About the job

Job summary

HMICFRS independently assesses the effectiveness and efficiency of police forces and fire & rescue services – in the public interest.  We promote improvements in policing and fire & 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 which 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 (https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/) 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. 

This advert is for former HMICFRS associates only, to re-join the associate register, carrying out the same type of duties as before. If you have not worked as an HMICFRS associate, or if you have been an associate but left the register more than 12 months ago, you will need to apply as a new starter in the next associate recruitment campaign. 

You must have left the register within the past 12 month to apply to this scheme. You will not be eligible to apply unless three months have passed since leaving the register. 

If you have been an associate for 4 years when leaving the register, you will not be eligible unless 1 year has passed since leaving the register. 

Please note - if there is no history of working for HMICFRS as an associate on the CV submitted to us, your application will be rejected. 

Job description

Associate inspectors work on short-term contracts across all parts of HMICFRS’ inspections. They bring specialist skills and provide extra resilience to help us to achieve our busy policing, fire & rescue service and joint inspection programmes.

We are particularly interested in applications from people with experience in the following areas:

• Victim service assessments: Crime file reviews.
• Victim service assessments: Crime Data Integrity
• Counter Corruption/Professional Standards
• Protecting vulnerable people, including child protection.
• Serious and Organised Crime (SOC) or National Crime Agency (NCA)
• Vetting

If you are successful, you will be registered as an associate and placed on HMICFRS’ register of associates for up to 24 months.

During this time, you may be allocated short-term fixed-term appointment contracts for inspection or other project-based work. The work you’ll be offered depends on:

1. Business need
2. Level of role and leadership required.

Responsibilities

As an associate you will be required to help design, lead or support inspections across HMICFRS. The main responsibilities will be as follows:

• Act as an ambassador for HMICFRS ensuring the highest standards of professional conduct, are demonstrated at all times. 

• Provide advice and guidance to HMICFRS on the subject matter and the knowledge experience within your specialist area of expertise. 

• Work with colleagues across the organisation to promote HMICFRS’s objectives, purpose and to embed organisational change. 

• Collaborate with inspection teams to prepare inspections. 

• Be responsible for carrying out inspection fieldwork and evidence gathering (e.g. focus groups, interviews, reality testing) to a consistently high standard and recording the evidence gathered in a way that provides a sound evidence base
• Support inspection leads and ensuring that the right type of evidence is gathered; including briefing inspection teams prior to inspection, analysing data, drawing conclusions and drafting reports. 

• Work with portfolio director and deputy portfolio director to make sure reports follow set processes for being factually accurate, as well as moderating reports. 

Effectively communicate with chief officers, HMIs and senior government officials and their staff in accordance with HMICFRS values and the Civil Service code and ensure that an objective and productive relationship is maintained throughout the inspection.

Person specification

Regardless of specialist skills, all applicants will be expected to have the following skills and experience (essential criteria): 

Essential criteria

• Must have worked previously as an associate within HMICFRS.
• Experience in at least one of the areas listed in the person specification details section below.
• Experience of gathering a wide range of data, including that which may be incomplete and/or complex, or editing and proofreading reports based on this data.
• Ability to draft well-considered and balanced reports.
• Effective leadership and management skills.
• Effective oral and written communication skills, with experience of preparing, formal structured papers or submissions of a high standard for presentation to senior managers and other stakeholders.
• Proven record in contributing to projects, inspections or reviews.
• Good understanding of office-based computer systems and the capability to use different computer applications such as Microsoft Outlook, MS Excel and MS Word. 

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of working within a police or fire and rescue service, or a related field of work.
• Experience in auditing and/or value for money assessments. 

Personal Specification Details for each area are as follows;

COUNTER CORRUPTION & PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

Completion of one or more of the following College or Policing training courses:

• Counter Corruption Silver Course
• HoPSD/AA professional development training
• PSD Investigators professional development training

Extensive knowledge of one or more of the following:

• APP professional standards: counter-corruption intelligence
• Police Reform Act 2002
• The Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020
• The Police (Complaints and Misconduct) Regulations 2020

VICTIM SERVICE ASSESSMENT: CRIME FILE REVIEWS

Experience in the following:

• Being a Senior Investigating Officer (to PIP 3 where appropriate).
• Good knowledge of criminal law, police crime investigation procedures and police command and control, and crime management systems. 

VICTIM SERVICE ASSESSMENT: CRIME DATA INTEGRITY PROGRAMME  

Experience in one or more of the below:

• Have recent (within the last two years) knowledge and application of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) and Home Office Counting Rules (HOCR)
• Good knowledge of criminal law, police crime recording procedures and police command and control, and crime recording IT systems.
• Have experience of auditing police and crime records.

