About the job

Job summary

The first duty of the government is to keep citizens safe and the country secure. The Home Office has been at the front line of this effort since 1782. As such, we play a fundamental role in maintaining the security and economic prosperity of the UK.  The Home Office leads on immigration and passports, refugee protection, counter-terrorism, policing, fire services, and crime and drugs policy. 
 
Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) enables the Home Office to keep the UK safe and secure. We design and build the services that help people apply for visas or passports; support policing and counter-terrorism operations; and protect the UK’s borders. 

This is an exciting time to be at the Home Office. You’ll have a chance to shape the future and support our mission to deliver exceptional public services that work for everyone. 

Our work is guided by these principles:

• We put user needs first
• We value delivery and outcomes over process
• We work in the open 

Our flexible working policy ensures a healthy work-life balance. We also nurture talent and offer a broad range of learning and development opportunities that will help you flourish in your role.

We work hard to maintain a positive working culture and are committed to helping you fulfil your potential. We value diversity and provide an open, inclusive and supportive environment to help you do your best work. 

You can keep up-to-date with our work on the Home Office DDaT blog.

Job description

Assurance Leads are responsible for helping teams to meet relevant policies, specifically, Spend and Standards Assurance against internal and central government standards, including compliance with a range of supporting digital standards and practices.  To do this you’ll establish and maintain an appropriate assurance framework and coordinate the assurance activities of other members of the assurance function as they undertake technical assessments, evaluations, and reporting.

This means providing independent and constructive advice and assurance on digital government standards, including the Technology Code of Practice, Cabinet Office Spend Control process, Service Standard and DDaT Functional Standards, as well as the Home Office DDaT Strategy. 

You’ll engage with stakeholders and teams to ensure that assurance is embedded appropriately across DDaT, with a mission to improve quality, reduce the risks of non-compliance, and support the successful delivery of critical Home Office services.

Whilst your role is part of the wider Quality Assurance and Testing professional community, line management and delivery accountability for this role is with the CTO team

Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working.  This is a non-contractual arrangement where all employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office, subject to local estates capacity, by Spring 2024. Applicants can request further information regarding how this may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details). 

Person specification

Your main day-to-day responsibilities will be to:

• Leading independent assurance and review activities across DDaT, including thoroughly evaluating assurance controls through specific review projects.
• Identifying and addressing root causes to problems early when it’s easier and more cost-effective to correct.
• Building a culture of quality management around ‘what’ is built and ‘how’ things are built and maintained, involving all members of DDaT.
• Establish and maintain an appropriate assurance framework and coordinate the assurance activities of other members of this assurance function as they undertake technical assessments, evaluations, and reporting.
• Manage, lead and report on assurance and assessment activities, including peer reviews, assurance workshops and service assessments. 
• Attend regular assurance and governance boards to provide expert advice on requirements and assessment activities, working with QSA 2nd line, where required, to help grow and sustain a mature DDaT-wide approach to assurance.
• Monitoring dashboards, data, and process outcomes and analysing data for triggered interventions to determine the level of assurance required.
• Agreeing appropriate level of assurance required with Head of assurance and stakeholders.
• Creating intelligent assurance reports for senior management and stakeholders to aid risk management and data-led decision making.
• Work with Cabinet Office Central Digital and Data Office to ensure Home Office products and services comply with technology digital policy requirements.
• Report and track recommendations resulting from assurance reviews and assessment activities.
• Run workshops and training for DDaT colleagues to upskill teams and assessors, creating a culture of quality management that supports the delivery of costs effective solutions that work for our users.
• Work with relevant board secretariats to ensure reviews are undertaken for any identified assurance matters and a smooth technology and digital governance process is in place.

Essential Skills

You’ll have a demonstrable interest in helping teams to deliver digital services against standards, including experience in:

• Delivery of modern digital services and ways of working, ideally in an Enterprise or Product Lifecycle environment.
• Critically assessing delivery against recognised standards, using a range of quality assurance skills and recognised quality management or assessment approaches.
• Communicating confidently with business and technical teams, providing clear verbal and written analysis, guidance, and outcome reports.
• Demonstrating a range of interpersonal skills that promote collaboration, planning and continuous improvement.
• Working autonomously in a fast-paced, Agile environment and adapting to changing priorities while coordinating work across distributed teams.

The skills listed above are reflective of the Home Office DDaT Profession Skills and Competency Model (based on the industry standard SFIA framework).

