About the job

Job summary

The first duty of the government is to keep citizens safe and the country secure. The Home Office has been at the front line of this effort since 1782. As such, we play a fundamental role in maintaining the security and economic prosperity of the UK. The Home Office leads on immigration and passports, refugee protection, counter-terrorism, policing, fire services, and crime and drugs policy.

Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) enables the Home Office to keep the UK safe and secure. We design and build the services that help people apply for visas or passports; support policing and counter-terrorism operations; and protect the UK’s borders. 

This is an exciting time to be at the Home Office. You’ll have a chance to shape the future and support our mission to deliver exceptional public services that work for everyone. 

Our work is guided by these principles:

•    We put user needs first 
•    We value delivery and outcomes over process 
•    We work in the open 

Our flexible working policy ensures a healthy work-life balance. We also nurture talent and offer a broad range of learning and development opportunities that will help you flourish in your role. 

We work hard to maintain a positive working culture and are committed to helping you fulfil your potential. We value diversity and provide an open, inclusive and supportive environment to help you do your best work. 
You can keep up-to-date with our work on the Home Office DDaT blog.

Job description

As a senior member of the DDAT IT Operations Incident Management team, you will play a key role in the provision of service support at the Home Office, supporting vital national infrastructure and Home Office services.  You will support a user-base of 35,000+ Home Office users, over 400+ public-facing services used by millions, and diverse critical business areas including UK Visa & Immigration, Border Force, HMPO and policing.
 
You will be part of an IT Operations team focused on providing an industry-leading approach to technical estate management, exploiting the latest technologies, techniques and service management best practices to provide innovative solutions for real-time service support.
 
You will work closely and build relationships with other DDAT technical support teams, business areas and suppliers. You will also get the opportunity to learn about the variety of delivery and support approaches in place at the Home Office including Agile delivery and DevOps.

Further information

This post is eligible for a DDaT Recruitment and Retention Allowance (RRA) between £4,000 and £6,000. Successful candidates with exceptional skills and experience may apply for RRA. This allowance can be applied for once in post. Please note that the amount of RRA could be reduced or withdrawn at any time.

Home working will only be allowed under the government’s 60% hybrid working policy with the individual attending Manchester Soapworks or Croydon, Lunar House.

Due to the nature of the role and responsibilities the successful candidate will be required to undertake and business need, this post can only be offered on full-time basis.

Successful candidates will be required to undergo the Non-Police Personnel Vetting (NPPV3) process if they do not have the clearance already.

Person specification

Your main day to day responsibilities will be:
 
· Line-managing Incident Management team-members, supporting with and ensuring the effective management of technical incidents in line with incident management processes
 
· Ensuring accurate, detailed information about technical incidents is collected and logged in order to provide the relevant information to the appropriate DDAT support teams and to facilitate service and management reporting
 
· Providing a point of escalation for Service Desk team members and junior Incident Managers
 
· Owning and managing major incidents, including documenting major incident reports and lessons learned in a timely manner; and ensuring identified actions are completed
 
· Implementing and maintaining any changes to IT support operating models, reflecting the strategy as set by the Lead Incident Manager
 
· Ensuring users receive status updates on technical incidents, service requests and problems, alongside building and maintaining relationships with other DDAT leaders and suppliers
 
You will also be expected to carry out the following day to day activities:

•    Driving a culture of continual service improvement, encouraging team-members to identify and highlight incident management process and procedure improvements
•    Owning and managing lower priority incidents where required, with your main focus will be on major incidents
•    Liaising with Problem Management to support root cause analysis activities
•    Ensuring incident management reports and analysis are produced and shared as required
•    Supporting initiatives to improve IT Operations services, including research and testing of the latest IT Operations technologies and processes to further improve IT Operations services 
•    Supporting the onboarding of new / updated services as required, ensuring IT Support teams undertake the necessary training to upskill in the monitoring and support of the new services
•    Undertaking knowledge management activities: identifying, controlling and storing any relevant information, and maintaining knowledge items to ensure that they are current, relevant and valid 
•    Sharing knowledge and expertise with others, coaching and line managing team members as required 
•    Undertaking appropriate training for the role and seek to constantly improve performance through personal development
•    Participating, contributing to and supporting collaboration initiatives and career development within the IT Operations community, building in-house capability via a professional community of practice.

Essential skills

You’ll have a demonstrable passion for IT support, with the following skills or strong experience in:
 
•    Performing a similar role within the Civil Service or at other organisations

•    Experience of developing and adhering to ITIL v3 / v4 service management processes and procedures

•    Experience of leading large technical calls with proven stakeholder management skills

•    Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to communicate effectively and professionally

•    Ability to lead and work as part of a team and to engage effectively with suppliers and customers

•    Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills

•    Strong sense of ownership and drive to follow tasks through to completion

•    Deeply customer-focused
 
The skills listed above are reflective of the Home Office DDaT Profession Skills and Competency Model (based on the industry standard SFIA framework). Please see below for the relevant skills required for your role:
 
Strategy and Architecture:

• Business Strategy and Planning
• Knowledge Management (KNOW) – level 2

Delivery and Operation:

• Service Operation
• Incident Management (USUP) – level 4

 

Delivery and Operation:

• Service Operation
• IT Infrastructure (ITOP) – level 3
   

Delivery and Operation:

• Service Operation
• Problem Management (SLMO) – level 3

 
Delivery and Operation:

• Service Design

Service Level Management (SLMO) – level 3
 
Relationships and Engagement:

• Stakeholder Management
• Customer Service Support (CSMG) – level 3

Qualifications

•    ITIL v3 / v4 Foundation is desirable 

Desirable skills

Ideally you will also have the following skills or some experience in:
 
•    Business relationship management
•    Commercially and contractually astute to inform supplier management activities
•    Understanding of Lean, Agile and DevOps principles within a Product-centric delivery model
•    Knowledge and experience of using ServiceNow
•    ITIL v3 / v4 foundation (desirable)

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 CV - detailing your job history, skills, qualifications and any key achievements in each role
• A Suitability Statement

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

The Statement of Suitability should concisely explain, in no more than 750 words, your motivation for applying to this role, and evidencing how you meet the essential criteria listed on the Job Specification.

The sift will be based on the Suitability Statement. Your CV will not be scored, but instead will be used to provide further context on your personal statement, and support conversations at interview. 

Candidates shortlisted will be invited to an interview which a blended approach of Strength-based questions (no preparation necessary) and Behaviour - based questions on all listed behaviours.

Sift and Interview dates

The sift will commence 8th July 2024.

Interviews are expected to take place from 22nd July 2024.

We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to time constraints we may not be able to offer alternative interview date(s). It is therefore expected that candidates who are successful at sift stage will make themselves available during the above time frame given.

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

Please read the essential skills for this position carefully. We will only consider those who meet the listed requirement. 

If you have previously made an unsuccessful application for a role with the same essential skills and are not able to demonstrate how you have developed these skills since your last application please reconsider applying as your application is unlikely to be successful.

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.

A reserve list may be held for a period up to 12 months from which further appointment may be made.

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.