PROTECTING VULNERABLE PEOPLE- PEEL, THEMATIC, SPECIALIST AND JOINT INSPECTIONS

Experience in one or more of the following:

• Robust strategic and operational knowledge, understanding and experience of police responsibilities and practices in relation to protecting vulnerable people which may include child protection, managing registered sex offenders, mental health or police custody. And/or SIO experience of PVP/non-recent abuse investigations
• Recent experience of managing Protecting Vulnerable People (PVP) investigations and/or police safeguarding activities
• Experience of police partnership working specifically around the protection of vulnerable people (operational and/or strategic)
• For child protection: An excellent understanding of and experience in the role of the police in child protection issues, including detailed knowledge of police and other partner agencies’ responsibilities under the ‘Working Together’ statutory guidance.

SERIOUS AND ORGANISED CRIME or NATIONAL CRIME AGENCY 

Experience in one or more of the following:

• Experience working in SOC intelligence or SOC investigations.
• Working in regional organised crime units or the national crime agency

VETTING

• Experience of the management of police vetting units including the development and implementation of policy.
• Extensive knowledge of the vetting code of practice and vetting authorised professional practice (APP) including experience of their application in the vetting decision making process. 

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role

       We will ensure you are briefed on what you need to know when taking up your role.

• 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 in a ‘hybrid’ way. 

Hybrid working enables employees to work partly in their workplace(s) and partly at home. A hybrid working pattern may be available, where business needs allow. Applicants can discuss what this means with the vacancy holder if they have specific questions.

• 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

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and Personal Statement (Max Word Limit 500).

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

Your Personal Statement should demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria set out in this advert.

Please note your CV will not be scored during but will be used for background information.

We are recruiting associates for several roles across various skills specialisms.

At the start of your Personal Statement, please state clearly which skill area you consider to be your lead or key skill. This should be taken from the following bullet-pointed list:

• Counter Corruption & Professional Standards
• Crime Data Integrity
• Victim Service Assessment
• Protecting Vulnerable People
• Serious and Organised crime / NCA
• Vetting

The sift will be carried out on your Personal Statement.

We will carry out a paper sift, which will assess how well your Personal statement meets the essential criteria. Therefore, the personal statement should be clearly aligned to the essential criteria. If you do not meet those criteria, your application will not progress past this sifting stage. 

Please note, your CV will not be scored during the paper sift but will be used to confirm you have worked within HMICFRS as an associate to be eligible to apply. If you are not eligible, your application will be withdrawn.

You will not be required to attend an interview as part of the application process.

Sift date

The paper sift is expected to take place during week commencing 19th February 2024.

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

A reserve list may be held for a period up to 12 months from which further appointment may be made.

You will be appointed on non-fair and open, duration-based contracts at a pre-agreed rate. We may also be able to offer you a non-fair and open fixed term contract (as a temporary civil servant), if the piece of work is likely to be for more than 6 months but less than 1 year. When the period of the fixed term appointment comes to an end, you will return to the register providing the duration of your registration has not yet expired. These are not consecutive appointments. Where contracts are offered on a Fixed Term Appointment basis, this will be to help with a temporary increase in work.

Registration as an associate is not a guarantee of employment. Nor is it a route to becoming a permanent civil servant.

Please Note - We have the right to withdraw your application at any point in the recruitment process if we determine you to be ineligible based on the rules set out above.

Eligibility:

• Associates currently or previously on the HMICFRS associate register: you will not be eligible to apply unless 3 months has passed since leaving the register. If you are unsure on eligibility, please contact Recruitment@hmicfrs.gov.uk. Please note, we have the right to withdraw your application if we determine you to be ineligible based on the rules set out at any point in the recruitment process. 

• HMICFRS reserves the right to remove an associate from the register at any point before the end of your 24-month registration period. The associate register is regularly reviewed in line with HMICFRS business need so that the available skills and experience it provides remain focused on our priorities.

• Due to business requirements this role is only available as home - based (although depending on the contract, you may be asked to travel to other locations).

Home Office employees:
Home Office policy does not allow an existing employee to hold more than one employment contract at any single point in time within the organisation. If you are offered a place on the associate register, therefore, you cannot remain in your existing role concurrently. You will need to choose whether to remain in your current post or accept a place on the associate register. Please note, as specified earlier in the advert, a place on the associate register is not a guarantee of work. You will be contracted and paid a daily rate on an ad hoc basis as and when your skills are required.

Please be aware that this role is only available to applicants living in the UK.

Allowances
For short term contracts of less than 6 months, the daily rate for these posts is between £180, £265 and £300 dependent on the requirements of the contract offered. Tax and national insurance will be deducted at source.

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.

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.