Future Prison Leaders Programme - ExternalMinistry of Justice

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Job description

Future Prison Leaders Programme

You could build an ordinary career. Or you could build an extraordinary one as a prison leader.

If you have an ambition to lead where it matters and you’re looking for a new challenge in an environment like no other, the Future Prison Leaders Programme is for you.

With a dedicated training programme and clear progression path, you will gain first-hand experience of working in a variety of roles and prisons to give you the skills and knowledge you’ll need to be a future prison leader.

A leadership programme like no other

Being a prison leader is an extraordinary job, and it could be done by someone like you. If the idea of leading teams through challenging situations while focusing on rehabilitation, protecting lives and maintaining security makes you tick, the Future Prison Leaders Programme is for you.

This is a leadership programme like no other. It will see you fast-track your way from prison officer to a senior leader running your own prison department in just 3 years.

Your first year will see you working on the frontline as a prison officer. This is where you will learn the realities of working on the ground and building positive and meaningful interactions with prisoners. With thorough training and development, and subject to passing a number of assessments, you will progress into leadership roles. In your second year, you will work as a custodial manager, leading a team of prison officers, and then move into a head of function management role in year three, taking responsibility across a whole prison in areas such as security, operations, drug strategy, residency and staffing.

Eligibility to apply

To apply you need to:

have people management experience or hold a degree/level 6 qualification or higher qualification.

If you hold qualifications gained overseas, you must provide an official English translation of the qualification by 18th December 2026. Please note that if the required translation qualifications documentation is not received by 18th December 2026, we will be unable to progress your application further. Any costs incurred in obtaining the required translation must be met by the applicant.

be coming to the end of a degree/level 6 equivalent qualification when applying – and be able to evidence that you have a degree before your contract of employment is issued (by August 2027)

be at least 18 years old when you start your new role

have the right to work in the UK and Civil Service (GOV.UK, opens in a new tab)

have resided in the UK for at least 3 years immediately before you submit your application. This is because you will work in a variety of prisons which require additional vetting.

Sponsorship is not guaranteed, and applicants are responsible for ensuring they have, and can maintain, the appropriate right to work in the UK.

Skilled Worker visa sponsorship may be available for this role, subject to eligibility and in line with the UK Immigration Rules in force at the time of application. However, due to current immigration requirements and recruitment timescales, candidates who require Skilled Worker visa sponsorship are unlikely to be sponsored if applying to this campaign.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to consider their right to work in the UK carefully before applying. You can read more about Skilled Worker visas and eligibility criteria at gov.uk.

The Department will continue to comply with UK Immigration Rules applied in the UK and Civil Service.

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 at Skilled Worker visa: Overview - GOV.UK.

Skills & Qualifications Required

Being a prison leader isn’t a job that can be done by everyone. We want people who don’t shy away from the realities of prison life but embrace them. We want people who are passionate about making a real difference in the lives of prisoners and the public. The ones who want to lead where it matters the most.

To apply for the Future Prison Leaders Programme, you need people management experience or a degree/level 6 qualification or higher.

Read about the skills you need to be a prison officer  - essential for your first year on the programme and beyond.

You will also need the following skills to be a future prison leader:

to lead with integrity, be able to motivate staff and build diverse teams that work collaboratively

to provide constructive feedback to teams, and focus on learning and development to drive continuous improvements

great analytical, strong verbal and numerical skills

to be able to think and plan strategically

an ability to think on your feet, with sound judgement to consider risks and make evidence-based decisions.

Pay and benefits

As a future prison leader, you will gain first-hand experience of the workings of a prison and gain the skills and experience you need to work with prisoners.

Your pay will rise to at least £62,779 by your third year (subject to performance). All figures below are correct as at 1 April 2026, and are subject to an annual pay review (with changes being effective from 1 April):

Year 1*

Year 2**

Year 3***

37 Hours

39 Hours

41 Hours

Inner London prisons

£39,493

£41,984

£44,474

£49,154

£68,828

Outer London prisons (includes a market supplement)

£37,525 to £39,525

£39,892 to £41,892

£42,258 to £44,258

£47,178

£66,757

Prisons in other locations (national)

£33,746

£35,875

£38,003

£43,381

£62,779

*Year 1 - Figures include 20% unsocial hours allowance. You will be contracted to 37 hours and are able to opt to work 39 or 41 hours in year 1 after completing the prison officer foundation training.

In year 1, a market supplement of £2,000 or £3,500 also applies to some prisons (not included in the figures above). Take a look at the full prison officer starting salary information for HMPPS prisons across England and Wales.

**Year 2 - Figures based on working 37 hours and inclusive of a 20% unsocial hours allowance.

***Year 3 - Figures based on working 37 hours and inclusive of a required hours allowance.

Increases for 2027/28 (effective from 1 April 2027) will be published around June 2027.

Life on the programme

The Future Prison Leaders Programme comes with real variety, with no 2 days ever being the same. The satisfaction you’ll feel from the positive impact you are making on lives inside and outside the prison will be unmatched.

