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

Do you meet the key eligibility criteria?

In order to be eligible, you MUST meet ALL the following criteria.

• I am at least 18 years old at the time of application.
• I hold a full manual UK Driving Licence.
• I will need to undertake, and pass, a paid Pathway Programme of training if successful.
• I will be able to provide all the ID documents required to complete my pre-employment screening and security clearance.

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. 

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

Person specification

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

Key responsibilities include:

• 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.
• 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.
• Creating, where appropriate, referrals for tactical activity and ensure 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

You should be able to demonstrate these skills and experience:

• 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 first be asked to confirm your eligibility by providing some basic personal information.

After submission of this first stage, you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Verbal Test.

If you successfully pass this test, you will then be invited to complete the full application form. Please complete the online test as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the test and full application form is 23:55 on 22nd April 2024. If you fail to complete the online test or full application before the deadline, your application will be withdrawn.

Guidance for the Civil Service Test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The test is administered online and accessed via the Civil Service Jobs website.

You CANNOT complete the Tests on a mobile phone or tablet.

Following successful completion of the test, you will then be asked to complete the full application form, which will consist of:

• A statement of suitability (personal statement) (maximum 750 words)
• Provide evidence of the lead behaviour - Making Effective Decisions (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 behaviour - Making Effective Decisions 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 Lead behaviour - Making Effective Decisions 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 - Making Effective Decisions 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

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

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

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 348359 CLOSING DATE 22 April 2024.

For reasonable adjustments queries or requests, please see details within the 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 face to face (Conference House in Portishead). Further details will be provided ahead of interview.

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

Reserve List

Where a competition identifies more appointable candidates than there are available vacancies, a reserve list may be held for up to 12 months.

Whilst on a reserve list we may offer you an alternative similar role in the Home Office. Should you reject an alternative role, you will remain on the reserve list for the role you applied for. If you accept an alternative role, you will be withdrawn from the reserve list.

Please note there are no guarantees that further vacancies will arise in the locations you originally applied for before your time on the reserve list expires.

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 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.

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.

Part Time Working

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. 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).

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

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.