About the job

Job summary

Immigration Enforcement is responsible for enforcing the government’s immigration laws, tackling illegal migration, removing foreign national offenders and immigration offenders from the UK. It also aims to disrupt the organised criminal groups that exploit the vulnerable for their personal gain. Learn more on the Immigration Enforcement careers page.

Job description

This role is based within the Immigration Enforcement Criminal & Financial Investigation team (CFI) and manages the Dover based Digital Media and Digital Imagery Teams. You will report to the Assistant Director, Southeast & Europe Command. 

The digital investigation function supports the identification and prosecution of immigration offenders as part of the Home Office’s strategic aim and the Governments priorities. You will work closely with UK and overseas partners to ensure maximum collection of available evidence and sharing of relevant material to assist the disruption of organised immigration crime groups engaged in clandestine smuggling of people and wider immigration offending.

The successful candidate will hold a key role in ensuring compliance with International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and Forensic Science Regulator (FSR) standards and policy and will process the day-to-day activities of the units under their management.  Acting as a focal point for engagement with stakeholders and interested parties to build cohesive networks and develop skill sets and process that drives forward efficiency in the units’ activities.  

The role will also require operational deployments on land, sea and air to collect digital imagery and media for further investigation and is a shift, with on call, role attracting annual hours allowance payment in addition to the base salary.

The successful applicant is likely to be required to complete other activities as part of your daily duties.

There is an expectation that the post holder is likely to be required to travel away from home on occasions to assist and oversee operational activity being conducted across the UK by CFI and other Law Enforcement (LE) stakeholders.

Person specification

We are looking for a talented and enthusiastic individual to lead the Digital Media and Imagery units. 

The successful candidate will be required to work in a fast moving, reactive environment and must be able to deliver high quality outcomes in a pressurised environment.

Duties for the role will include (but are not limited to):

•    Develop and foster strong collaborative relationships with various stakeholders.
•    Lead the Digital Media and Imagery process in keeping with relevant national standards and processes, working closely with CFI Cyber and Digital Capabilities to ensure compliance with agreed strategies and standards.
•    Ensure the provision of a 24-hour response to deliver the need to interrogate digital media seized as part of investigations to an evidential standard and to ensure maximum imagery collection is achieved in respect of small boat crossings and clandestine smuggling attempts.
•    Arrange and maintain access to suitable data sets and software to allow digital media extraction and imagery collection, enhancement and research is optimised fully.
•    Provision of Management Information from databases, spreadsheets and other locally held documentation to demonstrate the performance indicators for digital media extraction and research.
•    Coordinate the response from/with agencies to ensure the efficient extraction and research of material is conducted and shared, where suitable, with other investigating agencies in a suitable format to maximise the investigative impact on organised immigration crime groups.
•    Engage with other LE and related agencies to maximise collection of material; build a network of related units and represent CFI and the region at events to promote the Units objectives and work.
•    Effective line management of staff within the Unit, maintaining performance records and overseeing development of staff.
•    Lead the local response for Digital Media extraction/research and Imagery collection/processing, highlighting risks, improvement opportunities and acting as a single point of contact for the function at a regional level.

Essential Criteria

The successful candidate will hold the following proven skills:

• An all-round awareness of the specialist functions associated with crime investigation such as use of Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), surveillance, exploitation of digital devices, operational planning and public protection. Applicants also require a good understanding of immigration legislation and the ability to consider non-prosecution disruption methods. 
• A professional accreditation of PIP2 level is mandatory (see qualification section below).
• Proven experience operating in a criminal investigation arena and leading tasks and resources to deliver results in an operational environment.
• Experience in dealing with digital media to an evidential standard.
• Knowledge of General Data Provisions Regulation, Data Protection Act, Forensic Science Regulation and International Standards Organisation processes.
• Good IT skills (Word / Excel / Powerpoint). 
• The ability to demonstrate excellent leadership skills and will be focused on the development of others and the unit. 

Desirable Criteria

• Hold a qualification in Digital Media / Digital Imagery or can demonstrate experience in producing similar material to an evidential standard. 
• Experience in conducting criminal investigations with international partners.

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 Lead behaviour 'Leadership' (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.

For guidance on how to construct your personal statement, you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers. Links – Statement

For guidance on how to construct your behaviour examples, you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers. Links –Behaviours

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

However, if a large number of applications are received, the sift will be conducted on the Lead behaviour 'Leadership'.

