23412 - Performance and Quality Officer - London Probation Service

The Ministry of Justice is recruiting for the London Probation Service to hire a Performance and Quality Officer. This permanent, full‑time post is based in London and is worked onsite, with hybrid arrangements to be discussed at interview. The salary ranges from £37,238 to £44,520 per year, and there is a London allowance payment that will be discussed at interview. There is one vacancy (Job ID 23412) with a closing date of 08-Nov-2026. The post sits within the London Regional Performance & Quality Team, reporting to the London Probation Service and serving across London.

As a member of a small team, two to four PQOs, you will partner with allocated LDUs, frontline managers and senior leaders to understand how performance translates into delivery. You’ll identify trends, respond to issues with practical improvement plans, and help teams tackle complex performance challenges. In some cases you may take responsibility for a regional portfolio across London, providing insight, coordination and oversight aligned with HMPPS priorities.

If you enjoy turning data into action, building strong relationships, and driving continuous improvement in frontline services, this role offers a chance to broaden your experience and impact within a high‑performing regional team that values collaboration and practical results.

A day in the life of a PQO

You’ll work to support service delivery quality improvement and practice development by guiding delivery of effective practices across the LDU clusters. You’ll help implement systems to review and assess practice, contribute to a culture of innovation and continuous improvement, and connect improvement opportunities with training and development initiatives run with HMPPS/NPS.

Supporting performance management is a core part of the role. You’ll analyse trends within LDU clusters, help implement performance plans, monitor their effectiveness, and share good practice with fellow PQOs to maximise overall improvements in quality and performance.

Quality management sits alongside performance work. You’ll support continuous quality improvement, monitor compliance with quality systems, and help embed best‑practice initiatives internally.

Part of the job is developing team and partnership working. You’ll establish effective relationships with other teams and colleagues, write management reports on contract performance and provide cost analysis where required, and share information with colleagues to keep everyone aligned. You’ll also support a culture and systems that promote equality and value diversity, while coordinating information for SLA reviews and monitoring action logs when appropriate.

In planning and organising, you’ll provide information for SLA review meetings, monitor delivery against action logs where relevant, and share knowledge and good practice to support continual service improvements. You’ll use communication to provide information, feedback and advice, and participate in meetings with the appropriate skills and approaches. You’ll also look after your own professional development and ensure you can access the data you need to support decision making, including information from other organisations delivering interventions on behalf of NPS where applicable.

What you’ll need to bring to the role

Here’s what’s essential to succeed in this role, reworded from the job requirements:

• Proven experience in performance management and problem solving using analytical, evaluative, and outcome‑focused approaches, with operating experience in a Probation setting and familiarity with quality systems and quality improvement initiatives
• Operational experience in a Probation environment, working closely with frontline and managerial teams
• NVQ Level 4 or an equivalent qualification in a relevant subject, or substantial practical experience that demonstrates the same level
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, Outlook and PowerPoint, or an equivalent suite
• Ability to maintain information and administrative systems, including databases

• Nice to have: experience leading quality improvement initiatives and delivering practice development opportunities in collaboration with training and organisational development teams
• Nice to have: ability to write reports for management on contract performance and provide cost analysis where required
• Nice to have: strong communication and relationship‑building skills to liaise with internal teams and external partners, and the ability to develop and share knowledge to inform service delivery
• Nice to have: capability to analyse data to identify trends and inform action to sustain or improve performance

Pay, benefits and practical details

Salary ranges from £37,238 to £44,520 per year, with an additional London allowance payment to be discussed at interview. The role is based in London and is full‑time, with standard hours of 37 per week, excluding breaks. The MoJ notes hybrid working arrangements may apply where business needs allow, blending base location work with other MoJ sites or home working; arrangements will be discussed and reviewed with the successful candidate. The official location will be discussed at pre‑employment checks and may include a Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office.

The role is permanent, with one vacancy available and a closing date of 08-Nov-2026. Nationality rules apply to Civil Service posts; broadly, eligibility extends to UK nationals, Irish nationals, Commonwealth nationals with the right to work in the UK, and certain EU/EEA family members with settled or pre‑settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, among other categories. All candidates must pass security and identity checks prior to taking up post.

Benefits include 25 days of annual leave on appointment (rising to 30 days after five years of service) plus public holidays, with pro‑rata leave for part‑time roles. The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) applies for pension provisions, and the Ministry of Justice supports staff development with extensive training opportunities. There are family‑friendly policies, access to flexible benefits, and networks that support minority groups, caring responsibilities, women employees, and LGBTQ+ staff, among others. You may also access additional government childcare support schemes where appropriate. The role supports a commitment to diversity and inclusion and to creating a great workplace for veterans, with a redeployment and interview scheme available in certain circumstances.

Security and identity checks are a standard part of joining the Civil Service, and all candidates are subject to the Civil Service Code and recruitment principles. If you need adjustments during the recruitment process, you can request these in your application, and there is guidance available on the Civil Service Careers site about AI use in applications.

Advice for applicants

Put your most relevant experience up front and show a clear thread from performance management to concrete outcomes in probation or a similar setting. Include a specific example where you identified a local issue, implemented an improvement, and measured its impact to demonstrate your narrative and impact.

When you describe your must‑have skills, back them up with data or a tangible result. Show how you used analytical techniques to identify trends, what actions you proposed, and the effect on service delivery or outcomes.

Be ready for the interview to include behaviours: Changing and Improving, Working Together, Delivering at Pace and Managing a Quality Service, plus a technical test. Interviews are anticipated to take place in late November or early December 2026, and you should expect a strengths assessment as part of the process. If you want to understand how strengths are assessed, you can read the GOV.UK guidance linked in the advert.

Finally, prepare a thoughtful question to ask at the end of your interview. A good one could be: how the PQO role collaborates with the regional portfolio across London to align with HMPPS priorities and how success against national service indicators is tracked in practice.

How to apply

To be considered, reference 23412 should be quoted on your application. The closing date is 08-Nov-2026. Applications are managed through the official channels; for assistance, you can call the MoJ recruitment line at 0345 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am–6pm) or email [email protected], and you should quote job reference 23412. For matters related to HMPPS, you can call 0345 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am–6pm) or email [email protected], also quoting 23412. If you need additional help completing the application form, contact the TBS Recruitment Enquiries Team.