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?

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 am a UK National.
• I hold a full manual UK Driving Licence.
• I will be able to provide all the ID documents required to complete my pre-employment screening and security clearance.

Immigration Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) and Reporting Offender Management (ROM) teams are part of the Home Office’s strategic aim to reduce the number of illegal migrants present in the UK and to work with partners, employers and the public to increase compliance with Immigration and employment rules.

Working for Immigration Enforcement is rewarding, challenging and fast-paced, requiring quick decision making in demanding situations, whilst maintaining the highest standards of professionalism. Some roles are physically demanding, so you will also need to be physically fit.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to step into this challenging but rewarding leadership role.  In South Central and East of England reporting is managed at Police Stations. If you are passionate about making a real difference and are looking for a rewarding and stimulating career path, then come and see what we have to offer.

Given the fast-moving, reactive environment, flexibility is required, and you will need to be able to work within the core hours of 0800 – 1800hrs with occasional extended hours.

Due to the nature of the role, this is only being advertised on a full time basis.

You will report to the SEO (Senior Executive Officer) and will line manage approximately 6-8 direct reports.

There are two posts available- one in South Central which can be based in either Portsmouth or Plymouth and one in East of England which can be based in either Bedford or Felixstowe. For both posts wherever the job holder is based they will need to travel regularly to the other location, as well as to Police Stations across the area of geographic responsibility.

Responsibilities:

• Driving-up performance at the Police Reporting Sites through increasing operational productivity, detentions, Emergency Travel Documents (ETDs) applications and Intel gathering. 
• Effectively tasking resources and ensuring work is aligned to National Tasking Board priorities to maximise delivery. 
• Direct line management of approximately 6 to 8 employees, adhering to management best practice, HR policies and guidance and ensuring there is adequate resource to meet business needs.
• Ensuring employees adhere to enforcement instructions, legislation and guidance and progress cases (such as conducting all voluntary departures and detentions).
• Ensuring effective processes are in place to monitor all aspects of employee performance, maintaining and improving productivity and delivering value for money. Maintain and provide comprehensive and accurate statistics on Reporting Centre performance. 
• Working collaboratively and developing strong working relationships across all relevant teams to deliver business outcomes (e.g., detentions on reporting, voluntary departures, Emergency Travel Documents, Intel, Marriage investigations). 
• Leading and overseeing ad hoc projects across other Immigration Enforcement teams.
• Leading and developing a large team in an important area of Immigration Enforcement work and managing internal stakeholders through interactions with Immigration Compliance and Enforcement/ Criminal and Financial Investigations (CFI) teams, Detention Gatekeeper (DGK), Management Information (MI) SPOCs and Foreign National Offenders Removal Command (FNORC). 
• Leading on cultural work within Reporting Offender Management, progressing the People Survey action plan and engaging with the team/stakeholders to move forward the fair treatment and Operational Excellence (Op-Ex) work.  
• Act as a local Marriage Investigation Single Point Of Contact and oversee the investigation of allegations of sham marriage, civil partnerships and marriages of convenience.
• Managing relationships with Police colleagues to maximise efficiencies across the stations.
• You will also be required to travel to other Reporting locations across the region.

Successful candidates will be required to undertake the Personal & Public Safety Training (PPST) Level 2

Due to the fleet of vehicles a Full valid UK manual driving licence is required. 

Person specification

Responsibilities will include, but will not be limited to:

• Responsible for ensuring the senior leadership team remains informed, and that the vital flow of information between operations and the centre is maintained. 
• Need to be flexible as working priorities will change according to the business needs, setting clear direction to the team to ensure deadlines are met and that a high level of service is maintained.
• Comfortable working within a fast-paced environment, you will be a strong leader, able to engage and motivate your team, to deliver on key priorities.
• Given the fast-moving, reactive environment, flexibility is required and an ability to work within the core hours of 0800 – 1800hrs with occasional extended hours.

Essential criteria

The successful candidates will have the following proven skills:

• Ability to provide inspirational, inclusive, and engaging leadership in a fast-paced environment. Valuing diverse views, eliminating discrimination, harassment and bullying and actively promoting health and well-being.

 • Commitment to ensuring that within your area of responsibility, there is compliance with relevant legislation, policy, procedure and governance, including driving a culture of managing data securely in line with General Data Protection Regulation.  

• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to build strong stakeholder relationships with external and internal stakeholders and colleagues at all levels.
 
• Sound decision making skills and ability to make quick decisions in dynamic and evolving situations. Able to quickly analyse information from a range of internal and external sources, identifying risks and finding solutions.

• Working in a changing, fast-paced environment, with the ability to work effectively and collaboratively under pressure, to meet multiple, challenging deadlines and deliver on a range of key outcomes, whilst ensuring a quality service is maintained.

• Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise. You will also possess strong IT skills including Outlook Inbox and Calendar; Excel and PowerPoint.

Desirable skills

• Experience in leading teams through change. 
                           
• An understanding of IE Operations.

Benefits

www.careers.homeoffice.gov.uk/benefits

These are the benefits for you:

• 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 Management Judgement 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 May 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 tests are 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)

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 statement of suitability (personal statement).

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 352710 CLOSING DATE 22nd May 2024.

For reasonable adjustments queries or requests, please see details within the reasonable adjustments section.

Tie break decisions

The strengths and 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 June 2024.

Interviews are expected to take place week commencing 19th June 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 at Portsmouth, Felixstowe & Bedford. Further details will be provided ahead of interview.

Attach Supporting Documents

Do not attach any documents at this time.

Contact Details

Please use the following in the subject line in your email if you need to get in contact with us: Vacancy Ref 352710.

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

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 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.

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.

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 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

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

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.