Enforcement Support Officer - Compliance Apprenticeship

Job summary

Canyou imagine yourself out on the frontline, learning specialist skills while helping keep Britain’s roads safe?

Do you want an apprenticeship where every day is different, hands-on, and full of real responsibility?

Would you thrive in a role where you’re part of live roadside operations and the public face of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA)?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

This apprenticeship offers a rare chance to gain real frontline experience in live roadside operations, developing specialist skills while playing an active role in improving safety across the transport industry. You won’t just observe, you’ll learn on the job as a trusted representative of DVSA, building professional confidence, communication skills, and public-facing experience that will help you make a real impact from the very start of your career.

The DVSA helps keep Britain moving, safely and sustainably. We do this by helping people through a lifetime of safe and sustainable journeys, helping them keep their vehicles safe to drive, and protecting them from unsafe drivers and vehicles.

We’re working hard to:

• make roads safer

• improve services for our customers

• make road transport greener and healthier

• harness the potential of technology and data

• grow and level up the economy

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at DVSA.

Job description

You’ll play an important part in helping keep Britain’s roads safe. You’ll be trained to drive DVSA’s Accredited Stopping Officer vehicles and support our teams in identifying, intercepting, and stopping commercial vehicles that may not be meeting safety or environmental standards. This hands-on role gives you the chance to learn specialist skills while contributing directly to road safety.

You’ll often be the public face of DVSA, so you’ll learn how to role-model Civil Service values, including professionalism, integrity, and respect. You’ll work closely with experienced Enforcement Officers, supporting roadside checks and helping us deliver high-quality, consistent services to drivers, operators, and the wider public.

As part of your apprenticeship, you will also learn how to:

• Provide helpful, accurate information to customers and stakeholders.
• Assist with quality assurance tasks and complaint investigations.
• Gather and share on-the-ground intelligence to help target non-compliant vehicles and operators.

By end of the programme you will earn a Level 3 qualification as a Public sector compliance investigator and officer. This apprenticeship will give the candidate the skills and knowledge required to progress their career within the Driver Vehicle Standards Agency to the role of a Traffic Examiner. There will be opportunities to apply for this role during the apprenticeship.

Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:

Stopping vehicles

• Directing/causing vehicles to stop, using vehicles or other methods, to enable staff from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to undertake road safety inspections.

Roadside Checks

• Contributing to the efficiency of roadside checks by making sure the equipment and vehicles are available and fit for use.
• Providing basic IT and clerical support during roadside checks, and other associated tasks.

Vehicle Maintenance & Deployment

• Carrying out minimum maintenance and upkeep of “High-Viz” vehicles (oil, water, tyre pressures & condition etc.).
• Ensuring timely deployment and collection of pool/incognito cars and vehicles around the areas.

For further information on the role, please read the role profile.Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

Administration

• Assisting in the administration of the check site by confirming staff resources are available.
• Complete any reports needed to support their contribution. E.g. Record details of vehicles stopped.
• Complete pro-format report on vehicles failing to stop.
• Administer the pool vehicle maintenance and repair programme.
• Assist the Area Management Team in co-ordinating planned road check programme and advising local police of the programme.
• Organise own work programme in conjunction with Line Manager to ensure availability for road checks etc.
• Work alongside manager and learning and development to ensure personal development in well planned and learning objectives are met.

Health & Safety

• Assist the Area Management Team in ensuring compliance with Health, Safety and Welfare requirements. e.g. opening and closure of check-sites & liaison with site co-ordinator.

General Duties

Provide general support appropriate to the grade when required.

Carry out own responsibilities effectively and in line with DVSA policies and processes, ensuring that daily tasks and activities are delivered against agreed objectives.

Person specification

Essential qualifications/licenses:

1. Full clean driving licence, to cover category B
2. Minimum level 3/D in English and Maths GCSE (or equivalent)

You will be required to provide evidence that you hold any essential qualifications/licenses at some point during the recruitment process. If you cannot provide evidence, your application will be withdrawn.

Required experience:

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

• High standard of driving skill and knowledge of the Highway Code.
• Basic computer literacy.
• Occasional flexible approach to working patterns and hours but aligned to contracted hours.
• Able to pass the bespoke DVSA driving course designed for DVSA Enforcement Support Officers,

– Failure to pass either element of the training may result in termination of your appointment.

• The role requires working with the public and those appointed to these roles will need to be able to deal with aggressive behaviour and conflict when it arises.
• Good written skills.

Additional Information

• The Bury St Edmunds post is based in Elmswell.

This post is offered on a Fixed Term Appointment (FTA).

For permanent Civil Servants, this role is only available on loan, so you must have your home departments approval to return to them at the end of the loan before you apply. There is no opportunity for a permanent Civil Servant to take on this role as a fixed term appointment. OGD applicants will be appointed on an inward loan and subject to the terms of the agreed inward loan. Internal candidates will return to their previous post at the end of the loan period, which will need to be agreed with your line manager in advance.

If you're employed by a non-departmental public body (NDPB) by moving jobs this will involve a change of employer and you may break the statutory rules on continuity of employment.

Eligibility

To be eligible for this apprenticeship, you must:

• Be aged 18 or over
• Minimum level 3/D in English and Maths GCSE (or equivalent)
• Have the right work in the UK.
• Not be in full-time education.
• Not be in receipt of funding for other learning programmes at the point of enrolment for this apprenticeship.
• Have valid and eligible residency status and be resident in the UK for 3 years before the start of the apprenticeship. Full eligibility details can be found at Annex A. If you are not sure if you meet the residency requirements then please contact us before applying.

