Prison Officer - HMP Swinfen Hall

Role overview

HMP Swinfen Hall, a Young Offender Institution in Lichfield, Staffordshire (WS14 9QS), is hiring a Prison Officer. This is a merit-based vacancy with a starting salary of £35,875 for a 39-hour week, including a 20% unsocial hours allowance. The post is based in Lichfield, West Midlands.

Prison officers play a crucial role in protecting the public while also supporting prisoners to make positive changes in their lives. This position suits people who bring integrity, resilience, strong interpersonal skills, and the confidence to work in a demanding but rewarding environment.

What the role involves

You will work closely with prisoners and colleagues in a fast-moving setting, where each day can involve a mix of security, support, guidance, and problem-solving. The job requires you to build professional and constructive relationships with prisoners while maintaining safety, order, and respect across the establishment.

Teamworking is essential. You will need to work as part of a coordinated unit, follow fixed shift start and finish times, and be prepared for shifts that can include evenings, nights, weekends, and public holidays. Some additional paid hours may also be available.

Who this role suits

This is not a job for one single background. Successful prison officers often come from many different careers and life experiences, including parenting, teaching, retail, the armed forces, and other people-focused roles. What matters most is your empathy, confidence, communication ability, and resilience.

Eligibility and right to work

Applicants must be at least 18 years old when employment begins and must satisfy Civil Service nationality rules. You must also be able to legally live and work in the UK and in the Civil Service throughout employment.

Skilled Worker visa sponsorship may be available only if you meet the relevant eligibility conditions and the Immigration Rules in force at the time of application; however, because of current immigration requirements and recruitment timelines, candidates needing sponsorship are unlikely to be sponsored under this campaign. Sponsorship is not guaranteed, so applicants should carefully check their right to work before applying.

For high-security prison roles (category A), you must have lived in the UK for the last 3 years.

This vacancy is broadly open to UK nationals, Republic of Ireland nationals, eligible Commonwealth citizens, certain EU/Swiss/Norway/Iceland/Liechtenstein nationals and family members with settled or pre-settled status or a valid EUSS application, some individuals with limited or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020, and certain Turkish nationals and family members with the right to work in the Civil Service.

Physical and security requirements

Because the role is physically active, candidates must pass medical and fitness checks during the recruitment process. These include eyesight standards in both eyes, hearing standards without hearing aids during training, and a health screening that covers blood pressure. Medical and fitness assessments cannot be completed outside the UK.

Tattoos are allowed, including visible ones, provided they are not offensive, discriminatory, violent, or intimidating. Facial tattoos are usually not accepted unless they exist for cultural, religious, or medical reasons.

Travel and location

Some prisons are located in rural areas with limited public transport, so having a driving licence and your own transport can help, although this is not mandatory unless specifically stated. You should be able to reach work on time for fixed shift patterns, so it is important to consider travel arrangements carefully before applying.

Pay and working hours

Initial training is based on 37 hours per week. After training, you may choose to work 37, 39, or 41 hours per week, with pay adjusted accordingly. Salary figures include any location or role-related allowances.

• 37 hours per week: £33,746 per year
• 39 hours per week: £35,875 per year
• 41 hours per week: £38,003 per year

Prisons run continuously, so shift work may include evenings, nights, weekends, and public holidays. Public holidays are added to your holiday allowance.

Benefits

• 25 days of annual leave, increasing to 30 days after 10 years of service
• Paid time off for public holidays plus 1 additional privilege day
• Civil Service pension with employer contributions of 28.97%
• Cycle to work scheme, travel loans, and other employee benefits

What the employer is looking for

No formal qualifications are needed to apply. The role depends more on personal qualities and your ability to work effectively with others. You should be able to show communication and influencing ability, a commitment to quality, sound decision-making, and a caring, understanding approach.

Assessment process

Recruitment is based on behaviours, strengths, and abilities associated with being an effective prison officer. The process also checks numerical reasoning and written and spoken English.

Stage 1 is an online test covering basic judgement and numerical skills. If successful, you move to a stage 2 values-based assessment. Those who pass are invited to an online assessment centre, where your abilities, behaviours, and strengths are evaluated further.

If you were unsuccessful at stage 2 in the last 6 months, you may reapply. If a prison officer appointment is not offered after the assessment centre, you may instead be considered for an Operational Support Grade role.

Merit vacancy and job offer process

This is a merit vacancy. Candidates who pass the online assessment centre are placed on a merit list according to score. Offers are then made to the highest-scoring candidates as vacancies become available. The merit list remains active for 12 months. If your application is unsuccessful at sift or assessment stage, you must wait 6 months before applying again for prison officer roles.

Support, equality and civil service information

The Civil Service works to recruit fairly and openly and expects staff to follow the Civil Service Code. If you believe recruitment principles have not been followed, there is a formal complaint route through Shared Services Connected Ltd, Ministry of Justice Resourcing, and then the Civil Service Commission.

The employer is a Disability Confident organisation and offers reasonable adjustments for candidates. If adjustments are needed for online tests or the assessment centre, they must be requested in advance through the application form; same-day requests cannot be accommodated. The role holder must be able to carry out all spoken aspects of the job confidently in English, or Welsh where applicable in Wales.

Veterans may be eligible for a guaranteed interview under the Civil Service veterans initiative if they meet the minimum criteria. The department also participates in the Redeployment Interview Scheme.

Additional information

Help is available by phone or email for application support, and the job reference is 18688. The closing date for applications is 25 June 2026. A supporting document titled “Band-3-PO-Safe-Decent-and-Secure-JD048-v8.0 (1).pdf” is referenced in the source material.

Note: The source mentions an additional job description attachment for more information.