Jobs and Careers
Lancashire Probation Trust is an equal opportunities employer and we encourage applications from all sections of the community.
- Probation Officer
- Probation Services Officer
- Administrative/Team support and clerical staff
- Unpaid Work Placement Supervisors
- Support Services Staff
Probation Officer
Qualifications Required:
- Diploma in Probation Studies
- NVQ Level 4 and BA in Community Justice or Certificate of Qualification in Social Work or a Diploma in Social Work
Job Purpose:
A Probation Officer will carry out a range of specialist functions, the priority of which is to protect the public and prevent re-offending. Examples of some of the work that a Probation Officer may undertake are as follows:
- Obtain information about an offender and produce a report for the Court with an assessment of the offender in order to assist in sentencing and other decisions;
- Supervise offenders who are subject to a Court Order or a Licence upon release from a prison sentence and enforce the Order or Licence;
- Plan how an offender will serve his/her sentence, addressing offending behaviour and rehabilitation.
Probation Officers usually begin their career in one of these areas of activity and transfer to others during their career. They can be based in community probation centres, Courts, prisons or hostels.
New trainee probation officers coming into the profession must undertake the Diploma in Probation Studies. This is a two-year, degree level qualification which, alongside academic study, includes working placements and managing a small caseload.
Recruitment is advertised nationally and trainee officers are appointed as employees within local Area Services during their training. For further information about how to become a trainee probation officer please visit www.probation-northwest.co.uk
Probation services officer
Probation services officers are mainly based alongside probation officers in community supervision teams, courts, prisons and probation approved premises. They have a range of responsibilities including:
- Preparation of reports needed to take offenders back to court when they breach a community sentence.
- Running group work programmes aimed at challenging the attitudes and behaviour of offenders.
- Helping to gather information necessary for the production of pre-sentence reports for courts.
Administrative/Team support and clerical staff
The service has administrative/team support staff working at every office/team across the area. They have overall responsibility for most of the support work which back up the service's direct work with offenders.
The main role of the administrative and support staff is to provide support to their team or individual manager by ensuring that:
- Systems are running smoothly;
- Input and extraction of data from the computerised systems are accurate;
- Paper based information is organised and stored correctly;
- Reception of visitors is polite and efficient; and
- Any necessary typing or support paperwork is undertaken on time.
Community PaybackSupervisors
Offenders sentenced to Community Orders have their behaviour monitored by trained supervisors. These Supervisors have the experience to assist offenders to develop practical skills and knowledge about the work they are undertaking. Some supervisors are also trained to be official skills’ assessors, which means that they can monitor the work undertaken by offenders to consider whether it complies with standards that are good enough to merit a recognised qualification. This way, offenders have the chance to gain certificates proving their experience and skills, which could help them into work or further training.
Community Payback Supervisors are responsible for setting a good example at all times. They play an important role in ensuring a good standard of work and enforcing attendance at work sessions
