A career at HM Inspectorate of Probation is varied and challenging. As an inspector or assistant inspector, you will be part of a team working to improve probation and youth justice services through professional and rigorous assessment.
You will help us to build up a picture of each service by conducting interviews and focus groups with senior leaders, staff and service users; analysing samples of cases and other sources of data; and writing/contributing to inspection reports. You will also have the opportunity to contribute to thematic inspections that address key national issues.
Take a look at our current vacancies below.
What makes a good inspector?
When we recruit an inspector, we’re looking for three key things. Firstly, we need people with experience. Secondly, people skills so that they can build rapport with services and be a good representative and, thirdly, we need curiosity – people who are curious about how other services do things, are keen to learn and take things back to their own home organisations.
Why consider working for the Inspectorate?
A secondment with the Inspectorate is a great way to develop your career and to develop your own organisation as well. You’ll get work on a wide range of inspections across England and Wales and take that knowledge back to your organisation and for your own learning as well.
Current vacancies
HM Inspector – Adult
HMIs will be responsible for leading inspections at Probation Delivery Unit (PDU) and regional level. You will also have the opportunity to contribute to our thematic inspections, which explore high-profile topics on a national basis.
As an HMI, you will be involved in every stage of our inspections: planning, conducting fieldwork, and drafting the final report. You will interview and hear from senior leaders, practitioners and people on probation, as well as use a wide range of data sources to form judgments. You will identify effective practice as well as areas for improvement; you will also make recommendations and contribute to final ratings. These are collaborative roles so you will work closely with the Head of Programme and other members of the inspection team, and have regular contact with the Chief Inspector of Probation. Your final report will be submitted to the Secretary of State for Justice and will help to improve practice locally and nationally.
HMIs must:
• have worked at a senior level in a related profession and have experience of interacting with senior stakeholders.
• have experience of assessing performance against a set of established standards
• understand and/or be adept at using qualitative and quantitative analysis methods
• be able to interpret and extrapolate themes from large volumes of written and numerical data
• be able to assimilate large quantities of information from a range of sources and produce a report using a house style guide
• be confident and competent in using IT (you have experience using Word, Excel, Outlook, a reasonable amount of case management software, etc).
In December 2025, we held an online webinar where current HMIs shared their experiences of working for the Inspectorate. You can watch this video here.
Travel: Required within England and Wales, with overnight stays
Closing date: Friday 30 January 2026
Please email your name, email address and the position you are interested in (for example, HM Inspector or HM Assistant Inspector) to HMIProbationCareers@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address).
For data protection purposes, we only require the above details and no other information is requested, or will be held.
Our vacancy requirements are determined by business needs, so please don’t worry if you do not hear from us immediately after registering. We will be in touch the next time we recruit