Assistant Principal Probation Officer in the Probation Service

Opportunities now exist for suitably qualified and committed individuals to take up the role of Assistant Principal Probation Officer in the Probation Service.

The Probation Service is an agency of the Department of Justice and is a national service, with a remit to contribute to safer communities and fewer victims through offender rehabilitation. This is achieved by the effective assessment and management of offenders, challenging offending behaviour and facilitating the integration of ex-offenders.

The Probation Service works to achieve a safer and fairer Ireland by:

• Ensuring Court orders are implemented;
• Reducing risk of harm to the public;
• Reducing likelihood of reoffending;
• Making good the harm done by crime (reparation and restorative justice).

The Probation Service delivers services to create a safer society by assessing and managing offenders in their own communities. Its role in this context is to:

• Work with communities and neighbourhoods to manage offenders so as to reduce offending behaviour;
• Challenge offending behaviour;
• Facilitate the integration of ex-offenders into society so that they do not re-offend;
• Manage through effective partnerships offenders and those at risk of causing harm.

The Service provides probation supervision, community service, community return, offending behaviour programmes and specialist support services to both adult and young offenders. It also provides a Probation Service to prisons and places of detention to rehabilitate offenders and facilitate prisoner reintegration. The Service has responsibility for the supervision each year of 16,000 offenders in the community nationally.

Delivery of service is organised using a national and regional structure. There are currently 10 operational regions, each led by an Assistant Principal Probation Officer (Regional Manager), reporting to a Deputy Director (Operations).

The Assistant Principal Probation Officer is a member of the senior management team. S/he will lead and be responsible for the day-to-day operation and management of the Probation Service, including professional services, in the assigned operational region. The Assistant Principal Probation Officer will implement strategies and plans that maximise quality, consistency and efficiency.

More information on the roles can be found in the competition booklet.

Essential Qualifications & Requirements

Candidates must, on or before the deadline:

• Hold a qualification at minimum Level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications in Social Science with a social policy component that facilitates entry to a social work programme approved by the Social Workers Registration Board (CORU)
• Have a minimum two years’ relevant operational management experience in a probation or social work setting.
• Strong leadership skills with a proven record to motivate cross-functional teams;
• Strong analytical and problem solving capacity;
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills;
• Strong team player and able to motivate people at all levels;
• Committed to the value and contribution of community sanctions as an integral part of the criminal justice system;
• Have a breadth and depth of knowledge of the criminal justice system, in particular issues pertaining to contemporary probation practice and offender management;
• Enthusiastic, self-motivated and commitment to professional development.

Desirable Requirements

It is desirable that candidates should, on the date of application, have:

• A professional qualification in social work, recognised by CORU.
• Experience in leading quality assurance and/or change management initiatives

Applicants are invited to submit an application form for this position. The form is available by contacting competitions@justice.ie

Completed applications should be submitted to competitions@justice.ie with the subject heading: Assistant Principal Probation Officer

The closing date for applications is 29/04/2025 at 3.00pm