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

Reporting and Offender Management (ROM) Teams are part of the Immigration Enforcement Team. ROM are responsible for the attendance and management of a large number of Immigration offenders, who, due to their current circumstances and conditions of their Immigration bail are required to maintain contact with the Home Office. Contact with the reporting population can be via numerous formats including face to face attendance at one of the 14 reporting centres within the UK or at a suitable designated location.

The teams are an integral part of Immigration Enforcement and play a key role in detaining and removing those that remain illegally in the UK, promoting a compliant environment and encouraging voluntary departure. The successful candidates will undertake a range of duties, which supports this strategy:

Reporting and Offender Management (ROM) teams are an integral part of the Immigration Enforcement strategy, and work within the Immigration, Enforcement and Compliance (ICE) Teams.

Those who are required to report are predominantly asylum seekers and immigration offenders. ROM teams monitor reporting regimes, obtain intelligence, promote voluntary returns and identify those suitable for an enforced removal.  The ROM function proactively contributes towards a reduction in the number of illegal immigrants present in the UK.  

ROM teams are responsible for achieving three key objectives.

• Meaningful contact that encourages voluntary return.
• Management of a reporting population that drives compliance.
• Progression of cases towards enforced return or other case conclusion.

You will lead the Reporting and Offender Management (ROM) team at the selected location.

This post provides an opportunity to develop your skills in several areas. This is high volume work, and your focus will be on workflow and compliance activity, ensuring effective business delivery in line with targets, policy, processes and legislation. Some flexibility is required for this role, as Reporting Centres are in transition and increasing their scope of activity. 

Due to the nature of the role, there may be occasions when you will be required to work later than the scheduled working day. In addition, occasional weekend work may be required for which you would be reimbursed. Applicants should take this into consideration when applying.

Person specification

Responsibilities:

• Managing a team of Admin Officers and Executive Officers, undertaking all relevant HR management processes to support.
• You will be a professional and visible role model to staff, maximising staff development and performance.
• Providing consistent strategic and operational direction and clear leadership to your teams. You will drive measurable performance improvements and build on, as well as reinforce, a culture of professionalism, accountability, and integrity.
• You will maintain a motivated and capable team and fostering an inclusive culture of innovation that helps makes IE a great place to work.
• Managing operational delivery by ensuring the team are identifying and successfully referring those who are liable for Detention on Reporting (DoR); and ensuring that all referrals for action into and out of the Reporting Centre are acted upon in accordance with agreed processes including via the tasking process for detentions and Emergency Travel Document (ETD) interviews.
• Analysing ROM team performance on a regular basis to identify opportunities to improve productivity and better ways working. This will include assessing volumes of reporting, type of reporting and structuring frequency in line with national guidelines. You will also work with the HMIs and AD on performance issues and acting upon management information requests.
• Liaising with stakeholders to represent the interests of the Reporting and Offender Management teams, including Asylum, Returns Preparation, Criminal Casework, National Removals Command, Detainee Escorting and Population Management Unit (DEPMU) and any other relevant business areas.
• Undertaking partner engagement with external partners to address ROM related issues and encourage compliance with voluntary return.  This includes liaison with local Police and management of off-site reporting at Police stations.
• Managing and coordinating the governance, accountability, risk and assurance activities for ROM in line with IE’s assurance policies.
• Keeping and updating registers of Risk Assessments, Safe Systems of Work and safety manuals. Maintaining records for Self-Assurance and Quality reviews, and providing returns as requested.
• Demonstrating excellent leadership skills and the ability to manage a team.
• Demonstrating the ability to work in a demanding, fast paced and pressurised working environment, including the ability to prioritise demands, have excellent organisational skills and be able to effectively deal with conflicting priorities.
• Demonstrating strong communication and influencing skills, with an ability to work quickly and build rapport with colleagues and partners.
• Demonstrating the ability to make effective decisions with limited information and be flexible, adaptive and creative in solving problems and dealing with change.
• Having excellent organisational skills, including an ability to be self-starting and balance limited resources across competing priorities.
• Being a strong team player who works collaboratively. Have a flexible approach to delivery, be supportive of colleagues and look for ways to improve processes to balance demand.

Essential Criteria

You should be able to demonstrate the following:

• Strong interpersonal, communication, and relationship building skills, and experience dealing with the public, internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience of working in a fast-paced environment where flexibility and problem solving were required with the ability to plan and organise effectively, considering multiple factors.
• Experience of working in a team environment, working collaboratively to achieve a range of goals.
• Experience of using own judgement and expertise to quickly identify relevant key, priority or urgent issues and possible solutions.
• The ability to plan and organise effectively, considering multiple factors.
• Confident in the use of the Microsoft Office suite of products.
  
• Experience of line management.

Please Note: You must be willing to obtain Immigration Enforcement Public and Personal Safety Training (PPST2) Level 2. Please see 'Further information', below, for details.

Desirable Criteria

• Management experience or the potential to develop your management skills.
• Knowledge and experience in an Immigration setting.

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• 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 lead Behaviour Delivering at Pace (maximum 250 words)

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 Lead behaviour Delivering at Pace and the Statement of Suitability (personal statement). 

However, if a large number of applications are received, the sift will be conducted on the Statement of Suitability (personal statement) only. 

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 Delivering at Pace 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 'Delivering at Pace' 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 on all listed behaviours.

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

PLEASE NOTE: Due to time constraints we may not be able to offer alternative interview date(s). It is therefore expected that candidates who are successful at sift stage will make themselves available during the above time frame given.

Sift and Interview dates

Sift is expected to take place week commencing 15th January 2024.

Interviews are expected to take place week commencing 5th February 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

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.

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

Where multiple locations are available 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.  

When completing your application you will have the opportunity to select your preferred location(s). Please ensure you select only up to two (2) locations you are interested in. Candidates who are successful at Interview will be placed in order of merit per location and provisional job offers will be made in strict merit order per location preference. Provisional offers are made, as they are on condition that you successfully pass all pre-employment checks.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to time constraints we may not be able to offer alternative interview date(s). It is therefore expected that candidates who are successful at sift stage will make themselves available during the above time frame given.

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.

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

 If you are considering applying for part time hours, please contact HORCCampaignTeamIE@homeoffice.gov.uk to discuss your request as not all working patterns may be accommodated.

Appearance
As part of this role, you will be required to wear a uniform (which will be provided). Staff must ensure that their uniform is worn correctly, in line with these uniform standards, is kept clean and is well presented. To support this requirement, adequate uniform supplies will be available and issued. Uniformed staff represent their organisation at all times and should ensure that their dress and personal appearance reflects this responsibility.

Public and Personal Safety Training (PPST) – Level 2
These roles can be physically demanding and if successful you will be required to complete and pass specialist training including Personal Safety Training (PST) Level 2 which develops skills in personal safety such as tactical body positioning, breakaway, blocking and parry. A formal offer will be conditional upon you being physically fit to undertake and pass the training.

You must be prepared to undertake regular refreshers of this.

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 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

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.