About the job

Job summary

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (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 general public. We are a unique organisation with staff seconded or loaned from across the civil service, police forces and fire and rescue services. We are also a rewarding place to work. We set ourselves high standards, taking great pride in the quality of work we achieve and the opportunities we create for our staff.

Job description

HMICFRS Joint and National Police Inspections Portfolio (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.

Inspection Officers develop an understanding of a range of inspection processes whilst working alongside staff from across HMICFRS, the police and fire & rescue services.

As a home worker, you will normally be expected to work independently from home when not carrying out fieldwork for inspections or required to be in the office. Therefore, you must be a highly-motivated individual with the ability to plan and prioritise your work and consistently deliver to a high standard. The role will involve regular travel and overnight stays.

JNPIP is responsible for carrying out national thematic inspections, the inspection of national law enforcement agencies and non-Home Office police forces. This includes a rolling programme of ‘Integrity’ inspections of how effectively and efficiently police forces deal with police counter-corruption, vetting, and professional standards.  

This vacancy is within the Integrity programme and is for an individual with extensive knowledge and expertise of the disciplines within the Integrity programme i.e. police counter-corruption, vetting and professional standards.

Person specification

Responsibilities

• Support inspection leads in the design, planning, and implementation of the Integrity rolling programme and thematic inspections
• Develop and maintain effective working relationships within HMICFRS and externally across the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), the Home Office and the College of Policing (CoP).
• Ensure that the Integrity programme ‘s methodology remains current and reflects developments in legislation, authorised professional practice (APP), and strategic policy.
• Be part of a specialist inspection team undertaking interviews, focus groups and file reviews as well as some planning, logistics functions. Please note on occasions the role will require you to travel to various locations across the UK and work away from home.
• Undertake desk-based evidence collection, including file reviews, specialist document reviews, analysing data and drawing evidence-based conclusions to support inspection and portfolio team leads.
• Ensure effective analysis of inspection findings and contribute to the assessment process, weighing up evidence to inform judgements as required.
• Contribute to the preparation of force reports, including analysis of themes, report drafting and approval through to publication.
• Undertake high quality research, prepare briefings and respond to correspondence for and on behalf of HMICFRS and the Portfolio Team. This will include freedom of information inquiries, presentations on subject matter areas and media queries.
• Maintain knowledge and expertise of all elements of the Integrity programme to ensure flexibility to work across the team and provide cover for inspection leads. This may include representing them at meetings and providing briefings for senior leadership team members.

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

• Experience of the management of police counter-corruption or professional standards teams
• Experience working in a police integrity related field/s (counter-corruption or professional standards) such as in the development of policy, strategy and legislation
• 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

• Strong analytical skills and the ability to interpret complex evidence and present clear conclusions;
• Experience of effective relationship management and working with a range of partners and senior stakeholders
• 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;
• Ability to meet deadlines and maintain standards whilst working both independently with minimal supervision and as part of a team; and
• Have a flexible approach to working and be able to manage competing demands.
• An understanding of office-based computer systems with experience of using applications such as Microsoft Outlook, MS Excel and MS Word. 

DESIRABLE CRITERIA

• Experience of inspection processes
• Completion of one or more of the following the College or Policing training courses:
  • Counter Corruption Silver Course
  • HoPSD/AA professional development training
  • PSD Investigators professional development training
• Holder of full ~UK driving license

Benefits

• 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  and development opportunities  including access to  coaching and mentoring,  and five days volunteering per year,

HMICFRS has an Inspection Development Programme and linked accreditation process that all inspection staff undertake in our organisation. The scheme is approved by Skills for Justice and is based on you demonstrating competencies against a framework of role-specific tasks. The expectation is that all new inspection staff will complete a portfolio of evidence within agreed timescales (normally 12 months) and once this is complete it will be assessed by a trained assessor.

• 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 Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates and people with disabilities, as they are currently under-represented within this grade level. Appointments will be made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.

• A Civil Service Pension

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

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.

The Civil Service has adopted the Success Profiles recruitment approach to enable us to attract more diverse candidates, and recruit the best talent from across all backgrounds (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles).

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a Personal Statement (Max Word Limit: 1000).

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

Please note an initial sift will be carried 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 will progress to the second stage of the sift process.

The second stage of sift will be based on the lead behaviour communicating and influencing. If your application progresses to a full sift, all behaviours will then be considered.

Should you pass the 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 – week commencing 3rd June 2024

Interviews by Video link – week commencing 24th June 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

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

A location-based reserve list of successful candidates will be kept for 12 months. Should another role or similar role become available within that period you may be offered this position.

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.

New entrants into the Civil Service are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

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.