasonable alterations and additional tasks of a similar level that may be necessary. Significant adjustments may require re-examination under Job Evaluation and shall be discussed in the first instance with the Job Holder.