About the job

Job summary

The Home Office is here to make our country safer. As well as working to protect the most vulnerable, reduce crime and enforce the law, we also work to, and have a proud history of, providing refuge to those who have been displaced or are seeking asylum. Whether it is fighting crime, protecting our borders or combating slavery, the Home Office (HO) is at the cutting edge of public policy in this country and our work is some of the most challenging and rewarding in government.

The role of the Public Safety Group, which sits within the HO, is to keep the public safe by protecting the vulnerable, cutting crime, disrupting the highest harm criminals, and ensuring that our police, fire and rescue services are as trusted, efficient and effective as they can be in delivering front line public services. 

The people in our Group develop and implement policy, provide funding, and deliver legislation. We make the most of innovation, data, and partnerships to protect the vulnerable, prevent crime, and tackle the highest harm crimes. We work with our partners in law enforcement, establishing governance arrangements at a national, regional, and local level.

Job description

We fund the work of a wide range of front-line agencies and are committed to supporting innovation and good practice sharing across the systems we lead. Within PSG, the Police and Fire Funding & Criminal Justice Strategy Unit (PFCU) leads on police funding policy, fire funding policy, the Home Office’s criminal justice strategy and police productivity. 

The Police Productivity Team is responsible for productivity across policing and ensuring that police forces maximise the investment of 20,000 additional police officers, made over the last 3 years. Our workstreams include reviewing the Police Funding Formula Review, leading on the engagement with the independent Policing Productivity Review and driving work across policing, the Home Office and wider government to reduce burdens of “non-police” activity of police forces It also includes identifying and incorporating more efficient and effective ways of working for police officers and staff.

We are currently recruiting for two Senior Executive Officer's (SEO) to work in the team supporting a range of policy, strategy, and financial activity. These exciting roles will allow you to lead on aspects of one of the Home Office’s policy areas set to have a significant impact on policing in the coming years. 

There will be opportunities to travel to other work locations on occasion where required, where the cost associated with this travel, and any overnight stay if necessary, will be met by the business area. 

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). 

Person specification

As a Senior Policy Advisor, you will need to build and maintain strong working relationships with a wide variety of Home Office teams across analysis, communications, finance, legal and private offices, as well as senior external police sector stakeholders and other Government departments. 
 
Some of the key responsibilities of your role include but are not limited to:

• Being capable and confident to further the work on police efficiency and productivity, both within the Home Office and in the wider policing sector. 

• Developing and maintaining a big-picture view of areas such as barriers to productivity (i.e., non-police demand) and of police funding and related financial policy. 

• Preparing briefings and recommendations for Senior Civil servants and Ministers based on their understanding of the landscape.

• Maintaining effective relationships with stakeholders, including the policing sector, academics, and other government departments. 

• Monitoring progress of work against milestones, identifying risks and working with others to address issues as appropriate.

• Collaborating with analysts, technical experts, and the policing sector to develop policy that is evidence-based, future-proofed, and stimulates productivity and efficiency in policing.

The position will likely come with line management responsibilities for one Higher Executive Officer (HEO). This could be remote line management and is dependent on where the post holder is located. 

You will be expected to support work across the team where required, with a willingness to flex to business priorities across the team.

Essential Criteria:

• Good organisational skills and experience of working in a fast paced and changing environment, along with planning and collaborating to meet deadlines on multiple pieces of work.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills, using language to clearly articulate recommendations with the ability to tailor methods to suit audience.

• A self-starter, with the ability to often work independently and adapt effectively to changes in circumstances.

• Strong engagement skills with a collaborative approach to your work and the ability to quickly form productive relations with stakeholders and colleagues at varied levels.

Desirable Criteria:

For this role, the below experience would be beneficial, but is not essential:

• Project/Programme management experience.

• Experience of line management.

• Experience working in a policy, analytical or finance environment.

• Experience or knowledge of the policing sector. 

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.

As part of the application, you will be asked to complete:

• A CV (job history)
• Statement of Suitability (Personal statement) (500 words maximum)
• Evidence of the two behaviours 'Communicating & Influencing' and 'Delivering at Pace' (250 words maximum per behaviour).

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

The Statement of Suitability must be aligned to demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria as detailed in the job advertisement.

The sift will be held on the Statement of Suitability and the two behaviour examples. Your CV should consist of your career history, including any key achievements in each role. It will not be scored, but instead will be used to provide further context on your personal statement, and support conversations at interview.

In an event where a high volume of applications are received, an initial sift will take place using the Statement of Suitability. Candidates who pass the initial sift will be either progressed to a full sift or straight to interview.

Successful candidates shortlisted for interview will be tested on a blended approach of Strength based questions (no preparation necessary) and all the behaviours listed in the advert.

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.

Sift and Interview Dates:

The sift will take place week commencing from 12th February 2024
Interviews will take place week commencing from 4th March 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.

Interviews will take place remotely. Candidates will be required to have access to:

• A laptop (personal or work) with a working webcam
• Good internet connection
• Microsoft Teams

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.

Further details and instructions will be provided closer to the scheduled interview.

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.

Please note: The successful candidates will be required to hold or be willing to secure Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) clearance.

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

A location based 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.  

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. Candidates who are successful at Interview will be placed in order of merit per location and provisional job offers will be made in strict merit order per location preference. Provisional offers are made, as they are on condition that you successfully pass all pre-employment checks.

We often have similar roles available at different grades. If a candidate is suitable for a similar role or a lower grade than they have applied for, we may offer the candidate that role without the need for them to go through a further selection process.

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.