HMICFRS Associate

Job summary

Location

These roles are advertised nationally and are home‑based.

The Associate Inspector position requires regular travel and, at times, overnight stays. During fieldwork inspections, associates are expected to travel frequently and stay overnight as needed to support inspection activities.

All associates must also comply with Home Office policy requirements for driving on official business.

Available roles

We are recruiting Associate inspectors only.

Associate inspectors work on short-term engagements across all areas of HMICFRS’s inspections. They bring specialist skills and provide extra resilience to help us achieve our busy policing, fire and rescue service, national and joint inspection programmes.

Job description

Eligibility

You are eligible to apply for this Associate campaign if this is your first time applying to join HMICFRS’s Associate Scheme.

You are also eligible if you have previously worked as an Associate, completed your first or second term, and have been off the Scheme for at least 12 months.

The anticipated start date is 19th October 2026. Therefore, previous Associates must have left the Scheme before 8th October 2025.

Please note the anticipated start date is indicative and represents the earliest possible date in which individuals can join the scheme.

If applicable, it is your responsibility to ensure you have served the required 12-month break between the date you finished your term on the Scheme and your start date on joining the Scheme again.

If you are unsure on eligibility, please contact recruitment@hmicfrs.gov.uk.

In addition, if you currently work for HMICFRS or have previously worked for us as a secondee, you must have a minimum break of two weeks between leaving HMICFRS and starting as an Associate.

If you currently work for HMICFRS or have previously worked for us as a permanent member of staff or on a fixed-term appointment (FTA) in a role with similar duties, you must have a minimum break of three months between leaving HMICFRS and starting as an Associate.

If, however you currently work for HMICFRS or have previously worked for us as a permanent member of staff or on a FTA in a role that involves different duties, a minimum break of 6 weeks is required.

Conflicts of interests

As part of our pre-employment checks, we will conduct a Conflict of Interest (COI) review. Our aim in collecting COI information is to ensure transparency and to manage any perceived, potential, or actual conflicts fairly and proportionately.

Declaring a conflict does not mean you will be excluded from joining the Associate Scheme. Instead, it allows us to apply appropriate mitigations, so that you can contribute effectively while maintaining the integrity of our inspections.

Please note the following criteria on eligibility for joining the Associate Scheme:

• If you are a current police officer (irrespective of full time or part time), you are not eligible to join the Associate Scheme.

• If you are employed full time in any capacity, including within a police force, a fire and rescue service, or any of our inspected sectors, you are not eligible to join the Associate Scheme, as an Associate inspector.

If you are working in any of the following your eligibility will be considered on a case-by-case basis as part of our COI process:

• Special Constables or on-call firefighters.

• Part time in a police or fire staff role, part time firefighter, or parttime in any of our inspected sectors.

• In a consultancy capacity within any of our inspected sectors.

If it is determined that you are not deployable due to identified actual or perceived conflicts, your application will be withdrawn.

In line with the Home Office multiple assignment policy, you cannot hold two Home Office contracts. Therefore, if you are successful but already hold a Home Office contract, you cannot join the Associate Scheme. You will need to decide whether to withdraw your application for the Associate Scheme or cease your current Home Office employment.

Please be aware that we reserve the right to withdraw your application at any stage of the recruitment process if it is determined that you do not meet the eligibility criteria outlined in this advert.By submitting your application, you confirm that you understand all details set out in this advert.

Our Associate Scheme

Whilst on engagement with HMICFRS, Associates are classed as “workers”, not employees or Civil Servants. If you are successful, you will be added to the Associate Scheme for a period of up to 24 months.

An engagement is an agreement between HMICFRS and the Associate that requires the Associate to perform the role personally.

While we endeavour to make sure Associates are offered engagements while on the Scheme, there is no guarantee of receiving an offer of engagement as a worker in HMICFRS.

During your time on the Scheme, you may be allocated short-term engagements for inspection or other project-based work. The engagement you will be offered depends on business need, skillset and/or level of role and leadership required.

The agreement sets out the terms and conditions upon which the Associate is required to carry out duties, and specifies the responsibilities, timing, duration and remuneration for the work to be carried out.

The engagement you will be offered depends on business need, skillset and/or level of role and leadership required.

Being placed on the Associate Scheme is not a guarantee of receiving an offer of engagement as a worker in HMICFRS.

HMICFRS reserve the right to withdraw you from the Associate Scheme at any point.

Job description: Associate inspectors

Associate inspectors work on short-term engagements across all areas of HMICFRS’s inspections. They bring specialist skills and provide extra resilience to help us achieve our busy policing, fire and rescue service, national and joint inspection programmes.

