jobfacts

Senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services

SOC 2020 1163

Fire officers plan, organise, direct and co-ordinate the activities and resources of a specific physical or functional area of a statutory or private fire brigade/service and the resources necessary for the protection of property at fires within a salvage corps area. Ambulance officers plan, organise, direct and co-ordinate the resources necessary for the provision of ambulance services. Prison officers (principal officer and above) plan, organise, direct, and co-ordinate the activities and resources necessary for the running of a prison, remand or detention centre. Customs officers plan and direct the work of customs, excise and immigration staff in the monitoring and inspection of goods and persons crossing national borders.

Also calledPrison governorPrison operational managerControllerCommanderFire brigade officerStation managerand 58 more titles
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month339↑ 2.8%on last year · 305th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
Typical pay by regionUK median —
North EastNot published by ONS–
North WestNot published by ONS–
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS–
East MidlandsNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
East of EnglandNot published by ONS–
LondonNot published by ONS–
South EastNot published by ONS–
South WestNot published by ONS–
ScotlandNot published by ONS–
WalesNot published by ONS–
Show as table
UK median, —
North EastNot published by ONS
North WestNot published by ONS
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS
East MidlandsNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
East of EnglandNot published by ONS
LondonNot published by ONS
South EastNot published by ONS
South WestNot published by ONS
ScotlandNot published by ONS
WalesNot published by ONS

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 339 jobs for senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026525
Jul 2026412
Jun 2026342
May 2026349
Apr 2026297
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026271
Jan 2026299
Dec 2025209
Nov 2025330
Oct 2025345
Sept 2025353
Aug 2025313
Jul 2025418
Jun 2025447
May 2025436
Apr 2025283
Mar 2025370
Feb 2025338
Jan 2025324
Dec 2024208
Nov 2024231
Oct 2024324
Sept 2024307
Aug 2024332
Jul 2024345
Jun 2024362
May 2024420
Apr 2024332
Mar 2024267
Feb 2024292
Jan 2024408
Dec 2023312
Nov 2023306
Oct 2023331
Sept 2023297
Aug 2023291
Jul 2023417
Jun 2023441
May 2023503
Apr 2023400
Mar 2023466
Feb 2023438
Jan 2023466
Dec 2022432
Nov 2022531
Oct 2022494
Sept 2022511
Aug 2022465
Jul 2022508
Jun 2022528
May 2022637
Apr 2022480
Mar 2022598
Feb 2022503
Jan 2022506
Dec 2021464
Nov 2021437
Oct 2021528
Sept 2021417
Aug 2021413
Jul 2021522
Jun 2021441
May 2021390
Apr 2021364
Mar 2021482
Feb 2021326
Jan 2021414
Dec 2020337
Nov 2020433
Oct 2020386
Sept 2020327
Aug 2020314
Jul 2020380
Jun 2020280
May 2020195
Apr 2020226
Mar 2020348
Feb 2020425
Jan 2020390
Dec 2019285
Nov 2019379
Oct 2019462
Sept 2019387
Aug 2019335
Jul 2019412
Jun 2019434
May 2019508
Apr 2019309
Mar 2019331
Feb 2019320
Jan 2019284
Dec 2018227
Nov 2018282
Oct 2018304
Sept 2018350
Aug 2018303
Jul 2018365
Jun 2018375
May 2018335
Apr 2018344
Mar 2018390
Feb 2018333
Jan 2018358
Dec 2017264
Nov 2017346
Oct 2017355
Sept 2017361
Aug 2017301
Jul 2017358
Jun 2017414
May 2017302
Apr 2017297
Mar 2017403
Feb 2017360
Jan 2017329
Is there a shortage of senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services?
Not high

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsAbove usual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedAbove usual
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
18%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for corporate managers and directors, which includes senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London242
Birmingham30
Manchester27
Glasgow City16
Leeds16
City of Edinburgh14
Bristol, City of14
Liverpool12
Nottingham12
Oxford11
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
WomenToo few in the survey to give a reliable figure
Age of senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services
n/p
39%!
n/p
42%!
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
25–34Not published
35–4439% (small sample)
45–54Not published
55–6442% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent!40%
Higher education below degree!28%
A levels or equivalent!27%
GCSEs or equivalent!28%
Other qualifications–
Not published
No qualifications–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent40% (small sample)
Higher education below degree28% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent27% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent28% (small sample)
Other qualificationsNot published
No qualificationsNot published

Main employers: justice and judicial activities (44%), fire service activities (26%), general public administration activities (20%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
40%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

Work your way up

You may be able to start as a prison officer and work your way up with further training and experience. You'll need several years' experience, including line management.

You would generally move into senior management jobs and eventually deputy governorship roles, then governor.

Companies that run private prisons have their own entry requirements.

You can find details of prisons in England and Wales on GOV.UK.

Other routes

You can apply to join the Future Prison Leaders Programme. This is a 3-year training scheme available from HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). Vacancies are advertised online and through social media when a recruitment campaign is taking place.

You’ll need a degree or equivalent level 6 qualification when you start on the programme, or people management experience.

Experience in management and excellent communication skills, as well as assertiveness and integrity, are important.

You can also apply through the Leadership Development Programme. This is a 2-year fast-track leadership development route available to graduates, who:

  • meet the HMPPS eligibility criteria
  • already have, or are expecting to get, an upper second class degree
  • have GCSE grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) in English and maths
  • have the right to work in the UK for the length of the programme

You'll study for a postgraduate master's degree in Applied Custodial Leadership as part of the training.

You can find out more about working in prisons from HM Prison Service.

What you’ll need

  • pass enhanced background checks as you may work with children and vulnerable adults
  • pass security checks
  • be over 18 years of age

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for prison governor. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • liaises with other senior officials and/or government departments to determine staffing, financial and other short- and long-term needs
  • prepares reports for insurance companies, the Home Office, Scottish Home and Health Department, and other bodies as necessary
  • advises on the recruitment, training and monitoring of staff
  • fire officers plan, direct and co-ordinate an operational plan for one or more fire stations, attend fires and other emergencies to minimise danger to property and people, arrange for the salvaging of goods, immediate temporary repairs and security measures for fire damaged premises as necessary
  • ambulance officers plan, organise, direct and co-ordinate the activities of ambulance personnel and control room assistants, for the provision of ambulance services for emergency and non-emergency cases
  • prison officers interview prisoners on arrival and discharge/departure, receive reports on disciplinary problems and decide on appropriate action, make periodic checks on internal and external security, and provide care and support to prisoners in custody
  • revenue and customs, excise and immigration officers advise on the interpretation of regulations concerning taxes, duties and immigration requirements and enforce these regulations through monitoring of premises, examining goods entering the country to ensure correct duty is paid and establishing that passengers have the necessary authorisation for crossing national borders

Skills

  • manage staff
  • manage budgets
  • train employees
  • delegate activities
  • write work-related reports
  • lead a team
  • set organisational policies
  • use different communication channels
  • apply grammar and spelling rules
  • build business relationships
  • establish daily priorities
  • implement marketing strategies
  • liaise with colleagues
  • liaise with managers

Knowledge

  • corporate social responsibility
  • project management
  • art history
  • copyright legislation
  • grammar
  • spelling
  • budgetary principles
  • customer relationship management

Suits people who like

  • Organising and following procedures
  • Leading and persuading

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for corporate managers and directors, a group of 20 jobs that includes senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 3%about 78,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 20351.4 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.