About the job

Job summary

This is an exciting role for a motivated individual within the newly created Illegal Migrations Operations Command (IMOC) working under Director General Stuart Skeates, Strategic Operations for Irregular Migration. 

The IMOC will work across the Migration and Borders system and the Home Office to implement and then operate the processes within the new Illegal Migration Act.

This role is within the new end to end case working function called Illegal Migration, Relocation & Returns Service which is currently being established. 

The Illegal Migration Relocation & Returns Service (IMRRS) casework command will be responsible for managing the cases of individuals who fall under the duty to remove, from point of claim to their relocation to a safe third country, the country of which they are a national, or one for which they hold a passport/identity document. It involves ensuring that we have the most effective systems to progress both the cases of individuals in detention and those released into the community awaiting relocation or removal; removing legal barriers; that we continue to evolve our response to ensure it is digitised, efficient and continue to drive innovation.

This is an exciting time to join the unit which will be operational in line with the anticipated commencement of the Act.

Job description

We need operational delivery managers to join the following teams:

Removals Desk plan and arrange the return of individuals in the UK who fall under the duty to remove within the new Illegal Migration Act. Working collaboratively across the Home Office teams such as Detained Casework, Returns Logistics, Detention Services, PACT, Non-Detained Casework and others to relocate individuals to a safe third country, the country of which they are a national, or one for which they hold a passport/identity document.

Detained Case Progression Team are responsible for the lawful management and progression of cases for individuals in detention before and while plans are made to relocate the individuals to a safe third country, the country of which they are a national, or one for which they hold a passport/identity document. The team will work collaboratively across the Home Office to ensure the period of detention is managed in accordance with detention policy and guidance.

These are exciting, dynamic, and fast paced environments with new challenges being faced daily. By working in the newly created Illegal Migrations Operations Command (IMOC), you will develop and maintain knowledge on a wide range of immigration matters which is invaluable for those looking for a career across the breadth of the immigration system. 

Both rewarding and challenging, these roles will provide you with the opportunity to: 

• Work at the heart of Government and be in a position to positively affect some of the challenges facing our country today
• Use and develop skills and talents to build a rewarding career
• Be in a flexible, skilled, professional, and diverse environment that values and promotes a healthy work/life balance

Removals desk will be based in Southport, Detained Case Progression Team will be based in Glasgow and Belfast. If you are successful, we will match your location to one of our teams.

Your team(s) might be:

• Planning and arranging the removal or relocation of an individual to a safe third country, the country of which they are a national, or one for which they hold a passport/identity document
• Ensuring there is correct and appropriate information about individuals to assist with travel documentation and agreement for their removal or relocation
• Managing the case progression of individuals in detention in line with policy, guidance and legislation
• Considering vulnerability concerns of individuals in detention and making recommendations regarding ongoing detention
• Referring representations and applications to the correct teams for timely and proper consideration

Some of the key responsibilities in these roles include (but are not limited to):

• Line management and countersigning responsibilities – participate actively in the development of staff and your teams, conducting regular meetings and performance reviews and supporting your staff to develop their capabilities and career pathways
• Support the achievement of business plan strategies and key deliverables – reviewing, developing, and implementing business change processes to improve quality standards, efficiency and effectiveness
• Have effective oversight of team performance and action plans to drive unit performance and empower team managers to improve quality standards, efficiency and effectiveness
• Reviewing recommendations and authorising decisions regarding detention, case progression and removal or relocation, ensuring they are compliant with legislation and relevant business area policies
• Keeping up to date with changes in caseworking and removal processes, policy, guidance, and legislation
• Able to grasp new concepts quickly, to understand other business area priorities and ensure that your team share information and knowledge to enable other areas to deliver on their own aims and deadlines
• Implement and support change – sharing information, managing proposed changes, and developing effective relationships with other teams and external and internal stakeholders
• Excellent communication skills – with the ability to tailor this to suit your audience
• Carrying out a diverse workload – including thematic responsibilities designed to meet business strategies and support with higher priority work with stakeholders.
• Contribute to briefings and submissions as requested on high priority matters and develop the ability to anticipate potentially sensitive issues that could attract media attention and highlight to the Senior Leadership Team
• Assurance management – ensuring effective assurance frameworks within the organisation to mitigate risks by supporting quality assurance programmes to enhance professionalism and drive performance
• Identifying individuals who are potentially vulnerable and taking necessary steps and decisions to safeguard vulnerability in the handling of their case
• Be aware of and escalate risk and high profile matters to senior managers without delay
• Unit management – role model exemplary leadership behaviours to get the best out of your teams and those who work with you

