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.

North Immigration Compliance Enforcement (ICE) & Reporting Offender Management (ROM) is a directorate within Enforcement, Compliance & Crime (ECC) covering Scotland, Northern Ireland , Wales and the North and West of England. Our mission, using intelligence and in accordance with our control strategy, is to utilise our skilled and professional workforce to tackle immigration abuse and protect the vulnerable.

Our purpose and focus will always be to play our part in contributing to Government’s top priorities that include tackling illegal migration, removing those with no right to be here, protecting the vulnerable, reducing the size of the illegal population and the harm it causes and to protect the integrity of the immigration system.

Honesty, Integrity, Impartiality, Objectivity, and our wider regional values will always be at the heart of everything we do. We will always deliver our core business as efficiently and effectively as we can to achieve the very best outcomes.

ICE & ROM North: Four Nations, one Region, Enforcing Immigration Law and driving compliance to protect and deliver for the communities we serve.

Job description

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 in Glasgow.

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.

We are committed to investing in our staff and offer a range of work-based training, coaching and mentoring opportunities to help you acquire skills to deliver IE goals.

Due to business needs and the nature of the role, this vacancy does not offer flexible working.

Person specification

The successful candidate will be responsible for (but not limited to):

• Managing a team of Admin Officers and Executive Officers, undertaking all relevant HR management processes to support then, as well as being 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
• Maintaining 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 external partners such as Police Scotland
• 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 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

Essential Criteria

• Have strong interpersonal, communication, and relationship building skills, and experience dealing with the public, internal and external stakeholders
• Work collaboratively with colleagues and stakeholders, as well as independently, to agreed timescales
• Be a strong team player, have a flexible approach to delivery, be supportive of colleagues and look for ways to improve processes to balance demand
• Have excellent organisational skills, including an ability to be self-starting and balance limited resources across competing priorities
• Be able to use their own judgment and expertise to quickly identify relevant key, priority or urgent issues
• Be confident in the use of Microsoft Office products
• Have line management experience

Desirable Criteria

• Knowledge and experience in an Immigration setting

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:

• statement of suitability (personal statement) (maximum 750 words)
• provide evidence of the Lead behaviour Leadership (250 words maximum)

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 Leadership and the statement of suitability (personal statement). The CV will not be scored.

However, if a large number of applications are received, the sift will be conducted on 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 Leadership 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 Leadership 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.

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 362845 CLOSING DATE 8th August 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 12th August 2024.

Interviews are expected to take place week commencing 2nd September 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.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure Scotland on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. 

If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

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.

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.

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.

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/AHA allowance available for this role.

Part Time Working

The minimum requirement for this role would be 35 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 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.

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.

Training and Development

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 Public and Personal Safety Training [PPST] 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 is not an option

This role is not suitable for a combination of office and home-based working due to the requirements of the role. Successful candidates will be required to attend the office/other work location as specified in the advert at all times, to carry out this role.

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 undergo a criminal record check. 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.