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

We have a vacancy in our Reporting and Offender Management (ROM) in the East of England (to be based at Felixstowe or Bedford).

ROM teams are a key part of the Home Office’s strategic aim to reduce the number of illegal migrants present in the UK and to work with partners, employers and the public to increase compliance with Immigration and Employments rules.

Our teams maintain face-to-face contact with illegal migrants in secure environments (principally at police stations spread across the regions these offices cover) as they report, conducting interviews and progressing cases to their conclusion (whether the individual is granted permission to stay in the UK, elects to depart voluntarily or is detained pending removal).

Working for Immigration Enforcement (IE) is rewarding, challenging and fast-paced, requiring quick decision making in demanding situations in a flexible and dynamic working environment whilst maintaining the highest standards of professionalism. 

This is an exciting opportunity to step into this challenging role, so if you are passionate about making a real difference and are looking for a rewarding and stimulating career path with excellent development opportunities and the chance to engage with the public and outside agencies (particularly the police), then come and see what we have to offer. 

You will need to be flexible, adapting to changing priorities to meet the needs of the business and will have the ability to set a clear direction for your team, ensuring deadlines are met and that high levels of service are maintained.

You will be a strong communicator, with sound organisational skills and will be comfortable working in a fast-paced and dynamic environment with the ability to engage and motivate your team to deliver on key priorities.

Person specification

As a Senior Executive Officer (SEO), you will be responsible for ensuring the senior leadership team remains informed and that the vital flow of information between operations and the centre is maintained. You will need to be flexible as your working priorities will change according to the business needs across wide geographical areas.  You will set clear direction for your team to ensure deadlines are met and a high level of service is maintained.

Specific responsibilities will vary according to changing priorities but are likely to include:

• Ensuring continuous improvement for reporting performance by increasing productivity, leading on conduct of interventions and progressing cases, gathering intelligence and conducting detentions where appropriate in line with operational instructions.
• Working collaboratively with colleagues across Immigration Enforcement and other key partners (particularly the police) to develop strong and robust business delivery, effectively taking resources in line with national tasking priorities (including conduct of ad-hoc operations), maintaining accurate and comprehensive on ROM performance.
• Demonstrating strong organisational and management skills and delivering prompt and well-judged decision making, working with the ROM National team and other key partners to operationalise new processes.
• Leading on staff culture and values within the team, progressing areas such as the staff survey action plan, ensuring fairness of treatment and engagement with initiatives such as Operational Excellence. 
• The job holder will report into the Grade 7 Lead for their reporting Region.
• Direct line management of approximately 4 staff, with overall responsibility for between 15-35 staff, adhering to management best practice, HR policies and guidance and ensuring there is adequate resource to meet business needs.

Essential Criteria

The successful candidate should be able to demonstrate the following skills and experience.

• Ability to provide inspirational, inclusive, and engaging leadership in a fast-paced environment. Valuing diverse views, eliminating discrimination, harassment and bullying and actively promoting health and wellbeing.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise and deliver at pace using a range of sources, often to short deadlines and demonstrating strong IT skills.
• Commitment to ensuring that within your area of responsibility, there is compliance with relevant legislation, policy, procedure and governance, including driving a culture of managing data securely in line with the Data Protection Acts and guidance on information and security.
• Experience of building strong stakeholder relationships within organisational structures and with key partners outside of the immediate organisation, demonstrating an ability to influence a diverse range of partners at all levels.
• Experience of working in a changing, fast-paced environment, with the ability to work effectively and collaboratively under pressure, to meet multiple, challenging deadlines and deliver on a range of key outcomes.
• Please note: A driving licence will be required, please state that you hold a full UK manual or automatic driving licence in your personal statement.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience in leading teams through change. 
• An understanding of IE Operations.

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, Strengths 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 statement of suitability (personal statement) (maximum 1000 words)

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

The sift will be held on your Personal Statement (Statement of Suitability) only.

If you are successful at sift stage, you will be invited to an interview which will be a blended approach of Strength-based questions and Behaviour-based questions on all listed Behaviours.  

Strengths are the things that you do regularly, do well and that motivate you. To find out more about strength based questions click here 

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

Furthermore, you will also be required to prepare a 6-minute presentation based on a topic/question advised prior to the interview. The presentation will be strictly timed and use of Power Point will not be permitted. We will be assessing the Behaviour 'Seeing the Big Picture'.

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: 360951 CLOSING DATE: 01st August 2024. 

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

Tie break decisions

The strengths and/or 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 from 7th August 2024.

Interviews are expected to take place from 29th August 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 Bedford - Franklin Court. Further details will be provided ahead of interview.

Contact Details

Please use the following in the subject line in your email if you need to get in contact with us: Vacancy Ref: 360951

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

Selecting your locations

Please note only list locations where you are prepared to work and can travel to (as you could be offered any of your noted preferences).

When completing your application, you will have the opportunity to select your preferred location(s). Please ensure you select all locations you are interested in on the understanding that you can be posted to any location that you put in your preferences. If you would only like to be posted to one location, please confirm one location only. If you are posted to a location that you have requested and you do not accept that location, you may not be offered another role. Please note, only advertised locations can be offered.

Reserve List

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

Reserve lists will be managed by locational merit lists, appointing in merit order per location. You may be offered a post at any of your preferred locations.

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.

Candidates Please Note: There is no shift working requirement, and therefore no AHW/AHA allowance available for this role.

Part-time

The minimum requirement for this role would be 22 hours per week.

We encourage applications from candidates who wish to work part-time however, unless specified in the advert, part-time opportunities cannot be guaranteed in frontline roles due to the 24/7 operational nature of the business. Those wishing to work part-time should notify the vacancy holder as soon as a provisional offer of employment is made to explore whether this can be accommodated [at your selected location]. Please note that full shifts (of up to 12 hours) will be required even if a part time contract is sought.

Please note that not all work patterns can be supported within this role, successful candidates should discuss work patterns with the vacancy holder ahead of accepting any offer.

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 2

These roles can be physically demanding and if successful you will be required to complete and pass specialist training including Public and Personal Safety Training [PPST] Level 2 which develops skills in personal safety such as tactical body positioning, breakaway, blocking and parry.

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 Arrangement

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.  Applicants can request further information regarding how this may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details).

Travel Expectation

The successful candidate will be expected to travel between teams and police stations located within the East of England.

If you are successful in this position and choose to accept the provisional offer for this role, you will be removed from all other Home Office reserve lists at the same grade.

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.