If you have an ambition to lead where it matters, we’re looking for future leaders to join our three-year Future Prison Leaders Programme.
A leadership programme like no other
Being a prison leader is an extraordinary job, and it can 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 leadership programme like no other will see you fast-track your way from prison officer to a senior leader running your own prison department in just 3 years. With a comprehensive 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.
Your first year will see you working on the frontline as a prison officer. This is where, alongside your leadership development, you will learn the realities of working on the ground and building positive and meaningful interactions with prisoners. With thorough training, you will progress into leadership roles in years 2 and 3.
There will be places for up to 35 talented future leaders on this exclusive programme. So, if you’re ready to take the first step towards an extraordinary career, read on to find out more.
Become a prison leader: build a long-term career with real impact
* Qualifications and experience: you’ll need a degree/level 6 equivalent when you start on the programme, or people management experience
* Benefit from a three-year accelerated leadership programme with comprehensive training and a clear career progression path
* Gain first-hand experience of prison roles and different types of prison to prepare you to lead in a custodial environment
Life as a prison leader
You could build an ordinary career. Or you could build an extraordinary one as a prison leader.
* There’s leadership. Then there’s creating the culture for hundreds of staff.
* There’s decision-making. Then there’s taking the action that restores order.
* There’s hitting targets. Then there’s reducing harm, preventing escape and changing lives.
Making decisions is tough. Making decisions in a prison is tougher. And being a prison leader means having to navigate change while keeping the place running.
That’s why it’s an extraordinary job – and it can be done by someone like you.
Are you ready to step up and lead with purpose?
Life on the leadership programme
Build an extraordinary leadership career with real purpose and make an impact
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:
* You’ll spend your first year on the frontline as a prison officer.
* In your second year, you’ll progress to working as a custodial manager, a senior uniformed officer managing a team of prison officers.
* You will transition to heading up your own department in your third year.
During your time on the leadership programme, you will work in different types of prison. This will give you first-hand experience of what it’s like working in different prisons such as training or local prisons, high security prisons, women’s prisons and young offender institutions. Essential experience for a future prison leader!
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 and custodial manager, you will work 37 hours a week and need 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.
Heads of prison departments (heads of function) work a minimum of 37 hours a week and may need to work extra hours to oversee any incidents. As they are responsible for key prison functions, they work flexible working patterns including weekends, evenings and nights.
Leadership training and career progression
We’re committed to equipping you with the training and development needed to excel in every role you take on during the Future Prison Leaders Programme, and ultimately to prepare you to lead in a prison.
Year 1
Following a two-week induction, you will complete the seven-week residential prison officer foundation training programme at our learning centre in Rugby, Warwickshire. 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 to prepare you to work as a prison officer.
This will include:
* how to look after people in custody
* search and security procedures
* use of prison radios and keys
* how to de-escalate challenging situations
* control and restraint techniques
You will be assigned a new colleague mentor who will support you during your prison officer foundation training.
At the end of your first year, you will sit an assessment to progress to the role of custodial manager.
Year 2
In your second year, you will work as a custodial manager, a senior uniformed role.
Custodial managers manage people and resources, often across multiple prison departments.
Year 3
In your third year, you will progress to a head of function role, leading your own department. Prison heads of function are responsible for functions such as security or operations across a prison.
Ongoing development and support
Throughout your time on the programme, you will:
* continuously develop your operational and leadership skills
* be sponsored and supported by a senior operational leader who will mentor and coach you
* support, and be supported by, your peers on the programme, coming together for reflective learning sessions
Becoming a future prison leader
Upon successful completion of the leadership programme, you will be a permanent head of function. You should also have gained the necessary knowledge and experience to take an assessment to see if you are ready to progress to be a deputy governor.
Reporting into a prison’s governing governor, a deputy governor is a senior manager who is accountable for providing leadership and direction, making strategic decisions and managing risks in a prison.
Skills and qualifications you need
Someone like you.
As a prison leader, you’re all about keeping the number of re-offending prisoners down. But your Key Performance Indicators are more than just numbers: they’re about protecting the public, promoting rehabilitation, and maintaining security. And you lead and support your team to create the culture the prison operates within.
It’s not a job that can be done by everyone. But we’re not looking for everyone. We want people who don’t shy away from the realities of prison life but embrace them. 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 a degree/level 6 equivalent when you start on the programme or people management experience.
Read about the skills you need to be a prison officer – essential for your first year on the programme and beyond.
As well as these, you’ll 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 able to think and plan strategically
* an ability to think on your feet, with sound judgement to consider risks and make evidence-based decisions
How to apply
Check if you’re eligible
To apply you, must be at least 18 years old when you start on the Future Prison Leaders Programme.
You need to have people management experience or:
* hold a degree/level 6 qualification
* or 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
You must also:
* have the right to work in the UK and Civil Service
* pass a minimum fitness test and medical assessment
* be able to secure security clearance at Counter Terrorism Level (CTC).
CTC security clearance
During your time on the leadership programme, you might work in a high security prison. You will therefore need CTC security clearance and must have been resident in the UK for the last 3 years. This must be the period immediately before you submit your application, and not any other three-year period, or any other accumulation of time spent in the UK.
Skilled Worker visa changes from 4 April 2024
From 4 April 2024, the Government increased the salary threshold for Skilled Worker visas. The change means that HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) cannot guarantee sponsorship for people seeking sponsorship via the Skilled Worker visa route. If you do not meet the new eligibility criteria for sponsorship, you will need to consider your options for obtaining and/or maintaining your right to work in the UK. HMPPS will continue to comply with UK Immigration Rules applied in the UK and Civil Service.
Have you got what it takes?
As your first placement on the leadership programme will be as a prison officer on the frontline, it is vital that you are able to cope with both the emotional and physical demands of the job:
* You will be need to deal with stressful, traumatic and at times emotional issues.
* As it is a physically active job, you will need to pass a medical and fitness assessment as part of the application process. This will include a hearing test and an eyesight test.
* A physical and mental health issue will not necessarily prevent you from doing the job: where appropriate, relevant adjustments will be recommended.
* It is vital that you declare any pre-existing physical and/or mental health conditions, so that we can suitably assess your ability to perform the full range of duties you will need to do as a prison officer. Your information will be considered by the Occupational Health team in a confidential manner.
The application process
Due to the nature of the work and the custodial environment, the application process for all roles in prison is rigorous and takes a number of months to complete.
Applications will open in May 2025 and successful applicants will start the Future Prison Leaders Programme in late December 2025.
Let us know if you need any reasonable adjustments
Our Reasonable Adjustment 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