Age Assessing Social Worker

Job summary

The Home Office works to build a safe, fair and prosperous UK. We achieve this through our work on counter-terrorism, policing, fire, crime, drugs policy, immigration and passports.

Visas, Passports, Citizenship & Resettlement Services and Asylum Group (VPCR & AG) is an important operational arm of the Home Office, responsible for delivering a wide range of public services that support the UK’s economy and cultural life. Our work spans the administration of passports, citizenship, civil registration, and visas, as well as managing asylum applications, support and accommodation, along with resettlement and returns.

The National Age Assessment Board (NAAB) was established in March 2023 as part of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 and is still a relatively new age assessment function in the Home Office The NAAB is recruiting up to four social workers who will undertake Merton compliant age assessments on age disputed asylum seekers. The role offers the opportunity for qualified and experienced social workers to join a national team conducting age assessments on behalf of local authorities across the UK, and to become experts in the field of age assessment, developing strong working relationships with a variety of stakeholders and partners.

Job description

Successful applicants will support local authorities in improving age assessment practices and raising standards. NAAB social workers work in pairs to conduct ‘Merton’ compliant age assessments across the UK, ensuring young people remain at the heart of the process. Assessments must be robust, legally defensible, and completed within agreed timescales.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop an excellent working knowledge and understanding of the Merton age assessment process.
• Represent the Home Office in local authority settings across the UK to deliver a high-quality service through the completion of robust but fair age assessments. This could include engagement with local authority social workers, teachers, foster carers and other professionals involved in the young person’s care.
• Support the Home Office response to legal challenges, where they arise, including preparing court statements and giving evidence in court.
• Use working knowledge of legislation and case law relevant to age assessment in all parts of the UK (England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, where applicable). Develop and contribute to activity as part of the NAAB’s quality assurance framework.
• Adopt a child centred and trauma informed approach to working with young people and undertaking assessments. Provide the appropriate statutory response to any child protection or safeguarding concerns that come to light during the age assessment process.
• Adapt personal practice in response to feedback given through the quality assurance process.
• Contribute to the delivery of the NAAB’s engagement strategy. Drive up expertise and quality in the age assessment field, by contributing to and delivering high quality training to local authorities.

A check will be made to verify you are a social worker, registered with Social Work England, or the equivalent in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Your application will be not progressed until this verification has been completed successfully

Working Pattern

This role is available on a full-time basis with the option of compressed hours working. This role is also suitable for part-time working hours, with a minimum requirement to work 24 hours over a minimum of 3 days per week due to business requirements.

Training

You will receive comprehensive training, including Age Assessment and Level 2 Personal Safety, delivered online and on the job with ongoing support from managers and colleagues. Even after training, you’ll work as part of a team with advice and guidance always available.

Travel

The role involves frequent national travel typically once or twice a week with occasional overnight stays. All travel and related expenses are covered by the Home Office. When not conducting assessments, you can work from home or your nearest NAAB Home Office site.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Qualified and registered social worker with Social Work England, or the equivalent in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• A successful track record with post qualification experience in a local authority and extensive experience of work with children in both statutory and non-statutory settings.
• Culturally sensitive with experience of working with service users from diverse backgrounds.
• Proven ability to conduct complex social worker assessments and complete high quality written assessment reports, robust enough to withstand legal challenge, within agreed timescales.
• To maintain up-to-date knowledge of research findings, legislation, statutory guidance, policy developments and case law relevant to age assessments and child safeguarding practice.
• Have significant experience of writing complex court reports and assessments.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of conducting Merton compliant age assessments.
• Have experience of managing interviews and working with an interpreter.

Qualifications

The successful candidate will hold a Social Worker Degree. Qualified and registered social worker with Social Work England, or the equivalent in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Managing a Quality Service
• Making Effective Decisions
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

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.

See more of our benefits on our careers website.

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Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.

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.

As part of the application process, you will first be asked to confirm your eligibility by providing some basic personal information.

1) Application – by 22nd January 2026

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

• Personal Statement (maximum 1000 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 (CV, Personal Statement and Behaviours), you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers website.

2) Sift – week commencing 2nd February 2026

The sift will be held on the Personal Statement.

3) Written Test – week commencing 2nd March 2026

If you are successful at sift stage, you will be invited to undertake a 60 minute written test, evaluating the Communicating and Influencing behaviour. This will be via a live MS Teams meeting.

4) Interview – week commencing 23rd March 2026

If you are successful in the written test, you will be invited to an interview that will be on the other 4 Behaviours (as listed in the job advert) and Strength based questions.

The interview will take place via Microsoft Teams. Please ensure you have access to a working laptop with a webcam (work or personal) and good internet connection.

For guidance and information on what to expect and how to prepare for an interview, you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers.

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.

Do not create or attempt to submit another application, online test or use a different Civil Service Jobs account to proceed as this would be in violation of the candidate declaration.

Location Preference

You can select up to threelocations in order of preference. Please ensure that these are locations you are prepared to travel to. If you are offered a role at one of your preferred location(s) and you decline, your application will be withdrawn.

Reserve List

Currently recruiting for 4 posts but also looking for a good reserve list as we anticipate having more vacancies in the near future.

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.

Reserve lists will be held for each location. Candidates will be appointed in merit order by location.

Standards

All Civil Servants are expected to comply with the Civil Service Code, and its core values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.

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. The level of Criminal Record Check required for this role is Enhanced. Further details are included in the Notes to Candidates.

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 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 theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : HORC Campaign Team (HMPO & UKVI)
• Email : HORCCampaignTeamHMPOandUKVI@homeoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Civil Service recruitment principles and you wish to make a complaint, then contact the Government Recruitment Service via HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission.

Attachments

440440 Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 1047kB)Home Office Candidate_Information_v15_DECEMBER_2025 Opens in new window (pdf, 429kB)2025-11-17 Pre-employment Checking - Document Requirements (V17) Opens in new window (pdf, 231kB)