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

Do you meet the key eligibility criteria?

• I will be able to provide all the ID documents required to complete my pre-employment screening and security clearance.

An Immigration Removal Centre ( IRC ) is a secure building that holds detained individuals (residents) who are held prior to their removal from the United Kingdom or for nationality and identification purposes.  There are currently six IRCs in England and one in Scotland, with two more planned to open in England soon, Haslar IRC and Campsfield House IRC.

All IRCs are overseen by the Home Office’s Immigration Enforcement Detention Services and are contracted out to private companies who ensure all aspects of the IRC are run safely and securely, adhering to relevant policy, standards, and legislation.

Detention Services is a command within Immigration Enforcement and is made up of several different business areas including Detention Operations, Portfolio, Corporate Operations and Oversight Team, Detainee Escorting Population Movement Unit and Central Support Services.  The Learning and Development team supports all areas of Detention Services and creates and delivers training packages for a variety of job roles.  

This is an exciting opportunity for you to be involved with needs analysis, design, delivery and evaluation of learning and talent interventions.

You will be responsible for: 

• Building relationships with colleagues across Detention Services, so that you can support each department with a bespoke training arrangement.
• Supporting each department to effectively implement training using coaching techniques.
• Proactively researching, creating, and designing bespoke training and awareness sessions for colleagues within DS and, if required, the wider IE community.
• Supporting and assisting in the ongoing training and development of DS Business Embedded Trainers (BETs).
• Utilising appropriate feedback models to collect information and adapt training packages accordingly so that they remain fit for purpose.
• Engaging with developmental conversations to improve the delivery of training sessions both in person and online.
• Increasing awareness and engagement with the professional development opportunities that are offered by the Civil Service, Home Office, Immigration Enforcement and Detention Services.
• The line management and professional development of Executive Officers (EOs) within the department. 

The role will require occasional travel to our locations throughout the UK, which may include overnight stays.

Person specification

You will be someone who can recommend suitable learning options that meet the requirements of individuals and teams. Someone who can manage learning and talent development projects which provide good value for money.  A supportive manager who can understand and articulate the needs of employees. 

You will: 

• Communicate with impact.  A key part of this role is the influencing and consulting key stakeholders to produce effective learning packages.
• Use data to make sure that people within detention services have the right skills, training, and knowledge to perform their vital roles and help guide their own development, whilst contributing to the wider IE strategy.
• Consider the overall learning strategy and be able to investigate potential internal and external learning opportunities that will help us develop innovative approaches to learning.

Essential Criteria:

• Strong interpersonal skills with proven ability to develop strong professional relationships with a variety of internal and external partners.
• Strong organisational skills with proven ability to plan, organise and manage time to deliver the best quality and efficient service.
• Experience of delivering training (online and in person) effectively using a range of techniques and tools to ensure engagement.
• Experience of having developed training packages that are fit for purpose and show a measurable impact. 

Desirable Criteria:

• Qualification in Education or Learning & Development (PGCE, CIPD etc.)
• Experience of using Teams, Excel, SharePoint, and PowerPoint
• Experience in line management

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 Developing Self and Others (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 Lead behaviour Developing Self and Others and 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 Developing Self and Others 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 Developing Self and Others 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 

You will also be required to prepare a short presentation (no slides or handouts required) to present at interview, further details around what the presentation will entail will be provided before the interview.

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 362289 CLOSING DATE 31/07/2024 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 5th Aug 2024.

Interviews are expected to take place week commencing 26th August 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

Selecting your locations

Please note only list locations where you are prepared to work and can travel to (as you could be offered any of your noted preferences).

When completing your application, you will have the opportunity to select your preferred location(s). Please ensure you select all locations you are interested in on the understanding that you can be posted to any location that you put in your preferences. If you would only like to be posted to one location, please confirm one location only. If you are posted to a location that you have requested and you do not accept that location, you may not be offered another role. Please note, only advertised locations can be offered.

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

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

Reserve List

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

Reserve lists will be managed by locational merit lists, appointing in merit order per location. You may be offered a post at any of your preferred locations.

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.

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.

Annual Hours Working Allowance:

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

Part Time Hours:

The minimum requirement for this role would be 30 hours per week.

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 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).

If you are successful in this position and choose to accept the provisional offer for this role, you will be removed from all other Home Office reserve lists at the same grade.

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.