The above is indicative, not exhaustive. To meet the needs of this evolving team you will be expected to work flexibly across the unit’s priorities in order to deliver high-quality and timely outcomes and you will be required to keep immigration knowledge up to date.

Person specification

We are looking for proven operational delivery leaders, who can successfully deliver operational outcomes to challenging objectives. You will need to be able to work under pressure, have a strong delivery focus and be flexible, adaptive and positive in solving problems and;

• Learn and understand policies, processes and procedures
• Able to think in an objective and analytical manner – be able to see the big picture as well as the finer details
• Able to effectively prioritise and manage workloads to meet deadlines and balance conflicting priorities – able to react and adapt to changing circumstances
• Have strong communication skills – effective written and verbal communication skills with an ability to get complex information across in a clear and succinct way
• Be confident with IT – able to learn how to use different software platforms/packages and promote this within your teams/unit
• Able to demonstrate sound, positive interpersonal and relationship-building skills and thrive to lead, support and motivate those around you, and be committed to continuous improvement
• Enjoy working collaboratively with your peers, other teams and external and internal stakeholders, dealing with people in a professional manner
• Passionate and proactive leadership – developing our people and improving our services

Essential criteria

• Strong leadership skills, motivating and encouraging teams to deliver against the strategic and operational objectives
• Effective organisational, time management and prioritisation skills whilst maintaining good attention to detail
• An ability to work and make decisions at pace and under pressure with a flexible and positive approach
• Able to build good team and stakeholder relations
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with an ability to get complex information across in a clear and succinct way
• Effective IT skills with ability to quickly learn and encourage the use of new/different IT platforms
• Experience of working within a fast-paced environment

Desirable criteria

• Experience/knowledge of the immigration system

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.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete:

• Statement of Suitability (Personal Statement) (maximum 1000 words)
• Provide evidence of the behaviour 'Leadership' (maximum 250 words)

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

The Personal Statement 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

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

Sift

The sift will be completed initially on the Personal Statement.

The Personal Statement will be marked first for all candidates. Candidates who meet the minimum pass score for the Personal Statement, will then go on to have their lead behaviour 'Leadership' scored and will receive sift scores for both elements. Candidates who fail to meet the minimum pass score for the Personal Statement will not have their lead behaviour scored and will only receive a sift score for their Personal Statement.

Interview

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 based on all behaviours listed within the job 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 week commencing 4th March 2024.

Interviews are expected to take place week commencing 25th March 2024. 

We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert, however these may change due to business needs. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates.

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

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

It is advisable to access your interview from a windows operating system laptop, desktop, phone or tablet as there is no guarantee that Microsoft Teams will work without issue on an Apple laptop, tablet or desktop.

Further information

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

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 and generating of examples/answers from internet sources including Artificial Intelligence. If any is detected the application may be withdrawn from the process. Further action, including disciplinary action, may be considered in such cases involving civil servants. Providing false or misleading information would be contrary to the core values of honesty and integrity expected of all Civil Servants.

Please note: 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.

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). 

A reserve list may be created for other similar roles for a period of 12 months. Selection will be in Merit Order to fill the same role or similar roles with closely matching “Essential criteria” and Success Profile elements without further assessment.

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.