About the job

Job summary

​HMICFRS independently assesses the effectiveness and efficiency of police forces and fire and rescue services – in the public interest. We promote improvements in policing and fire and rescue services to make everyone safer.  

We are independent of the Government, police and fire and rescue services. We ask the questions that we believe the public wish to have answered and produce major reports that shine a light on issues at the very heart of policing and fire and rescue services.   

​Our reports are widely covered by the media and help inform the public of the performance of their local police forces and fire and rescue services. You can find out more about HMICFRS on our website and see some of our recent reports.  
  
Working at HMICFRS gives you an opportunity to make a real difference to the quality of local police and fire and rescue services and the lives of the public.   

​HMICFRS is a unique organisation with staff seconded or loaned from across the Civil Service, police forces and fire and rescue services. As short-term, contracted staff, our Associates work alongside these staff and play an important part in contributing to the success of our inspection programme.   

​We set ourselves high standards, taking great pride in the quality of work we achieve and the opportunities we create for our staff.  

​Find out more 

​If you would like to talk to someone about this role and what it’s like working for HMICFRS we would be pleased to hear from you.  Please contact recruitment@hmicfrs.gov.uk  and we can arrange for someone to contact you​ 

Job description

The Deputy Portfolio Director (DPD) reports to the JNPIP Portfolio Director. 

The JNPIP team is responsible for carrying out national thematic inspections, the inspection of national law enforcement agencies and non-Home Office police forces. The portfolio team also conducts inspections relating to serious organised crime, police integrity, counter-terrorism, the criminal justice system, custody, child protection and super-complaints investigations. 

The JNPIP team is comprised of police officers and civil servants with subject matter expertise. Inspection teams are responsible for carrying out fieldwork, assessing evidence and preparing reports to the highest standards. 

Please note this role is a fixed term position to help with a temporary increase in work.

This role will involve a significant amount of national and occasional international travel; therefore, the post will frequently involve overnight stays away from home.

Person specification

Responsibilities 

• Leading the design and overseeing the implementation and reporting of inspection programmes; 
• Working effectively across the organisation, with other portfolios, regional teams, and HM Inspectors (HMIs) to implement inspection programmes; 
• Engaging with a wide range of internal stakeholders and external interested parties to ensure the inspection approach is relevant and evidence based; 
• Collaborating with partner organisations and other criminal justice inspectorates to design and carry out inspections in the most efficient and effective manner; 
• Providing specialist advice on policing to colleagues and stakeholders, including HMIs and HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary; 
• Ensuring effective analysis of inspection findings and contribute to the assessment process, providing authoritative and credible advice to ensure findings are robust and evidence based; 
• Making sure reports are well-evidenced and well-written, with sound recommendations;
• Preparing high quality reports, including analysis of themes, report drafting and approval;
• Preparing material such as briefing notes, speaker notes, correspondence and presentations, for delivery in person or by senior leaders;
• Ensure that HMICFRS’s existing evidence base, including previous inspections, lessons learned and HMICFRS specialist knowledge is used for wider organisational development;
• Providing feedback to forces during inspections to support continuous improvement;
• Monitoring forces’ implementation of our recommendations;
• Managing and developing staff by using mentoring and coaching techniques; and
• Acting as an ambassador for HMICFRS, ensuring the highest standards of professional conduct are always demonstrated. 

Essential criteria 

• Experience of working within a police-related field;
• Leadership and management experience;
• Strategic understanding of the wider policing landscape;
• Confidence and experience in liaising, negotiating and influencing strategic change with senior stakeholders; and
• Excellent communication (both oral and written) skills.

 Desirable criteria  

• Experience of inspection design, delivery and reporting processes; 
• Experience of leading change programmes; 
• Experience of partnership working to deliver against shared goals; 
• Specialist police expertise including (but not exclusively): serious and organised crime; vetting; counter terrorism; professional standards; counter corruption; police custody; vulnerability including child protection; firearms; public order and roads policing; 
• An understanding of JNPI’s inspection programmes; 
• An understanding of office-based computer systems with experience of using applications such as Microsoft Outlook, Excel and Word; and
• A holder of vetting to security clearance (SC). 

Benefits

• A Civil Service Pension 

See civil service pensions website for more information www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk 

A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%  

• Learning and Development tailored to your role 

We are committed to investing in our staff and providing all staff with opportunities to maximize their skills and achieve their potential.  We offer a range of work-based training, learning and development opportunities including access to coaching and mentoring, and five days volunteering per year. 

• An environment with flexible working options 

We promote flexible working that balances professional and personal commitments. We support virtual and smart working, making best use of our technology and building collaborative working models to help all staff to work from home and/or in the office in a ‘hybrid’ way.  

• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity  

The diversity of our people is a real asset to HMICFRS. We are committed to creating a welcoming, inclusive workplace where all our people are able to bring their whole selves to work and perform at their best. We particularly welcome applications from candidates from ethnic minority groups and people with disabilities, as they are currently under-represented within this grade level.   

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.

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a Personal Statement Max Word Limit ​500​.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form. 

The first stage of the sift will be carried out on your personal statement which should be aligned to the essential criteria. If you do not meet the essential criteria, your application will not progress further. For those who do meet the essential criteria, their application may progress to the second stage of the sift process. 

The second stage of sift is based on the lead behaviour Seeing the Big Picture.   

 If your application progresses to a full sift, all behaviours will then be considered.   
 
If successful at sift stage, you will be invited to an interview where you will be tested against the Success Profiles behaviours and experience based on the essential criteria stated in the advert. 

Sift and Interview dates

Sift is expected to take place week commencing the 15 April 2024.

Interviews to be carried out by video link week commencing the 29 April 2024.

We often have similar roles available at different grades.  Should candidates be placed on a reserve list we may be able to offer a similar role or a lower grade role without the need for you to go through a further selection process. 

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not overseas.  

Behavioural statements 

You need to provide specific examples of when you have demonstrated particular skills or qualities for each of the five Civil Service behaviours listed. Your examples must also show how you meet the Essential criteria and skills listed in the job description. 

We recommend that you use the Situation, Task, Action and Result (STAR) method to help make sure your examples are clear and highlight your skills and qualities. Each example should set out what you have done, how you completed the task and the results of this action to allow the panel to assess how you meet the required behaviours. 

Please make sure you have provided sufficient information – it is not enough to submit a list of bullet points. Please refer to the Success Profiles (opens in a new window) to make sure you are familiar with what is required for each behaviour. You will not be expected to meet every single aspect of every behaviour, but must show a good range or depth for each behaviour to be successful at the sift stage. 

Further information 

Please note there are 2 post available which are being advertised both as a Fixed Term Appointee (FTA) and secondment.

If you are a serving police officers or police staff equivalent and would like to apply on secondment for this vacancy, please apply via vacancy 345834.

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.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter

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 counter-terrorist 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.