Prison Officer – Dame Phyllis Frost Centre

Are you a woman open to a career change that will make a positive impact on your community? You should consider becoming a prison officer. Apply now for the new squad, which will commence paid training in mid-April this year.

• New year, new career! Help Victoria remain a safe place to live by supporting offenders through rehabilitation.
• No qualifications required. Had some time between jobs or at home with the kids? No worries. You will undertake a comprehensive, fully paid, eight-week training program before your first day.
• Enjoy job security as a full-time ongoing officer, plus a good salary with generous penalty rates for night and weekend shifts.
• Get shift times well in advance. You’ll be able to plan your life to make sure you still take care of your personal priorities outside of work.
• Rise the ladder fast! We’ve got an eye for great officers and will continue to place many talented women in important leadership roles.

To be able to better serve the objectives of the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, an all-female public prison based in the western suburbs of Melbourne, the Department of Justice and Community Safety recently received an interim exemption from the Equal Opportunity Act 2010, enabling the recruitment of an entire squad of officers who identify as female.

“We’re looking for people who will bring integrity, teamwork and emotional intelligence to the job and I encourage women with all kinds of professional backgrounds and life experience to apply.” – Emma Cassar, Commissioner, Corrections Victoria

INFORMATION SESSIONS

The role of a prison officer can be radically different from what you might expect, so we encourage you to register for one of our free information sessions. You’ll hear about the experiences of current prison officers directly, and also be able to ask any questions you have about the job.

Saturday 19 January 
Italian Sports Club of Werribee 
10:30am – 12:00pm

Please register here 

Wednesday 23 January  
Gannawarra Conference Centre 
Essendon North 
6:00pm – 7:30pm

Please register here 

Attending an information session is not compulsory, and we still encourage you to apply if you can’t make it along. 

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU

The benefits of this job don’t stop at the camaraderie you will enjoy with your co-workers, or the gratification you’ll feel from seeing positive rehabilitation results, you will also:

◉ Earn an annual salary of $54,439 – $69,909 plus super, working full-time hours on a 24-hour rotating roster.

◉ Enjoy penalty rates paid on night shifts and weekends, and yearly performance-based salary increases.

◉ Undergo eight weeks of paid full-time training. By the end of the program, you will feel well equipped to begin your new job. Upon commencement, you will continue working towards a Certificate III accreditation in Custodial Services Practice.

◉ Enjoy access to secondment, higher duty and promotion opportunities regularly offered to top performing staff.

There are many other advantages in working for the Department of Justice and Community Safety at large, as well, including:

✔Transparent performance framework – approach your work with confidence in how you’re tracking, working to a professional development plan agreed on by you and your manager.

✔Generous leave entitlements – provisions for many forms of leave; including parental, personal, carer’s, study, cultural, compassionate and sick leave.

✔Employee Assistance Program support – you are encouraged to use this short-term, confidential counselling service if you experience emotional stress, relationship problems, conflict with others or personal issues.

✔The Social Club – option to join this lively group, which gives you access to discounted gift cards, films, travel and online shopping. We also have a welcoming Pride Network with prison officer representatives.

WHAT SKILLS SHOULD A PRISON OFFICER HAVE?

To thrive in this job, you’ll need energy, empathy and resilience. We’re not concerned if you’ve been a stay-at-home parent, a teacher or a retail assistant; or worked in healthcare, hospitality or logistics – we want prison officers with life experience, people who can find common ground with anyone.

For example, in our last DPFC squad we hired people who came from these previous jobs:

• Supervisor
• Childcare Coordinator
• Food Service Assistant
• Shift Manager
• Trainer/Assessor
• Receptionist
• Hairdresser
• Scheduling Coordinator
• Personal Assistant
• Electrician
• Paramedic

And that’s just a small sample – great officers really can come from anywhere! There are some personal qualities we would love to see, though, including:

◉ Strong verbal communication – you have the ability to de-escalate a situation purely through your negotiation and verbal reasoning.

◉ Professionalism – you have integrity and maturity. You respect the importance of doing your work thoroughly.

◉ Conflict management and problem-solving skills – you will encounter conflict and problems regularly, so you need to be able to think on your feet, adapting what you’ve learned as best practice to the scenario.

◉ Initiative and accountability – you won’t pass the buck if you know you should be contributing. You’ll be responsible for your actions and take opportunities to raise new ideas.