About the job

Job summary

Home Office Intelligence brings together a number of existing teams involved in the collection and analysis of border and immigration related intelligence. It delivers Intelligence Collection, Development, Analysis, Targeting (Data Analytics) and Watchlisting capabilities within the Home Office and to its partners across Government and Law Enforcement. Learn more on the HO Intelligence careers page.

Job description

The Operational Intelligence Units (OIUs) are part of Home Office Intelligence. OIUs include operational and non-operational staff who develop intelligence products to protect vulnerable people and communities while reducing the illegal population and the harm that it causes.

You will be required to receive, record and develop intelligence, as directed by an Intelligence Manager, to deliver Home Office Intelligence priorities.

The role of intelligence is continuing to develop within the Home Office as we aim to professionalise roles through staff training and qualifications. The successful candidate will work towards an Intelligence Professionalisation Programme (IPP) accreditation within the first year in post.

The Home Office is also developing an IPP career pathway framework to set out how intelligence practitioners can proactively move between IPP organisations to improve their intelligence knowledge and skills sets.

Please note: 

Due to the demands and nature of the role, this role would only be available for full time applicants. Compressed hours could be considered.

Person specification

Responsibilities to include but are not limited to: 

• Managing a team of Intelligence Researchers and monitoring workflow.
• Assessing incoming Intelligence referrals in line with local, regional and national priorities.
• Prioritising and directing the appropriate response including research, further intelligence collection and priority tasking.
• Attending Tasking and co-ordination group meetings representing Intelligence Enforcement.
• Ensuring that research and Intelligence reports are accurate and that Intelligence is sanitised correctly by participating in the audit and assurance of work.
• Managing the dissemination of Intelligence.
• Where appropriate, creating referrals for tactical activity and ensuring that all actionable Intelligence or identified offences are referred to the appropriate teams.
• Establishing and maintaining good working relationships with operational colleagues and key intelligence and delivery partners.
• Supporting the Intelligence manager in the management and improvement of performance and positively introduce and support transformational change.
• Ensuring Intelligence gaps and new patterns of abuse are quickly and accurately reported to the Intelligence manager to inform the wider Immigration picture and support national threat assessments.
• Any other duties within the scope of the grade and within the limits of skill, competence and training.

Essential Criteria

• Experience of leading a quality team in a fast-paced environment.
• Effective oral and written communication skills with good attention to detail.
• The ability to work flexibly to meet business needs.
• Use of multiple sources of information to support decision making.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of working in an intelligence environment and/or Home Office Immigration Enforcement.
• Ability to demonstrate a good working level of IT proficiency in basic tools such as word, excel and power point.

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 750 words)
• provide evidence of the 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.

The sift will be held on the behaviour Leadership and the statement of suitability (personal statement). 

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 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 scored and will therefore only receive a sift score for the statement of suitability.

However, if a large number of applications are received, the sift will be conducted on the statement of suitability (personal statement) 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 the behaviours listed within the advert.

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

Sift and Interview dates

Sift is expected to take place from 13 March 2024.

Interviews are expected to take place from 3 April 2024.

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

Interviews will be carried out via video. Candidates will be required to have access to:

• A laptop (personal or work) with a working webcam
• Good internet connection
• Skype for Business/Microsoft Teams

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.

Note for Candidates:

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.

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.