About the job

Job summary

The Home Office has one of the most challenging and critical jobs in Whitehall: to keep Britain safe and secure. We operate at the heart of the Government's agenda, leading on immigration and passports, drugs policy, crime policy, counter-extremism and counterterrorism and work to ensure visible, responsive and accountable policing in the UK. The challenges the Department faces are significant and can change rapidly in the global environment in which we operate, making this one of the most exciting and stimulating Government Departments in which to work.

Internal Investigations comprises of the Professional Standards Unit (PSU), the Anti-Corruption Criminal Investigation Unit (ACCIU) and the Internal Investigations Hub. Both PSU & ACCIU provide a fast-paced investigation capability undertaking both Civil and Criminal investigations across the Home Office. The commands remit is expansive, and our investigators undertake investigations into a wide variety of case-types.

PSU investigations range from serious external complaints (from members of the public), internal Home Office misconduct cases which constitute discipline and grievance investigations, Whistleblowing, referrals to/from the Independent Office for Police Conduct and other oversight bodies for Scotland and Northern Ireland, Management Reviews and Safeguarding Practice Reviews. In addition, PSU provide a cross Government investigation service to over 20 Other Government Departments.

ACCIU investigations address internal corruption matters, proactively preventing harm to the Department and victims of criminal offences committed by staff members, whilst ensuring those committing crimes are pursued via criminal proceedings.

The Internal Investigations Hub is the epicentre of this activity being the first point of call for all enquiries into the Command. The team currently assess over 1,000 referrals per year including critical incidents and Raising a Concern (including Whistleblowing) contacts, whilst providing further analysis and intelligence capabilities for all types of investigation. It is a small and flexible team covering a wide range of functions in what is a dynamic and fast paced environment which is currently undergoing change to improve the command’s intelligence capacity.

Job description

This is a fast paced and sensitive work area, and the role will require an individual who has experience of working optimally, accurately, and positively at pace with ability to prioritise a diverse range of duties.

The successful candidate will be required to attend 6 weeks training at our Manchester office. The attendance will be mandatory and on site for the duration of training.

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).

Please note a combination of office and home-based working will only be offered upon the successful completion of on-site training for up to 6 weeks at our Manchester office.

The Internal Investigations Hub operates between the hours of 07:00 and 19:00. The successful applicant must be flexible and available to cover shift working within these hours under the Annualised Hours Working System (AHW).

The AHW system currently attracts a pensionable payment of 14.08% in addition to the advertised salary.

The role will require occasional travel which could also include overnight stays.

Due to the nature of the role, this post is available on a full-time shift working basis only.

Person specification

Candidates should expect to perform the following as part of their core role:

• Confidently manage new referrals made to the unit, being the single point of receipt for allegations of serious misconduct, fraud and corruption for the entire Home Office, including those made via the Department’s whistleblowing line; accurately registering, assessing, researching and allocating these allegations to the correct team, including referring incidents to oversight bodies such as the IOPC where necessary.
  
  
• To support investigators in the identification and gathering of evidence for investigations and assisting with other tasks to progress their investigations.

Candidates should expect to be performing some, but not necessarily all, of the following in addition to their core role, this list is not exhaustive and other responsibilities commensurate with the grade may grow as the team develops.

• Conduct research and compile reports into alleged computer misuse by HO staff and contractors, contributing to the creation of a zero-tolerance culture across the Home Office.
  
  
• Assist in the production of accurate Management Information, by interrogating Internal Investigations systems to produce key information, identifying trends and themes.
  
  
• Conduct intelligence development of referrals by enriching received intelligence through the interrogation of available systems, Home Office databases and conducting open-source research.
  
  
• Produce intelligence packages to be taken forward operationally by ACCIU and production of intelligence reports for dissemination both within the Home Office and to external agencies.
  
  
• Assist in the production of reports which have impact across the Home Office, such as the Lessons Learned, and Threat Assessment programmes.
  
  
• Assist with the development of the Civil Service Investigation Service, by liaising with stakeholders across government to ensure payment for services is processed and received.
  
  
• Support the unit’s budgeting, procurement, office management and other secretariat functions.

Essential Criteria

• Excellent verbal communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
  
  
• Strong written communication skills, being able to pay attention to detail and summarise and present information concisely.
  
  
• Ability to provide accurate note taking and identify action points.
  
  
• Professional and customer-focused to meet the high standards of conduct and behaviour.
  
  
• Be proficient in and have a good solid understanding of various Microsoft Office packages, including MS Excel.
  
  
• Be willing to apply for SC clearance prior to starting and be willing to apply for Developed Vetting (DV) when in post.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience in an operational role, preferably in a law enforcement environment.
• Intelligence Professionalisation Programme (IPP) accredited.
• Previous experience of SharePoint administration.

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, Ability and Experience.

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 Reasoning 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 23:55pm on Thursday 29th February 2024.

If you fail to complete the online test or full application before the deadline, your application will be withdrawn.  

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

Candidates who successfully pass the test will be asked to complete: 

• a statement of suitability (personal statement) (maximum 750 words)
• provide evidence of the behaviour Making Effective Decisions (250 words maximum)

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

The Statement of Suitability should explain your motivation for applying to this role and offer evidence how you meet the essential & desirable criteria listed on the Job Specification only.

We will not assess any behaviours on the statement of suitability.

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

However, if a large number of applications are received, an initial sift will be conducted on the lead behaviour Making Effective Decisions. Candidates who pass the initial sift will then be progressed to a full sift.

If you are successful at sift stage, you will be invited to an interview which will be behaviour-based questions on all behaviours listed in the advert.

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 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 of successful candidates will be kept for 12 months. Should another role become available within that period you may be offered this position.

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 or a contractor working within the Home Office, 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.

Visa sponsorship

We are unable to sponsor any individuals via Skilled Worker Sponsorship / Tier 2 (General) work visas as we do not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License.

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.