Detention Services Senior Operations Officer

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. To gain a greater understanding of these exciting and challenging roles please go to the Immigration Enforcement careers page.
What is an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC)?
An IRC is a secure building that holds detained individuals (residents) who are held prior to their removal from the United Kingdom or for nationality and identification purposes.
All IRCs are overseen by the Home Office’s Immigration Enforcement Detention Services and are contracted out to private companies who ensure all aspects of the IRC are run safely and securely, adhering to relevant policy, standards, and legislation., The role of the Senior Operations Officer is dynamic and exciting. You will manage a mix of reactive operational situations as well as planned compliance activity. You will run the Home Office Compliance team, comprising of Operations Officers , whom you will line manage, and who ensure effective service delivery by the IRC Supplier and provide assurance that the centre is operating appropriately in line with Home Office expectations, legislation and published standards and policies.
The Compliance Team are based onsite to ensure that detained people are treated humanely and with care whilst being held securely. The team monitor a broad range of activities, from checking the quality of cleaning and catering, to monitoring use of force and removal of residents from the IRC onto chartered flights.
Working within the Compliance Team is both interesting and challenging. You will work on various workstreams encompassing changing priorities, making no two days the same. Maintaining high levels of co-operation with our service providers, stakeholders, and other interested parties, and communicating effectively and professionally is a key part of operating the compliance team.
Training
You will be required to complete Personal Safety Training (PST) Level 2 that must be refreshed annually.
You will receive full training and support to do the job. Training takes place initially in the classroom and then continues on the job with a mentor who supports you until you are fully confident in the role. Even then you are never alone; you work as part of a team where there is always someone around for advice and support. Further information on what the training involves can be found on our website.
This role is suitable for part-time working hours, with a minimum requirement to work 30 hours per week., + Providing oversight of a robust monitoring schedule, testing the contractual compliance of the service provided by the IRC’s Supplier.
+ Ensuring that the site is run properly and securely in accordance with Detention Centre Rules 2001, Operating Standards, Detention Service Orders and the contract with the private IRC Supplier.
+ Providing effective management to a team of Operations Officers, ensuring work is evenly distributed and outputs monitored. Allowing team members to deliver high performance, whilst also developing a learning culture.
+ Supporting the Operations Manager and Service Delivery Manager in the completion and implementation of action plans from third parties within agreed timescales.
+ Carrying out Immigration Enforcement's statutory duties around the centre, including authorising the use of temporary confinement or removal from association and investigating complaints made against the contractor, when required.
+ Providing an out of hours on-call service for Detention Operations – shared with the Operations Officers.
+ Representing the Home Office at a range of internal meetings, including strategy meetings for difficult removals, daily operational meetings and resident consultative and other meetings as required.
+ Chairing weekly contractual meetings, which reviews the contractor’s performances and challenges non-delivery.
+ Providing briefing and advice about the policies and procedures of the centre to senior managers as and when required in response to parliamentary questions and other official correspondence.
+ Producing monthly reports that provide essential data and statistics about contract delivery and the population in the centre.
+ Facilitating and lead on official visits to the IRC when required.
+ Occasional travel required for face-to-face meetings with managers from other IRCs., We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
+ Communicating and Influencing
+ Leadership
+ Making Effective Decisions
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
+ Communicating and Influencing, We will endeavour to conduct the selection process in line with the dates indicated below, but cannot guarantee that these will not, where necessary, be revised.
Application – by 30th September 2024.
As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete:
+ Personal Statement (maximum 750 words).
+ Evidence of the Behaviour Communicating & Influencing (maximum of 250 words).
The Personal Statement should be aligned to and demonstrate how you meet the skills and experience set out in the essential criteria, detailed in the job description.
For guidance and information on how to construct your application ( Personal Statement and Behaviours), you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers website.
Sift – week commencing 2nd October 2024.
The sift will be held on the Personal Statement and behaviour Communicating and Influencing.
Should a high volume of applications be received, the sift will be conducted only on the Personal Statement.
The Personal Statement will be scored for all candidates. Those candidates who achieve the minimum pass score for the Personal Statement will progress to a further sift where the behaviour will be scored. These candidates will receive a sift score for both elements. Candidates who fail to meet the minimum pass score for the Personal Statement will not have their behaviour scored and will only receive a sift score for the Personal Statement.
Interview – week commencing 22nd October 2024.
If you are successful at sift stage, you will be invited to an interview that will be:
+ Behaviours (as listed in the job advert) and Strength based questions.
The interviews will take place on Teams.
Problems during the application process
If you experience problems accessing this advert, or you think you’ve made a mistake on an initial application, please contact hocandidates.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk, including the vacancy reference, at least two working days before the vacancy closes. Further information can be found on our website.
Reserve List
A reserve list may be held for a period of up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made. There is no guarantee that being held on a reserve list will lead to a job offer. Further information can be found on our website.
Candidates judged to be a near miss at interview may be offered a post at the grade below the one advertised without the need to go through a further selection process, providing the role has the same Success Profiles elements and essential skills. There is no guarantee that further such vacancies will arise.
Security Checks
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is CTC.
Additional Security Checks
As well as successfully obtaining UK Security Vetting clearance, candidates will be subject to a range of additional checks. The range of checks carried out will depend on whether you are a current Home Office employee, existing civil servant or an external new entrant as well as the role requirements. Further details are included in the Notes to Candidates.
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.
Locations
You will only be able to select a single location preference so please ensure this is a location that you are prepared to travel to. If you are offered a role at your preferred location and you decline, your application will be withdrawn.
Further Information
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
For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting
If you are invited to an interview, you will be required to bring documentation for the purposes of establishing your identity.
You will need to meet the nationality requirements for this role and obtain the necessary security clearance to take it up. For meaningful security checks to be carried out, individuals need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time. Learn more on our website. Security Checks - Home Office Careers
Visa sponsorship
We do not sponsor individuals via Skilled Worker Sponsorship / Tier 2 (General) work visas.
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 undergo a criminal record check.
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.

Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window)., If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the recruitment
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.

+ Excellent interpersonal skills with proven ability to develop good working relationships with a variety of internal and external partners.
+ Excellent organisational skills with proven ability to plan, organise and manage own time to deliver the best quality and efficient service and meet targets independently.
+ Excellent management skills to manage a diverse team.
+ Ability to work under pressure with a flexible and positive approach whilst paying attention to detail.
+ Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to tailor their delivery to suit their audience and confidence in chairing meetings, leading on presentations to suppliers and senior managers.
Desirable Criteria
+ Experience of working in a detention or prison environment.
+ Understanding of the Immigration system.

In addition to your salary, a career with the Home Office offers a range of benefits, including:
+ A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
+ In-year reward scheme for one-off or sustained exceptional personal or team achievements.
+ 25 days annual leave on appointment, rising with service to 30 days.
+ Eight days of public holidays, plus one additional privilege day.
+ 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.