Please see below for the relevant skills required for your role:

Quality & Conformance:

• Quality Assurance (QUAS) – Level 4
• Conformance Review (CORE) – Level 3

Advice and Guidance:

• Consultancy (CNSL) – Level 4
• Specialist Advice (TECH) – Level 4

Information Strategy:

• Strategic Planning (ITSP) – Level 4

DDaT Professional Skills:

• Domain Experience – Level 3

Desirable Skills

Ideally you will also have some experience of:

• Managing or participating in formal audit or assurance assessments.
• Managing risk, through appropriate qualifications or experience.
• Influencing and implementing organisational change.
• Sharing your knowledge, experience, and opinions with people outside your team, for example, through blogging, workshops, or conferences.
• Government or industry-recognised assurance qualifications (for example, Service Assessor or auditor training (e.g. ISO 9001, Management of Risk, CRISC).

You may also hold the following qualifications or have equivalent experience including:

• Certifications in relevant disciplines (e.g. BA, Product, UCD, Quality Assurance etc.).

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete: 

•    A CV detailing job history/qualifications
•    A statement of suitability (personal statement) (maximum 750 words) 
•    Provide evidence of the behaviour Communicating & Influencing (250 words maximum) 

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
 
The statement of suitability should be aligned to demonstrate your skills and experience for the role and how you meet the essential criteria as detailed in the job description.

The sift will be held on the behaviour and the statement of suitability (personal statement). The CV will not be scored.

However, if a large number of applications are received, an initial sift will be conducted on the lead behaviour Communicating & Influencing. Candidates who pass the initial sift will then be progressed to a full sift.

If you are successful at sift stage, you will be invited to an interview which will include behaviour-based questions on all listed behaviours. 

Sift and Interview dates

Sift is expected to take place week commencing 8th January 2024.

Interviews are expected to take place week commencing 22nd January 2024.

We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert, however on occasions these dates may change. 

Interviews will be carried out via video. Candidates will be required to have access to:

• A laptop (personal or work) with a working webcam
• Good internet connection
• Microsoft Teams

PLEASE NOTE: Due to time constraints we may not be able to offer alternative interview date(s). It is therefore expected that candidates who are successful at sift stage will make themselves available during the above time frame given.

Further information

Please read the essential skills for this position carefully. We will only consider those who meet the listed requirement. 

If you have previously made an unsuccessful application for a role with the same essential skills and are not able to demonstrate how you have developed these skills since your last application please reconsider applying as your application is unlikely to be successful.

For meaningful checks to be carried out, individuals need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time to enable appropriate checks to be carried out and produce a result which provides the required level of assurance. You should normally have been resident in the United Kingdom for the last 3 years if the role requires CTC clearance, 5 years for SC clearance and 10 years for DV.  A lack of UK residency in itself is not necessarily a bar to a security clearance and applicants should contact the Vacancy Holder/Recruiting Manager listed in the advert for further advice.

A reserve list of successful candidates will be kept for 12 months. Should another role become available within that period you may be offered this position.  

We often have similar roles available at different grades. If a candidate is suitable for a similar role or a lower grade than they have applied for, we may offer the candidate that role without the need to go through a further selection process providing the role has the same behaviours and essential skills.

Every day, Home Office civil servants do brilliant work to develop and deliver policies and services that affect the lives of people across the country and beyond. To do this effectively and fairly, the Home Office is committed to representing modern Britain in all its diversity, and creating a welcoming, inclusive workplace where all our people are able to bring their whole selves to work and perform at their best.

We are flexible, skilled, professional and diverse. We work to recruit and retain disabled staff and area Disability Confident Leader. We are proud to be one of the most ethnically diverse departments in the civil service. We are a Social Mobility Foundation top 75 employer.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant's details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

For further information please see the attached notes for candidates which must be read before making an application.

Existing Civil Servants should note that some of the Home Office terms and conditions of employment have changed. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of the Terms and Conditions they will adopt should they be successful in application and should refer to the notes for candidates for further details.

Transfer Terms: Voluntary.

If you are invited to an interview you will be required to  bring a range of documentation for the purposes of establishing identity and to aid any pre-employment checks.

Please see the attached list of Home Office acceptable ID documents.

Any move to the Home Office from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

Reasonable Adjustments

If a person with disabilities is at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. 

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact Government Recruitment Service via HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs
• Complete the “Assistance Required” section in the “Additional Requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you're deaf, a language service professional

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘Contact point for applicants’ section.

Feedback

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.