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About the job
Benefits
Things you need to know
Apply and further information
Location
About the job
Job summary
Home Office Intelligence brings together a number of existing teams involved in the collection and analysis of border and immigration related intelligence. It delivers Intelligence Collection, Development, Analysis, Targeting (Data Analytics) and Watchlisting capabilities within the Home Office and to its partners across Government and Law Enforcement.
Learn more on the HO Intelligence 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 or automatic UK Driving Licence.
- I will need to undertake, and pass, a paid Pathway Programme of training if successful.
- I will be able to provide all the ID documents required to complete my pre-employment screening and security clearance.
- I can undertake shift work.
The Operational Security (Op Sec) function sits within Home Office Intelligence providing specialist independent advice and support to teams within covert disciplines and overt areas of Immigration and Borders business.
The Operational Security Advisor (OpSy) must be experienced in one or more covert discipline and is required to be a credible source of information and advice in the operational and covert arena. Whilst specific training is provided through the College of Policing the College training requires candidates to have specific experience and knowledge in the covert arena as a pre-requisite which is due to the main functions of an OpSy being largely focused in the covert world.
OpSy functions include:
- Investigation of suspected legislative breaches on behalf of the HO Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) in respect of all covert powers, including RIPA (2000), Police Act (1997) and the Investigatory Powers Act (2016).
- Review of operational compromise, identifying issues and providing advice and recommendations to improve policy and operational practice.
- To be an effective link with anti-corruption capabilities to ensure appropriate risk mitigation is in place to counter the risk of corruption and insider threats.
- Ensuring understanding and the appropriate application of the ‘Neither Confirm Nor Deny’ principles to protect covert methodology and equipment and techniques are applied.
- Provision of guidance and advice to staff and managers to ensure that assets, capabilities, intellectual property and organisational reputation are appropriately protected.
- To be a source of independent specialist advice at tactical coordinating group (TCG) and covert planning meetings, which necessitates experience in both the investigative and covert arena.
As an Operational Security Advisor you will work with the current Home Office Intelligence (HOI) OpSy’s to provide advice and support to operational colleagues across Immigration enforcement and Border Force on a variety of Operational Security related matters and issues. The role is varied and the breadth of issues, events, and occurrences that the OpSy is involved with is diverse, meaning whilst some functions are clearly defined, the variety of reactive issues means no two days are the same.
Op-Sec is split in terms of the provision of proactive assurance and inspection duties for accredited covert teams, and reactive work, which might include responding to an operational compromise, a legislative breach or a physical security incident or threat. Given the breadth and nature of work and the responsibilities of the department, the OpSy must be confident in their knowledge and understanding of investigatory process and powers, and must have experience of covert and sensitive tactics and legislation and knowledge of IE/BF business areas.
Please note: Once in post you will be expected to achieve IPP accreditation as an Senior Intelligence Manager within a reasonable time-frame (if you are not already accredited).
Please also note: Due to nature of the role this can only be conducted on a Full-Time basis.
Person specification
This is a specialist post; the role is challenging and as such you must be able to respond to dynamic and varied situations with confidence and proven knowledge providing sound and impartial advice to operational officers, intelligence officers, specialists and managers across the department and at all grades.
Essential Criteria
- A sound and demonstrable working knowledge and understanding of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA),
- Investigatory Powers Act (IPA) legislation and Police Act (part III).
- Proven experience of managing or advising in high risk law enforcement operational situations.
- Experience of working in a covert discipline or sensitive intelligence arena.
- Experience of law enforcement investigation processes and covert tactics.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Excellent interpersonal skills at all levels.
Desirable Criteria
- Professional OpSy qualification such as College of Policing L4 Operational Security Advisor Course/ CPNI accreditation or a relevant qualification in law enforcement or anti-fraud investigations e.g. PIP, ACFS or similar.
- A background in law enforcement with experience of investigation techniques and case management processes.
- Experience and knowledge of Border Force Customs and Immigration work.
- Experience in a counter corruption/Insider Threat field.
Please Note:
You will be able to start in post with SC clearance, however you must successfully obtain DV clearance once in post (if not already held). During the period where you hold SC clearance, you will only perform elements of the role which fall under SC clearance. If your DV clearance application is unsuccessful, you would be moved into a role which only requires SC clearance. This may not be within the same business area and you will not have a choice on which role you would be moved to.
Licences
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
- Seeing the Big Picture
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
- Making Effective Decisions
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 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 job history/qualifications/skills (The CV will not be scored)
- A statement of suitability (personal statement) (maximum 1000 words)
- Provide evidence of the Lead Behaviour - Making Effective Decisions (maximum 250 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 behaviour - Making Effective Decisions and the statement of suitability (personal statement).
The CV will not be scored.
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 behaviour - Making Effective Decisions 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 behaviour - Making Effective Decisions 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
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 344516 CLOSING DATE 2nd April 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 8th April 2024.
Interviews are expected to take place week commencing 29th April 2024.
We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert, however on occasion 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
Location
Please 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.
Note for Candidates:
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.
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.
Northern Ireland is part of the UK. As stated in the Belfast Agreement, also known as the Good Friday Agreement, the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland recognise the birthright of all the people of Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as Irish or British, or both, as they may so choose, and accordingly confirm that their right to hold both British and Irish citizenship is accepted by both Governments and would not be affected by any future change in the status of Northern Ireland.
Annual Hours Working Allowance
We operate 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. This role currently attracts Annualised Hours Allowance of up to 28% of salary, depending on location. This is to compensate for working shift patterns including night shifts, early morning starts, late night finishes, weekends and public holidays. Shifts can vary in length and can be up to 12 hours. Shifts can be changed or extended according to business need. The rate payable is dependent on location and role and is indicative of the shift pattern you will be required to work.
The higher the AHA, the more flexible you will be required to be. Please note that the allowance is subject to regular review and can go down as well as up.
Age: These are shift working roles and so you must be at least 18 years or over to apply for this role. You will be required to work between 22.00 and 06.00, so this is a legal requirement. For more information visit: https://www.gov.uk/night-working-hours and Child employment: Restrictions on child employment - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
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).
Travel
There will be regular travel across the UK including occasional overnight stays.
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
See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
Nationality requirements
Working for the Civil Service
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).
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
Recruitment team
Further information
principles, and wish to make a complaint, then you should contact in the first instance
HORecruitment.GRS@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission.
