About the job

Job summary

Immigration Enforcement is responsible for enforcing the government’s immigration laws, tackling illegal migration, removing foreign national offenders and immigration offenders from the UK. It also aims to disrupt the organised criminal groups that exploit the vulnerable for their personal gain. Learn more on the Immigration Enforcement careers page.

Job description

This role offers the opportunity to join the Intervention Sanctions and Compliance (ISC) Foreign National Offender (FNO) Tracing Team within Immigration Enforcement (IE). 

The ISC FNO Tracing Team has a fundamental aim which is to help protect the public by attempting to trace all FNO’s liable to be deported who have absconded or who are unlawfully at large.

An individual is defined as an absconder where they leave the border control area without permission, escapes from detention, breaches one or more of the conditions imposed on them and who’s current whereabouts are currently unknown.

The FNO Tracing Team have responsibility for conducting intelligence led investigations utilising a number of internal and external databases and making requests for information to Other Government Departments. This activity is carried out on the most serious offenders who have convictions for War Crimes, Murder, Sex Offences and Rape (This list is not exhaustive). 

The overarching aim of the unit is to locate and refer any FNO absconders to a case working team within FNO Removals Command to process the case towards deportation from the United Kingdom.

This is an incredibly exciting opportunity to develop and embed a wide range of skills, in a role where you can make a real difference in the Home Office’s objectives to tackling illegal migration and reduce harm. 

This varied role entails working as part of a team in a fast-paced environment with a high level of political and media interest.  Full training will be provided.

Strong analytical and decision-making skills are required to aid investigations and make decisions when undertaking tracing checks. Successful candidates will work as part of a team utilising their investigatory skills to interrogate Home Office systems and the use of tracing tools in an attempt to locate foreign national offenders.

You will need to be enthusiastic, proactive, driven and have a good eye for detail, to enable us to deliver on our ambitious programme of work.

Line management responsibility may be required, alongside performance management responsibilities. There will be a need for you to develop your staff, providing sound technical advice and support through welfare check-ins.

Additional tasks may be required throughout your job role, to support your team, and across the department, to demonstrate quality, diversity and inclusion which will contribute to making IE a great place to work.

Person specification

Responsibilities:

•    Taking responsibility for managing an individual caseload of Foreign National Offender absconders.

•    Being responsible for Analytical and decision-making.

•    Producing high quality outcomes, explaining why decisions have been made

•    Managing, where you will have HR responsibility.                                                         

•   Reviewing and analysing multiple sources of information, updating systems accordingly and making the best decision based on available evidence.

•    Creating and maintaining positive and trusting relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.

Due to operational needs there may be some national travel to other offices required.

Essential Criteria

Candidates must be able to demonstrate:

•    Flexible, organised and have the ability to deliver tasks under pressure.
•    Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
•    Excellent analytical and decision-making skills with a keen eye for detail.
•    Be proactive and open to change, providing suggestions and ideas to contribute to improvements for the team.
•    Ability to work as part of a team in addition to working independently with minimal supervision.
•    Ability to demonstrate an excellent working level of IT proficiency in basic tools such as word, Microsoft teams, excel and power point.

Desirable Criteria

•    Experience of working with Home Office systems.
•    Immigration/operational casework experience.

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 500 words)
• Provide evidence of the Lead behaviour Delivering at Pace (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.

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 sift will be held on the behaviour Delivering at Pace and the statement of suitability (personal statement). 

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

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.

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

Problems during the application process                                                                     

If you experience accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, or you think you’ve made a mistake on an initial application (e.g. you have ticked the incorrect eligibility box), please contact hocandidates.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk at least two working days before the vacancy closes. After this, we may not be able to reopen your application.

Please note, we cannot make amendments to any part of the application.

Please use the following in the subject line in your email if you need to get in contact with us about your initial application “Please re-open my application – Vacancy Ref 347462 CLOSING DATE 24/04/2024. 

For reasonable adjustments queries or requests, please see details with reasonable adjustments section. 

Tie break decisions                                                                                                     

The strengths and/or behaviours being assessed will be ranked in order of importance to enable us to differentiate between candidates with tied interview scores. Please note that the order in which behaviours are listed in the advert does not necessarily reflect the order of importance.

Sift and Interview dates 

Sift is expected to take place week commencing 29th April 2024. Interviews are expected to take place week commencing 20th May 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
• Microsoft Teams

Candidates Please Note:

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.

Candidates Please Note: There is no shift working requirement, and therefore no AHW/AHA allowance available for this role.

We encourage applications from candidates who wish to work part-time however, unless specified in the advert, part-time opportunities cannot be guaranteed in frontline roles due to the 24/7 operational nature of the business. Those wishing to work part-time should notify the vacancy holder as soon as a provisional offer of employment is made to explore whether this can be accommodated [at your selected location]. Please note that full shifts (of up to 12 hours) will be required even if a part time contract is sought.

Please note that not all work patterns can be supported within this role, successful candidates should discuss work patterns with the vacancy holder ahead of accepting any offer.

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).

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.

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.