About the job

Job summary

Detention Services is a key function of Immigration Enforcement. The purpose of Immigration Enforcement is to tackle illegal migration, remove those with no right to be in the UK and protect the vulnerable. Detention plays a key role in maintaining effective immigration controls and securing the UK’s borders, particularly in connection with the removal of people who have no right to remain in the UK but who refuse to leave voluntarily. It is vital that detention and removal are carried out with dignity and respect. We take the welfare and safety of people in our care very seriously.

Job description

Key responsibilities include:

• Driving improvement in the quality and effectiveness of detention services, by:
• Commissioning and assuring the delivery of high quality, efficient and effective custodial and related services
• Managing ongoing partnerships with the detention providers, and creating the intelligent customer capacity to challenge, support and assure their contractual performance
• Developing the new detention capacity at Haslar and Campsfield
• Responding to HMIP and IMB reports, and driving continual improvement through subsequent action plans
• Delivering preventative risk-based assurance of contracted services
• Maintaining a clear and up-to-date framework of operational guidance for contractors
• Responding to litigation on welfare in detention claims
• Embedding a whole system approach to supporting IE’s strategic objectives and returns performance, by providing secure and safe detention services and helping deliver the efficient use of detention space
• Taking the leadership role with partners in maintaining a secure, safe and efficient system that helps deliver IE’s strategic objectives
• Influencing immigration policy in respect of detention, leading on operational policy in this area, and delivering timely, high quality and politically aware PQs, FoIs, briefing and advice to Ministers
• Delivering the next phase of a major change programme within budget, with improved outcomes and to timetable
• Increasing immigration detention capacity in accordance with ministerial ambition
• Improving the provider relationship with HMPPS, including ensuring effective management of detention beds in the prison estate
• Managing an ongoing maintenance and innovation programme across the estate
• Responding to the Brook House Public Inquiry

Maintaining and building key relationships within the Home Office and externally, including:

• Within IE – National Returns Progression Command, International and Returns Services Command, FNO Removals Command and Transformation Programme colleagues in IE
• Across the Home Office – Migration and Borders Policy and Strategy, Commercial, PPM and Government Legal Department colleagues
• External oversight – HMCIP, Independent Monitoring Boards, Prisons and Probations Ombudsman
• Detention providers – this is currently contracted out to Mitie & Serco
• Other Government Departments – Department of Health & Social Care, NHS (England), UK Health Security Agency, Ministry of Justice, HM Prison & Probation Service.

Person specification

Essential criteria

 

The successful candidate will need to demonstrate their knowledge, experience, capability and behavioural approach to a high standard against the following key criteria:

• Extensive delivery experience and a successful track record of delivering results in a complex, politically sensitive environment with previous experience of working with Ministers
• Experience of working and negotiating with OGD, external and commercial stakeholders
• Resilience in managing significant operational risk and extensive public scrutiny
• The ability to plan, implement and monitor the delivery of stretching goals, identifying innovative ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the use of resources
• Inspirational and engaging leadership of large, diverse teams, building capability, raising employee engagement at all levels
• Strong financial management and contract management skills

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £75,000, Home Office contributes £20,250 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Online Application  

Please follow the Job Advert instructions on the Civil Service Jobs website to apply online, no later than 23:55hrs on Monday 15th January 2024.

Provide some basic personal information;

1. A CV - setting out your career history, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant for this role, including details where budgets and numbers of people managed, relevant achievements in recent posts, together with reasons for any gaps within the last two years;
2. A Statement of Suitability – (limited to 1250 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience, provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the essential criteria in the person specification.
3. Diversity Monitoring - as part of the online application process, you will be asked a number of diversity-related questions. If you do not wish to provide a declaration on any of the characteristics, you will have the option to select 'prefer not to say'. See the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy: 2022 to 2025 (HTML) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) for more information.

It is essential that in your written application you give evidence, using examples, of proven experience. These responses will be developed and discussed with candidates invited for interview.

Failure to submit both a CV and Supporting Statement will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification.

For further information on SCS careers and the application process, please see below:

Home Office SCS Further Information

Home Office Senior Leaders - Home Office Careers

Home Office SCS Application Process

Applying for Senior Civil Service vacancies - Home Office Careers

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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.