The statement of suitability will be scored first for all candidates. Those candidates who achieve the minimum pass score for the statement of suitability, will progress to a further sift where the Lead behaviour 'Leadership' will be scored. These candidates will therefore receive a sift score for both elements. Candidates who fail to meet the minimum pass score for the statement of suitability will not have their Lead behaviour 'Leadership' scored and will therefore only receive a sift score for the statement of suitability.

If you are successful at sift stage, you will be invited to an interview which will be

• Behaviour-based questions

Problems during the application process

If you experience accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, or you think you’ve made a mistake on an initial application (e.g. you have ticked the incorrect eligibility box), please contact hocandidates.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk at least two working days before the vacancy closes. After this, we may not be able to reopen your application.

Please note, we cannot make amendments to any part of the application.

Please use the following in the subject line in your email if you need to get in contact with us about your initial application “Please re-open my application – Vacancy Ref 348864 CLOSING DATE 25th April 2024. 

For reasonable adjustments queries or requests, please see details with reasonable adjustments section.

Tie break decisions

The behaviours being assessed will be ranked in order of importance to enable us to differentiate between candidates with tied interview scores. Please note that the order in which behaviours are listed in the advert does not necessarily reflect the order of importance.

Sift and Interview dates

Sift is expected to take place week commencing 29th April 2024.

Interviews are expected to take place week commencing 20th May 2024.

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

Interviews will be face to face at Dover, Priory Court. Further details will be provided ahead of interview.

Further Information

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

Reserve List

Where a competition identifies more appointable candidates than there are available vacancies, a reserve list may be held for up to 12 months.

Whilst on a reserve list we may offer you an alternative similar role in the Home Office. Should you reject an alternative role, you will remain on the reserve list for the role you applied for. If you accept an alternative role, you will be withdrawn from the reserve list.

Please note there are no guarantees that further vacancies will arise in the locations you originally applied for before your time on the reserve list expires.

Candidates Please Note

Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. All applications are screened for plagiarism and copying of examples/answers from internet sources. If any is detected the application will be withdrawn from the process. Further action, including disciplinary action, may be considered in such cases involving internal candidates. Providing false or misleading information would be contrary to the core values of honesty and integrity expected of all Civil Servants.

If you are currently an agency member of staff working within the Home Office, a contractor or contingent worker you can only apply for roles that are advertised externally, i.e.: outside the civil service. If you are eligible to apply for a role, you are required to select yourself as an external applicant and not internal when submitting your application on Civil Service jobs. This will prevent any delays in pre-employment checks should you become successful in being made an offer of employment after the Interview stage.

Are these Reserved Posts for UK Nationals only?

UK nationals who hold dual nationality are able to apply for this reserved post. If a UK passport is not being presented, then candidates will need to provide alternative evidence of UK nationality in line with the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

Annual Hours Working Allowance

We operate 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. This role currently attracts Annualised Hours Allowance of 42.71%. This is to compensate for working shift patterns including night shifts, early morning starts, late night finishes, weekends, and public holidays.  Shifts can vary in length and can be up to 12 hours. Shifts can be changed or extended according to business need. The rate payable is dependent on location and role and is indicative of the shift pattern you will be required to work.

The higher the AHA, the more flexible you will be required to be. Please note that the allowance is subject to regular review and can go down as well as up.

Age: These are shift working roles and so you must be at least 18 years or over to apply for this role. You will be required to work between 22.00 and 06.00, so this is a legal requirement. For more information visit: https://www.gov.uk/night-working-hours and Child employment: Restrictions on child employment - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Please note this role is only available with full-time hours.

Appearance

As part of this role you will be required to wear a uniform (which will be provided). Staff must ensure that their uniform is worn correctly, in line with these uniform standards, is kept clean and is well presented. To support this requirement, adequate uniform supplies will be available and issued. Uniformed staff represent their organisation at all times and should ensure that their dress and personal appearance reflects this responsibility.

Public and Personal Safety Training [PPST] – Level 3

These roles can be physically demanding and if successful you are required to hold in ticket, Personal Safety Training [PPST] which develops skills in personal safety, arrest, and restraint techniques. This demands physical activity and physical contact with delegates on the course. You will be required to complete a PPST health declaration and, if necessary, attend a medical examination. A formal offer will be conditional upon you being physically fit to undertake and pass the training.

You must be prepared to undertake regular refreshers of this.

Flexible working

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).

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

Open to UK nationals only.

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.