If you currently hold or are working towards a similar qualification of the same level or higher, then you will not be eligible to apply for this vacancy. In order to be eligible for our apprenticeship vacancy, any qualifications previously held or currently being worked towards must differ in content so that this apprenticeship provides substantial new skills. Additionally you must not already be over-qualified or over-experienced in this type of work.

If you apply and are found to possess the above: your application will not be considered; any offer of employment will be withdrawn, and your contract will be terminated.

This role is due to start in May 2026 so the successful candidates will need to be available then. The apprenticeship itself is expected to start August/September 2026.

The successful candidate must be able to pass the bespoke DVSA driving course designed for DVSA Enforcement Support Officers, failure to pass either element of the training may result in termination of your appointment.

Operational Delivery Profession (ODP) is the largest and most diverse professional community across the Civil Service. Many of us will have an association with several professional communities or specialisms, ODP applies to all public facing roles / or a role that is primarily aligned to supporting the work of those with public facing roles. All critical to the delivery of UK public services.

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.

This role is not suitable for hybrid working and will require the successful candidate to work solely from their designated location (one of the locations cited in the advert) or, when required for business reasons, from other offices/work locations/visiting stakeholders.

The role can be physically demanding, including getting in and out of cars and sitting in cars for long periods.

There may be occasional travel, with overnight stays as part of this role.

Visa Sponsorship

Please note that we do not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker Licence sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship. Candidates must ensure they have the appropriate rights to work in the UK before application.

Licences

Full clean driving licence, to cover category B

Qualifications

Minimum level 3/D in English and Maths GCSE (or equivalent)

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Changing and Improving
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £26,607, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency contributes £7,708 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave).
• 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday.
• Access to the staff discount portal.
• Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc.
• Joining a diverse and inclusive workforce with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues.
• 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff.
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Find out more about the benefits of working at DfT and its agencies.

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, Ability and Experience.

How to apply:

Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment of each applicant's qualifications, skills, and potential fit within our organisation.

The selection process for this role will be:

Stage 1: Online test

Stage 2: Sift of personal statement

Stage 3: Interview

You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage.

Stage 1: Online test

At this stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

1. Ability

After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Judgement Test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application.

Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the tests is 23:55 on 09/03/2026. If you fail to complete the online test before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website.

Please note that there will be maintenance for online tests on Sunday 01 March - 4pm to midnight and Sunday 8 March - 4pm to 7pm. This means you will be unable to access the online tests between these times. Your progress will be saved, and you will be able to continue once the tests are available again.

Stage 2: Sift

At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

Experience – you will be asked to provide a personal statement (750-word count). Please provide evidence of your Experience of the following:

• Your experience of having used your communication skills to engage others.
• Your experience of when you have remained positive, when adapting to change of working requirement or business need.
• Your experience of working effectively as part of a team while working toward a shared goal.

The sift will take place from 10th -13th March 2026.

Stage 3: Interview

At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours Making Effective Decisions, Changing and Improving, Working Together, Managing a Quality Service
• Strengths

You will also be required to undertake a driving assessment. Guidance will be provided if you are invited to interview.

The interviews and assessment will take place the week commencing 23 March 2026.

These interviews will be conducted in person at our advertised location. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

You can find out more about our hiring process, how to apply, and application and interview guidance on our careers site (opens in a new window).

Please note that we will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change.

Further information on the selection process

We will also hold a 12-month reserve list for this role, which may lead to potential opportunities beyond the role you applied for. You can read more about our reserve lists here.

During your application, you should indicate which location(s) you wish to be considered for and, if successful, you will be placed on an individual list of candidates for each location. Candidates will be held on that list and drawn from it in merit order. We advise you to carefully consider which locations you wish to be considered for. If you decline an offer for a location you have expressed a preference in or have expressed an interest in more than one location and accept an offer, you will be withdrawn from any lists you may be held on. We may also offer candidates a location that they have not expressed a preference for where we have the requirement to do so but this will again be done on the basis of your place in the overall merit order and, in this event, you will not be removed from the list if you decline.

Should we receive a high volume of quality applications, we may invite a shortlist of the highest scoring candidates to interview. This means that some applications that meet the required standard could be placed ‘on hold’ after the sift and invited to interview if the vacant position(s) remain unfilled. You will be notified if your application is being put ‘on hold’ once the sift has been completed. Following interviews, any applicants remaining on hold will be notified by the panel of the next steps regarding their application.

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Document Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you cannot access the information on our website for any reason, please email DRGComms@dft.gov.uk for assistance.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit theHow We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.

Pre-employment Checking

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.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

All External applicants and current employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will be required to undergo a Social Media Check. A Social Media Check is a review of your publicly available online activity, typically across platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and others. The purpose is to identify any public posts or content that could raise concerns for employers, such as:

Hate speech or discriminatory behaviour

Threats or acts of violence

Illegal activity or substance misuse

Sexually explicit material

Extremist views or affiliations

Importantly, this check does not involve hacking into your accounts or accessing private messages. It only considers content you have chosen to make public.

Employers use this kind of screening to help ensure their workplace remains safe, inclusive, and aligned with company values. It’s not about judging your personality or lifestyle—it’s about checking for potential red flags that might affect the role or company culture.

If you have questions or concerns about the social media check, we would be happy to explain in more detail what’s being looked at and how your data is handled securely and fairly.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.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.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).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 : Russell Simmons
• Email : russell.simmons@dvsa.gov.uk

Recruitment team

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

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Click here (https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/) to visit Civil Service Commission

Attachments

Role Profile Opens in new window (pdf, 212kB)