How to apply

Find a job and apply online

Start by finding a suitable vacancy.

If there are no current vacancies at the prison you’re interested in, you can register your interest (opens in a new tab) and we’ll let you know when positions become available.

You will need your National Insurance number to apply. The application is very quick and should only take you about 10 minutes.

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

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.

Online test

When you apply, you will be invited to complete a short online test. You will get an email with detailed instructions on how to take the test.  

About the online test 

This online test is a values-based assessment (VBA). We use this assessment to understand how well you demonstrate the values needed to be an effective OSG.  

On average, if completed in one sitting, the assessment takes up to 20 minutes to complete. But everyone is different and there is no time limit, so please complete it at your own pace. You must complete the assessment by the deadline included in your invitation email. 

The assessment contains a variety of question styles using different formats. Before you complete the assessment, we recommend you familiarise yourself with the format of the question styles by taking the example questions.

Assessment criteria  

Your assessment will cover three behaviours, one technical area and one strength.

• Communicating and influencing: You communicate confidently and respectfully with different types of people. You can change your style and approach to suit the situation, such as managing disagreements and constructively challenging when needed. You can encourage others to think differently, but also ensure they feel listened to. 

• Managing a quality service: You demonstrate high levels of professionalism and integrity in your work, ensuring that you help the organisation maintain high standards. You lead by example, make realistic commitments and see things through to completion. You work with others, including to act on feedback to improve your knowledge and skills. 

• Making effective decisions: You use a wide range of information to understand the full situation and guide your decisions. You consider options, show good judgement and are alert to risks. You make confident decisions, while recognising when to involve others. 

• Caring: You understand the importance of having positive and meaningful interactions with others, built on trust and respect. You show compassion and care while maintaining clear boundaries. You motivate and support others and inspire them to reach their potential. 

These are aligned to the values you need to work effectively in prisons. You can read about our four HMPPS values on this page – see the ‘HMPPS values and professional standards’ section. 

Do not worry if you have not completed this type of assessment before, the instructions will provide all the information you need to complete it. 

If you pass stage 1 of the application process, you will be invited to attend an interview. 

Interview

During your interview we’ll ask you a series of questions which will help us assess whether you have the required strengths and behaviours to become an OSG.

We will also assess your ability to speak and understand English, which is a government requirement in public-facing roles such as this where you will be engaging with visitors and sometimes prisoners. If spoken English is something you struggle with, you could try having a conversation with others and asking for feedback before your interview.

You do not need to have worked in a prison before to do well – you can use examples from your personal and professional experiences.

What to expect

We’ll ask you a combination of questions:

• behaviour-based questions, to explore the actions and activities you have taken in previous roles or life experiences
• strengths-based questions, to focus on what you do well and what motivates and energises you

Your interview will last about 30 minutes.

Preparing for your interview

You do not need to have worked in a prison before to do well – when answering questions, you can use examples from your personal life, educational, or professional experiences. Simply focus on a specific example and go into as much detail as possible.

Behaviour-based questions: Behaviours are the actions and activities that people do which make them effective in a job. We’ll use the Civil Service Success Profiles framework (GOV.UK, opens in a new tab) to assess the following behaviours.

• Communicating and influencing: You have excellent interpersonal skills, communicating clearly and respectfully, showing good listening skills. You collaborate with others and challenge and influence others with confidence.

• Managing a quality service: You demonstrate a strong work ethic and take personal responsibility for your actions. You manage your own time, quickly adapting to changing circumstances and assessing risks, whilst adhering to processes and rules.

Familiarise yourself with the behaviours you will be asked to demonstrate and think about the most relevant and strongest examples you can give on the day.

When you are preparing for your interview, you might find it helpful to think about the structure of your responses to the behaviour-based questions. A common approach you might like to consider using is the ‘STAR method’:

• Situation – describe the situation you had to deal with
• Task – explain the task you needed to complete
• Action – outline the actions you took to complete the task
• Result – confirm what happened as a result of your action and what you learnt from the experience

You can read more about the STAR method here (opens in a new tab).

Once the assessor has asked you a behaviour question, you will be given time to think about how you want to respond. This is so you can think of your most relevant and best example for each question without the pressure of needing to answer straight away.

You can bring notes into your interview to refer to when responding to the behaviour-based questions. However, these should only be used as prompts for your examples.

Strengths-based questions: Strengths are the things we do regularly, we do well, and that motivate us.

Before your interview, take some time to consider why you would like to become an operational support grade and think about the personal strengths you could bring to the role. You might find it helpful to ask family or friends what they think your strengths are.

These questions you’ll be asked are designed to assess your natural preferences. They are designed to be as clear as possible and can be interpreted exactly as they are said, there are no hidden meanings.

Here are a few examples of strengths-based questions. You will be asked different questions in your interview.

• Do you think it’s important to be able to explain things so that others can understand? Why is that?
• Imagine you have several urgent tasks on your to-do list for tomorrow. How would you plan your day?

You will be assessed on 3 strengths and asked up to 2 questions on each.

You can read more about strengths-based questions here (opens in new tab).

 

If you are successful at interview and a vacancy is available immediately, we will start your pre-employment checks. These include security, identity and past employment checks.

This can take on average 25 working days (it may be longer if you’re applying to a prison that requires a higher level of security check).

If a position is not available, you will be put on a merit list:

• You will be allocated to a vacancy in order of merit, based on the interview scores of all candidates.
• When vacancies become available, the prison will make job offers to the people who performed best at the interview.
• When there is a vacancy for you, we will let you know and begin your pre-employment checks.
• You can stay on the merit list for 12 months. After this time you will need to apply again.

Once you have received your provisional offer and passed your pre-employment checks, we will email you to discuss when you can start your OSG role.