Responsibilities of an Associate inspector

As an Associate inspector, you will be required to help support with inspections across HMICFRS. The main responsibilities will be as follows:

• Act as an ambassador for HMICFRS, observing the organisation’s standards and values at all times.

• Provide advice and guidance to HMICFRS on the subject matter within your specialist area of expertise, based on your knowledge and experience.

• Work with colleagues across the organisation to promote HMICFRS’s objectives and purpose.

• Collaborate with inspection teams to prepare inspections.

• Carry out inspection fieldwork and evidence gathering (e.g., focus groups, interviews, reality testing) to a consistently high standard and record the evidence gathered in line with organisational processes and standards.

• Support inspection leads and make sure that the right type of evidence is gathered, including briefing inspection teams before inspection, analysing data, drawing conclusions and drafting reports.

• Work with portfolio directors and deputy portfolio directors to make sure reports follow set processes for being factually accurate, as well as moderating reports and that agreed timescales are met.

• Communicate effectively with chief officers, HMIs and senior government officials and their staff in accordance with HMICFRS values, observing the Civil Service code and ensuring that an objective and productive relationship is maintained throughout the inspection.

Applicants must also meet the essential criteria listed in the person specification below and have experience in at least one of the specialisms.

Person specification

Essential criteria: Associate inspector

All applicants for the Associate inspector role are expected to have the following skills and experience:

• Experience of carrying out inspection related activities and the ability to provide a written record of evidence in line with organisational processes and standards.

• Experience of gathering a wide range of data, including that which may be incomplete and/or complex.

• Ability to draft well-considered and balanced reports based on the evidence gathered.

• Effective oral and written communication skills, with experience of preparing formal structured papers or submissions of a high standard for presentation to senior managers and other stakeholders.

• Proven record in contributing to projects, inspections or reviews.

• Good understanding of Office-based computer systems and the capability to use different digital applications such as SharePoint, Microsoft Outlook, Teams, Excel and Word.

Associate inspector specialisms are as follows:

We are specifically looking for applicants that have operational or inspection experience within the last five years in one or more of the listed specialisms areas below:

• Crime recording

• Safeguarding/crime file reviews

• Control Room

• Vulnerability

• Child protection

• Professional standards

• Counter-corruption

• Vetting

• Serious organised crime

• Fire and rescue service efficiency and finance

• Fire and rescue service effectiveness

• Protective Security

You may be deployed in other skills areas in line with any additional skills that meet organisational requirements.

Further details on the requirements for each specialism are listed below:

Crime recording

You must be an accredited force crime registrar (FCR) or deputy FCR and/or experience in some or all the following:

• Recent (within the last two years) knowledge and application of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) and Home Office Counting Rules (HOCR);

• Knowledge of any changes to the NCRS or HOCR;

• Knowledge of criminal law, police crime recording procedures and police command and control, and crime recording IT systems; and

• Experience of auditing police incidents, reports and crime records.

Or you should have completed an HMICFRS crime recording (QSR) inspection.

Safeguarding/crime file reviews

You must have been involved in managing safeguarding investigations or reviewing safeguarding investigation standards.

We also expect you to be a qualified as a PIP level 2 investigator and an experienced senior investigating officer and have knowledge of up-to-date safeguarding investigation best practice.

Or you should have completed an HMICFRS crime file review (QSR) inspection.

Stop and search/use of force

You must have a good working knowledge of at least some of the following:

• Section 1 PACE, PACE Code A, section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

• The authorised professional practice for stop and search, particularly on the assessment of reasonable grounds.

• Experience of reviewing or auditing stop search records or involvement in monitoring and scrutiny of records.

• Experience of reviewing or auditing stop and search body-worn video.

• Experience of reviewing or auditing use of force body-worn video.

• Experience of reviewing or auditing use of force records or involvement in monitoring and scrutiny of records and body-worn video.

• Experience or knowledge of the 2024 College of Policing public and personal safety training.

Or you should have completed an HMICFRS inspection specialising in Stop and Search Use of Force.

Control Room

You must have a good working knowledge of at least some of the following:

• Command and control systems such as STORM;

• The NPCC Contact Management Strategy;

• Officer powers under the Mental Health Act (1983) particularly s136 & s2;

• Support available with FCR e.g. Mental Health, Missing, IDVAs;

• Risk assessment tools e.g. THRIVE; and the wide range of online options available to contact forces including single online home, live chat etc.

Or you should have completed an HMICFRS inspection specialising in control room activities.

Vulnerability

You must have a good understanding of public protection areas such as domestic abuse, stalking, protecting vulnerable people and violence against women and girls and have held rank of inspector or above and have good working knowledge of statutory safeguarding governance, processes, structures and legislation.

