** Illegal Migration Operations Command (IMOC) - Illegal Migration Intake Unit - G6 Head of Operations South
Home Office
Apply before 11:55 pm on Wednesday 1st May 2024
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About the job
Job summary
The Home Office works to build a safe, fair, and prosperous UK. We achieve this through our work on counterterrorism, policing, fire, crime, nationality, and immigration policy.
The Illegal Migration Intake Unit (IMIU) is part of the Illegal Migration Operations Command (IMOC) within the Migration and Borders Group in the Home Office.
IMIU consists of the Kent Intake Unit in Dover and Folkestone; the Manston Intake Unit in Ramsgate, the Midlands Intake Unit within Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removals Centre; the Belfast Intake Unit, the Remote Operations Hub in Heathrow, and the Intake Response Team which is a national function providing critical support to all of IMIU. A People and Planning team provides corporate enablement to the operation.
IMIU is currently made up of over 850 officers (increasing to c.1,100) and is responsible for processing those arriving in the UK illegally, including those arriving by small boats or concealed in lorries. The Belfast Intake Unit also processes those already in-country who seek to claim asylum.
Job description
This is a new position created to head up the IMIU Operations in the South which includes the Kent Intake Unit in Dover and Folkestone and the Intake Response Team (a mobile unit) in the South. You will be reporting to the PB1 Head of the Illegal Migration Intake Unit.
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity and inclusion at the Home Office. We are committed to creating a welcoming, inclusive workplace where all our people are able to bring their whole selves to work and perform at their best.
We encourage applications from people from the widest possible diversity of backgrounds, cultures and experiences. We particularly welcome applications from people from ethnic minority backgrounds, as they are currently under-represented in the Home Office at this grade level. Appointments will be made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.
This is an excellent opportunity to undertake a very high profile, fast paced senior leadership role within a complex and politically sensitive operation.
KIU Dover, which is part of IMIU, is a specialist unit, responsible for processing vulnerable unaccompanied children arriving in Kent by small boats and in lorries. KIU is also responsible for undertaking initial age assessments of all those arriving in Kent who are claiming to be children. Dover is a short-term holding facility, where those assessed as children or age disputed (requiring a full Local Authority assessment) are processed, prior to Kent County Council (KCC) collecting them for their placement in the community. KIU Folkestone is a short-term holding facility, where adults detected in Kent arriving in the UK clandestinely are processed by KIU officers.
The IRT South is part of a large mobile unit responsible for dealing with a variety of IMIU workstreams including referrals from Immigration Enforcement to attend police stations to process asylum claims from those in police custody and for acting as surge capacity for small boat arrivals in Kent when KIU and Manston operations require support.
Person specification
The main duties of the post include (but are not limited to):
• Leading, motivating, developing and supporting a large 24/7/365 frontline uniformed operational team (c.350-400 FTE) in the South region, within a time-critical, demanding, highly pressurised and high-profile environment
• Working with a wide range of partners (such as Border Force, Immigration Enforcement and Asylum Support, Resettlement and Accommodation) and external stakeholders (such as Kent County Council, Police and other enforcement bodies) to ensure the effective and efficient processing of persons arriving illegally in the UK
• Working with NGOs and contractors to ensure the safety and welfare of unaccompanied children in the KIU, including oversight of a team of social workers who support the work of the team and ensure the needs of children are met whilst they are in the care of KIU
• Developing age assessment capability across the team to ensure consistent standards and quality controls are in place and that age assessments stand up to scrutiny and are policy compliant
• Setting clear direction, prioritisation and governance for teams to operate within, to ensure IMIU activities and sites are fully compliant with legislation and policy, including on immigration detention time limits
• Line managing and supporting a team of operational G7s (Assistant Directors) to maximise the capability of the unit by ensuring clear development plans are in place and skills gaps are addressed, with a particular focus on enhancing leadership capability at CIO-G7 level
• Building a culture focused on the wellbeing, engagement and development of IMIU colleagues
• Developing, implementing, and maintaining robust quality assurance protocols for both data and processing tasks
• Ensuring all resource is fully utilised to deliver optimum performance and outputs, and that processing capacity can meet demand; ensuring contingency plans are developed and implemented where resourcing falls short of requirements
• Implementing new systems, processes and policies to operationalise the Illegal Migration Act; supporting the Government’s priority to deter illegal migration to the UK
• Being an engaged and proactive member of the IMIU Senior Leadership Team, ensuring contributions towards shared objectives
• Budget management responsibility, ensuring value for money for the taxpayer; driving efficiencies by adopting continuous improvement principles and adherence to financial management protocols
• Being part of an on-call rota with the IMIU SLT, covering a 7-day period for out of hours phone calls and emails (evenings and weekends), once every several weeks
This is a demanding role that requires strong leadership presence in the operation, therefore the post is only suitable to full time workers (not part time or compressed hours) who can be office based in Dover or Folkestone for at least 60% of the week.
Due to this being a 24/7 operation, candidates will be required to participate in an on-call IMIU SLT rota and be available to cover the rota for 7 days, responding to urgent operational telephone calls and joining meetings out of standard office hours.
Travel will be expected to other IMIU locations. T&S is payable in line with current guidance.
The vacancy is advertised on a voluntary transfer basis only.
DBS clearance required.
Essential Criteria
You will need:
• Experience of leading large teams in a demanding operational environment
• Experience of delivering results under time constraints and pressure
• Must have experience of building and maintaining great working relationships with internal and external partners
• Evidence of thinking creatively to problem solve
• To manage conflicting priorities whilst having a good awareness of political sensitivities
• The ability to see the bigger picture when making difficult decisions
Desirable Criteria
• Borders and Enforcement experience would be beneficial but not essential
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Communicating and Influencing
- Leadership
- Managing a Quality Service
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
- Seeing the Big Picture
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 your Job History
- Complete a Personal Statement (maximum 1250 words)
- Provide evidence of the Lead Behaviour Seeing the Big Picture (maximum 250 words)
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
The Personal Statement 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.
The sift will be held on the CV, Lead Behaviour, and the Personal Statement.
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.
For guidance on how to construct your personal statement, behaviour examples and answers to strength questions we would advise visiting the Civil Service Careers Website and the Strengths Dictionary.
Sift and Interview Dates.
- Sift is expected to take place week commencing 13th May 2024
- Interviews are expected to take place week commencing 27th May 2024
We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert - however these may change due to business needs. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates.
Interviews will be carried out either Face to Face or via MS Teams.
If interviews are held face to face they will be held at either; Unit 5, Channel View Road, Dover or Frontier House, 7 Shorncliffe Road, Folkestone. Please note the interview location will be based on the Interview Panel’s availability only.
If interviews are carried out via Microsoft Teams, candidates will be required to have access to:
- A laptop (personal or work) with a working webcam
- Good internet connection
- Microsoft Teams
It is advisable to access your interview from a windows operating system laptop, desktop, phone or tablet as there is no guarantee that Microsoft Teams will work without issue on an Apple laptop, tablet or desktop.
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
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
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 :
- Name : HORCCampaignTeamHMPOandUKVI@homeoffice.gov.uk
- Email : HORCCampaignTeamHMPOandUKVI@homeoffice.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
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.
