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Location
About the job
Job summary
Border Force is a Law Enforcement arm of the Home Office. We are responsible for handling the UK border control by implementing immigration and customs regulations and working with the wider Home Office on counter terrorism, organised crime, modern slavery and trafficking. Learn more on the Border Force careers page.
Preventing small boat crossings of the Channel remains a top priority for the Home Office. All levers and capabilities across HMG are being drawn upon to reduce the number of people successfully crossing from France and to manage humanely and efficiently those that are intercepted and brought to the UK.
A key part of the department’s response is driven by the Small Boats Operational Command (SBOC), an operational directorate within Border Force. SBOC delivers this through implementing world-leading surveillance technology on air, land, and sea, developing operational initiatives with France and other near-neighbour partners, and by providing capabilities and resources to support the interception and initial processing of people arriving by small boat in the UK.
Job description
Please note that you need to be over 18 in order to apply for these roles.
The area of work at Manston is currently a high-profile Government priority and is accountable to the Home Secretary for delivery. Manston is a Short-Term Holding Facility (STHF) and is operated by a service provider. This is a fast paced and high-profile area of work and is one of the Home Office strategic priorities, seeking to prevent and disrupt the threat from illegal migration and organised immigration crime.
This is a very exciting opportunity to work in a fast paced and varied role. Due to the work we do and where we do it, Border Force teams can operate in sometimes difficult and dynamic environments. These are public facing law enforcement roles where the work is often fast-paced and changeable.
As a Use of Force Support Officer, you will be working to the Higher Executive Officer who is responsible for ensuring the effective management of the Manston contractor accreditation and the monitoring and reporting of Use of Force of Detention Custody Officers at Manston. This role is critical to providing and ensuring effective compliance processes across Manston Site Ops which are fit for purpose. Your work may also include liaising with Operational Assurance teams, Immigration Enforcement Detention Services Team and Small Boats Operational Command (SBOC) Landside Operations.
Whilst the work is focused on Use of Force, you may be asked to work across SBOC, including Manston workstreams (contracted, security and maintenance services). Your support will be significant in strengthening existing capabilities to oversee operations to disrupt Channel Crossings, save lives at sea and ensure the safe and secure processing of arrivals in the UK.
You will need resilience as the successful candidate will need to be able to attend for all shifts including early starts and late finishes. These shifts may be outside of public transport operating hours.
You will also be expected to be flexible in approach in responding to emerging priorities, whilst providing operational cover and resilience.
Person specification
You will be required to:
- Supporting the senior lead by ensuring there is a robust process surrounding Use of Force. This could include, but not limited to; escalating issues; data collection and collation; providing reports.
- Supporting the senior lead in developing and maintaining, governance of Use of Force.
- Working alongside contractors (and wider internal collaboration) to support the management of the Use of Force process (ensuring best practice across Manston; data collating and reporting; quality assurance; arranging and attending Use of Force meetings).
- Establish and maintain excellent working relationships with key partners – custodial providers, healthcare providers, other Home Office teams and relevant local stakeholders.
- Where necessary deploy to other parts of the Small Boats Operational Command, (and Manston) which may include frontline operational work if appropriately trained. It will mainly be Manston and Dover locations dependant on business needs, but could on occasion be elsewhere within the UK for work related to SBOC on an as and when required basis.
- Working collaboratively and maintaining an excellent working relationship with key partners – custodial provider; other Home Office teams; and relevant local stakeholders, to ensure a 'whole centre' approach to the operation of Manston and care of those in detention, including working within the Manston Site Management Room.
Please note - you may be asked to undertake roles associated with your grade including frontline SBOC ad-hoc operational duties when required.
Essential Criteria
You will need to demonstrate the following:
- Experience of working within an operational environment and/or assurance background.
- Ability to demonstrate good stakeholder relationship building.
- Good organisation and planning skills.
- Working to a high standard of quality in a fast-paced environment.
- Working experience of Use of Force (including policies and processes).
- Working to tight deadlines and managing demanding but competing priorities.
- Excellent interpersonal skills.
- Proactive, adaptable, and motivated.
- Strong IT skills – Microsoft Word, Outlook and Excel.
- Ability to deal with different, complex and sometimes difficult situations.
Desirable Criteria
- Excellent interpersonal, communication and relationship building skills and enjoy working as part of a team.
- The ability to be flexible, adaptable, and creative in solving problems and dealing with changing situations.
- The ability to confidently manage potentially difficult and challenging situations.
- An objective and analytical approach. Being able to gather information from lots of sources, make a reasoned assessment and justify their recommendation both verbally and in writing.
- Experience of working in an immigration or detained setting environment
- A full valid UK manual driving licence.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Delivering at Pace
- Communicating and Influencing
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Working Together
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
- Delivering at Pace
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:
After submission of this first stage, you will be invited to complete a Civil Service 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 10th April 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 Test on a mobile phone or tablet.
Following successful completion of the test/s, you will then be asked to complete the full application form, which will consist of:
- a CV detailing job history and skills
- a statement of suitability (personal statement) (maximum 500 words)
- provide evidence of the lead behaviour Delivering at Pace (250 words maximum)
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 Delivering at Pace 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 behaviour Delivering at Pace 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 Delivering at Pace 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 problems with opening any of the attachments on this advert, or, you think you’ve made a mistake on an initial application (e.g. you have selected 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 346661 CLOSING DATE 10/04/2024.
For reasonable adjustments queries or requests, please see details within the 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 15 April 2024.
Interviews are expected to take place week commencing 6 May 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 and Barring Serviceon 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.
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 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 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.
Annual Hours Working Allowance
We operate 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. This role currently attracts Annualised Hours Allowance of 33.05%. 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)
Part Time Working
Please note this role is only available with full-time hours.
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.
Tattoos, including henna
A non-offensive visible tattoo is permissible, as long as it is not on the face or on the front or side of the neck (above the collar line). Tattoos behind the ear lobe on the back of the neck are also acceptable within these policy guidelines. You will be required to cover tattoos, when it is seen as appropriate for certain official events, e.g.: State Funerals, Opening of Parliament, Remembrance Parades, and other Ceremonial events. Under no circumstances should tattoos which could be considered offensive be visible. Examples of these include discriminatory; offensive; undermine political neutrality i.e.: rude, lewd, crude, racist, sexist, sectarian, homophobic or violent tattoos.
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 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.
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
Additional Security Checks: As well as successfully obtaining UKSV clearance and passing the right to work and pre-employment screening, anyone who applies to work for Border Force will also be subject to additional Border Force specific security checks, as part of the pre-employment process, to determine their suitability to work for the organisation.
Please see the Home Office Recruitment Privacy Information Notice (PIN) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/recruitment-privacy-information-notice for more information on how your details may be shared for the purpose of additional security checks.
Please see the Border Force Privacy Information Notice (PIN) on Border Force privacy information notice - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) for more information on how your details may be shared.
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.