Or you should have completed an HMICFRS inspection specialising in vulnerability.

Child protection

You must have worked in an operational or strategic role with a focus on child protection, with a thorough working knowledge of:

• Child abuse investigations;

• Multi-agency safeguarding hub processes involving children or similar information sharing processes;

• Requirements for children in custody;

• Intra and extra-familial child abuse and associated multi-agency safeguarding; and

• An in-depth understanding of ‘working together to safeguard children’ and associated legislation.

Or you should have completed HMICFRS inspection activity focusing on child protection.

Professional standards

You must have worked in an operational or strategic role in a professional standards department (e.g., as an investigator, hearings officer or administrator) or have been an appropriate authority, holding a delegated legislative authority from a chief constable to address complaints and allegations of misconduct.

You must have experience of:

• Complaint handling and investigation;

• Investigating of allegations of misconduct;

• Misconduct meetings and misconduct hearings; and

• Working with other interdependent departments, such as the force vetting unit and/or counter-corruption unit.

You must also have a good working knowledge of:

• The Police Conduct Regulations 2020;

• Police Complaints and Misconduct Regulations 2020;

• The Code of Ethics;

• The standards of professional behaviour; and

• The Independent Office for Police Conduct statutory guidance.

Or you should have completed HMICFRS inspection activity focusing on professional standards.

Counter-corruption

You must have been an appropriate authority, holding a delegated legislative authority from a chief constable to address complaints and allegations of police misconduct.

If your role was intelligence based, please specify what it involved. For example, managing corruption intelligence in line with the nationally agreed corruption categories, or drafting the counter-corruption strategic threat assessment, control strategy and delivery plans.

You must also have experience in at least some of the following areas:

• Covert tactics and practically applying these in covert investigations;

• Investigating police corruption and taking corruption cases through misconduct meetings/hearings;

• Knowledge of integrity polices, including notifiable associations, business interests, gifts and gratuities;

• People intelligence meetings; and

• Working with other interdependent departments, such as the professional standards department and force vetting unit.

You must also have a good working knowledge of:

• The Police Conduct Regulations 2020;

• The Police Complaints and Misconduct Regulations 2020; and

• The authorised professional practice for counter-corruption intelligence and/or prevention.

Or you should have completed HMICFRS inspection work focusing on counter-corruption.

Vetting

You must have worked in an operational or strategic role in a police force vetting unit and you must have knowledge and experience in some or all the following:

• Vetting case management, including recruitment vetting;

• Management vetting;

• Non-police personnel vetting;

• Transferees and designated posts;

• Vetting interviews, vetting refusals and vetting appeals;

• Working with other interdependent departments, such as the professional standards department and/or counter-corruption unit;

• Sound vetting decision-making, including writing rationale for vetting decisions; and

• Identifying and managing risk mitigation measures.

You must also have a good working knowledge and understanding of:

• The statutory vetting code of practice and guidance, setting out the principles and ethical standards relating to vetting 2023;

• The 2021 authorised professional practice for vetting; and

• The 2024 authorised professional practice for vetting.

Or you should have completed HMICFRS inspection work focusing on vetting.

Serious organised crime

You must have been involved in addressing serious and organised crime (SOC) at an operational, tactical or strategic level and you must have been either a SOC lead (e.g., senior investigating officer, co-ordinator, tactical adviser) or worked in a specialist SOC unit. You need to have achieved a minimum PIP level 2.

You must also have knowledge of:

• Specialist SOC investigations;

• SOC threat assessment processes;

• SOC analysis; and

• 4P planning and multi-agency work to tackle SOC.

Or you should have completed HMICFRS inspection activity focusing on SOC.

Fire and rescue service efficiency and finance

You must have experience in a managerial role with responsibility for financial accounting or been a practising chartered accountant within a large organisation and you must have a relevant qualification, such as ACCA, or be CIPFA accredited, and have knowledge/experience in financial planning and management and fire and rescue services’ value for money.

You must understand fire and rescue service efficiency and financial management. And you should have knowledge of the different fire and rescue authority governance models, and how they carry out their governance, oversight and scrutiny functions.

Or you should have completed HMICFRS inspection work focusing on the efficiency of a fire and rescue service.

Fire and rescue service effectiveness

You must have worked in a managerial role with responsibility for the effectiveness of a fire and rescue service and you must have knowledge and experience in some or all the following:

• Fire and other risk;

• Protecting vulnerable people and safeguarding;

• Fire safety legislation and regulation;

• Operational firefighting;

• Incident command;

• The control room;

• Local resilience forums;

• Joint working with multi-agencies; and

• Dealing with the public.