The opportunity to train and progress will be around every corner:

Following a two-week induction, you will complete an eight-week prison officer foundation training course. Along with other future leaders who will also be starting out on the leadership programme, you will not only gain insights into leading in a prison but also cover all you need to know about working as a prison officer. You will then spend your first year as a frontline prison officer.

At the end of your first year, you will need to successfully complete an assessment centre to progress to the role of custodial manager. Custodial managers are a senior uniformed officer who manage people and resources, often across multiple prison departments.

You will transition to head of department/function in your third year. Prison heads of function are responsible for functions such as security or operations across a prison.

During your time on the leadership programme, you will work in different categories of prison. This will give you first-hand experience of what it’s like working in different types of prisons such as training or local prisons, high security prisons, women’s prisons and young offender institutions.

Alongside the placements, there is a comprehensive leadership programme that integrates extensive training and development with routine requirements. The programme will be fast paced and challenging. It will equip you with the skills and knowledge required by senior prison leaders. You will be expected to rise to the challenge and demonstrate your growth as a practitioner within a modern custodial environment, both formally through assessment and on a daily basis within an operational setting. Different support will be provided to participants through their line manager and other senior leaders, alongside peer action learning sets and mentoring. The cohort will also be brought together often to create a cohort support network alongside celebrating progress at key milestones.

Working hours

Working in a prison isn’t your regular 9 to 5 job. Prisons operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

As a prison officer you can choose to work between 37 and 41 hours per week. The normal shift pattern averages to 39 hours. You will be required to work shifts, including some nights, weekends and public and bank holidays. Any public or bank holidays you work will be added to your annual leave allowance. Watch this short video to find out more about prison officer shift patterns.

Location

Throughout the programme you will be a mobile grade and will undertake three placements. You will initially be assigned to a specific prison where you will complete year 1 of the programme. As part of the application process, you will be asked to identify three prison location preferences. Where possible we will aim to take into account your preferences when allocating to the year 1 placement, although this cannot be guaranteed. Your initial posting will be at your own expense, however future postings may attract an allowance to compensate for any additional travel expenses resulting from moves to different base locations. Placements will not attract Public Interest Transfers (expenses to relocate).

As you progress through the programme your base location is likely to change and, subject to the impact of that change, you may be entitled to an allowance to compensate for any additional travel expenses resulting from the move.

To maintain an appropriate gender balance of prison officers working in women’s prisons, HMPPS may sometimes apply an occupational requirement to limit applications to female applicants only, in line with Sch 9 of the Equality Act 2010. Any active occupational requirements will be taken into consideration when making year 1 placement decisions.

Internal applicants

For those applying internally (if you are currently employed by the Ministry of Justice - including MoJ HQ, HMPPS, HMCTS, OPG, CICA, LAA, a MoJ arms length body or non departmental public body) and who are currently in an operational role, your circumstances will be assessed on a case-by-case basis to determine the most appropriate entry point onto the Future Prison Leaders programme, taking account of any previous experience, length of service, existing accreditations etc. A personal development plan to prepare you for entry onto the scheme will be discussed.

Assessment Process

The application process

Due to the nature of the work and the custodial environment, the application process for all roles in prisons is rigorous. Successful applicants will start the Future Prison Leaders Programme in September 2027.

During the recruitment process you will be assessed on the behaviours, strengths and abilities you need to be effective on the Future Prison Leaders Programme, aligned to the MoJ Values. These behaviours include:

communicating and influencing

changing and improving

developing self and others

leadership

making effective decisions

seeing the big picture

We will also assess your numerical, verbal and data analysis abilities.

Apply online

The first stage of the application process is online. You will need your National Insurance number and, if you have a degree, proof of your qualification.

You will be asked some eligibility questions, such as your nationality and your right to work in the UK, plus you’ll need to enter some personal details.

You will also need to respond to 12 multiple-choice questions and 2 behaviour-based written questions about scenarios you may face in a prison. To be eligible to apply for this programme you’ll need a degree/level 6 equivalent or have people management experience.

If you apply via the people management experience route, you will need to evidence that you have managed an individual at work within the application form to confirm eligibility.

If you apply via the degree/level 6 equivalent route, you will need to confirm that you have a Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) Level 6 Undergraduate Degree or will have a Level 6 qualification by the time a contract of employment is issued (by August 2027). You will be asked to upload proof of your qualification to confirm eligibility.

The application form will include two behaviour-based written questions. You will be asked to consider how you would respond to scenarios you may face in a prison. Further information is provided in the application form about how to structure your responses.

You will be able to choose up to 3 prisons you would like to start the Future Prison Leaders Programme in.  Please note, these will be preferences only and cannot be guaranteed.

Let us know if you need any reasonable adjustments

Our reasonable adjustments scheme supports individuals who may face disadvantages in the job assessment process when applying for one of our jobs due to a diagnosed or undiagnosed disability, long-term condition, or short-term need arising from an illness or injury. If you think you might need a reasonable adjustment, simply select the ‘yes’ option in the application form when asked.

Complete the online tests

You will need to complete an online numerical reasoning test and an online critical verbal reasoning test.

The numerical reasoning test will assess your ability to interpret and handle numerical data.

The critical verbal reasoning test will assess your effectiveness in understanding, interpreting and analysing written information.<