Or you should have completed HMICFRS inspection work focusing on the effectiveness of a fire and rescue service.

Protective Security

You must have knowledge or experience of protecting the public through protective security. This should include:

• Physical measures to enhance protective security

• Plans and procedures to enhance protective security

• Interoperability of systems (eg cctv) and organisations to enhance protective security

• Other relevant forms of relevant regulation eg fire protection and building safety regulation.

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

• Learning tailored to your role

We will ensure you are briefed on what you need to know when joining the Scheme. Associates will however not be eligible to undertake any general learning and development offered to Home Office employees.

• An environment with flexible working options

We promote flexible working that balances professional and personal commitments. We support virtual and smart working, making best use of our technology and building collaborative working models to help all at HMICFRS to work in a ‘hybrid’ way.

• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity

The diversity of our people is a real asset to HMICFRS. We are committed to creating a welcoming, inclusive workplace where all our people can bring their whole selves to work and perform at their best. We particularly welcome applications from candidates from ethnic minority groups and people with disabilities, as they are currently under-represented within the Associate Scheme.

Please note that adjustments for health/disability requirements may not be possible whilst conducting inspection fieldwork due to the nature of the environments our inspectors work in. Each case will be assessed individually to ensure all reasonable adjustments are put into place.

• BRAVO

Employee benefits are not applicable for Associates.

• Pension

The Associate HMICFRS role is eligible for Auto-Enrolment (AE) in the (NEST) pension scheme. For details, please refer to the attached document. Please note, should you be successfully appointed to this role, if for reasons of Lifetime Allowance (LTA) limits, or anything else, you do not wish to join an AE pension scheme, you must provide proof of this to the Home Office Reward Team rteam@homeoffice.gov.uk. Examples of reasonable evidence include a copy of the Individual Protection certificate or documentation from a pension provider that states the LTA percentage a member has reached.

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 and Experience.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to submit a CV and personal statement (max word limit 1250). Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Please note your CV will not be scored but will be used for background information.

The first stage of the sift will be carried out on the eligibility to join the Scheme.

If you do not meet the eligibility criteria your application will not progress any further.

The second stage of the sift will be carried out on your personal statement where we will assess the following:

• Evidence of the essential criteria listed.

• Experience in at least one of the specialisms listed, including confirmation of how you meet the specific criteria associated with the specialism.

Please ensure you state on your personal statement which specialism(s) best suits your skills and clearly highlight which area you consider to be your lead. If you fail to evidence the above your application will not progress further.

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 experience based questions.

If you are successful at interview you will receive a provisional offer to join the Associate Scheme, which will be subject to successful completion of mandatory checks, associated with joining the Scheme. This is not an offer of employment.

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.

Sift dates

Sift dates: 31 March 2026 – 10 April 2026

Interview Dates

Interview dates: w/c 18 May 2026 – w/c 1 June 2026

Further information

If you are successful in this position and choose to accept the provisional offer for this role, you will be removed from all other Home Office reserve lists at the same grade

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.

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 acceptable ID documents.

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

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Transfer Terms: Voluntary

Any move to the HMICFRS 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; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

HMICFRS reserves the right to remove an Associate from the Scheme at any point before the end of a 24-month registration period. The Associate Scheme is regularly reviewed in line with HMICFRS business need so that the available skills and experience it provides remain focused on our priorities.

A laptop will be provided as standard kit. If additional equipment or adjustments are required due to a disability or health concern, HMICFRS will assess whether the requirement is reasonable and accommodate arising adjustments where possible.

Associates may also apply for additional support through the Access to Work Scheme. Successful candidates who share health data during the recruitment stage should note that this will be shared during the onboarding phase with the Associate team who manage the Scheme and act as the administrative line managers for all Associates. Should you receive an engagement contract, your health data will also be shared with the contract manager.

Due to business requirements, this role is only available as home-based/ flexible working. But there is an element of travel associated with the inspection-based roles. As the fieldwork environment is different to working from home, it may not always be possible to offer adjustments when engaged in inspection work. Reasonable adjustments for in-person engagements will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Upon joining the Scheme, it is your responsibility to take the necessary actions to ensure your security clearance remains valid. Clearances are valid for six months from the date of issue and require you to undertake an engagement during this time in order to stay active. If you do not take the required action within this six-month period, your clearance will lapse, and you will be removed from the Scheme.

Clearance at CTC level is required for this role. If you already hold a higher level of clearance with the Home Office, this may be transferred across. However, higher-level clearances obtained through external agencies cannot be transferred. Please note that there is no guarantee that any higher-level clearance will be renewed once it expires.

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