Inspection Officer - SEO

Job summary

HMICFRS independently assesses the effectiveness and efficiency of police forces and fire and rescue services – in the public interest. We promote improvements in policing and fire and rescue services to make everyone safer.

We are independent of the Government, police and fire and rescue services. We ask the questions that we believe the public wish to have answered and produce major reports that shine a light on issues at the very heart of policing and fire and rescue services.

Our reports are widely covered by the media and help inform the public of the performance of their local police forces and fire and rescue services. You can find out more about HMICFRS on our website and see some of our recent reports.

Working at HMICFRS gives you an opportunity to make a real difference to the quality of local police and fire and rescue services and the lives of the public.

HMICFRS is a unique organisation with staff seconded or loaned from across the Civil Service, police forces and fire and rescue services. We set ourselves high standards, taking great pride in the quality of work we achieve and the opportunities we create for our staff.

Find out more

If you would like to talk to someone about this role and what it’s like working for HMICFRS we would be pleased to hear from you. Please contact recruitment@hmicfrs.gov.uk and we can arrange for someone to contact you.

Job description

Working in HMICFRS as an inspection officer puts you at the heart of the inspection activity. You will work to Service Liaison Leads as part of the team responsible for carrying out our fire and rescue inspections.

You will have the opportunity to develop your understanding of inspection processes whilst working with colleagues and stakeholders across HMICFRS and the fire sector.

This role provides an excellent opportunity for you to further develop your leadership and communication skills. It will provide you with the opportunity to gain an in-depth insight into how the fire & rescue service is run. You will also be contributing the overall safety and efficiency of our fire & rescue services, making observations, and creating reports which could lead to vital changes.

We are looking for talented individuals who have the drive, enthusiasm, and skills to be part of this inspection programme. You will need to be inquisitive and be able to assess data and performance objectively as well as follow lines of enquiry. You will be expected to form constructive relationships that will enable you to work closely with those we inspect, provide challenge, and identify areas for improvement and share best practice.

You must have the ability to organise yourself have excellent written and oral skills.

As a remote access worker, you will be expected to work independently from home when not inspecting or required to be in the office. Therefore, you must be a self-starter with the ability to plan and prioritise your work and consistently deliver to a high standard. The role will involve regular travel and overnight stays. You may be required to undertake inspection visits and possibly assist nominated Service Liaison Leads with their engagement visits to their nominated services. This will be by prior arrangement, and it is essential you are able to provide this flexibility.

The Inspection Officer will report to either the Chief of Staff or Service Liaison Officer. You will not have any direct line management responsibilities.

Due to business requirements, this role is available for full-time hours only.

Responsibilities

• Supporting the Service Liaison Lead with the planning and preparation of their inspection, including completing any training requirements.
• Ensuring the timely delivery of desk-based pre-inspection activities, including document and incident reviews.
• Undertaking inspection fieldwork and other evidence gathering activities (e.g. focus groups, interviews, reality testing) to a consistently high standard.
• Building strong interpersonal relationships with diverse inspection colleagues through actively participating in inspection activity and supporting Service Liaison. Leads and fellow Inspection Officers as required.
• Managing and evaluating a wide range of information and working confidently with analytical data.
• Producing and recording accurate and robust inspection evidence.
• Delivering post-inspection feedback to Service Liaison Leads to help them to formulate judgments.
• Working closely with the FRS portfolio team and other teams across HMICFRS to ensure the delivery of a consistent and professional inspection programme.
• Demonstrating and actively promoting behaviours described in HMICFRS’s values, and where applicable taking an active role in managing and developing staff.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Detailed knowledge and experience of the fire & rescue service, its management and how the service operates within England, or have equivalent experience in a similar fire & rescue service-related field.
• Effective verbal and written communication skills and the ability to articulate complex concepts in a way that people can easily understand.
• The ability to prioritise competing demands and work at pace, if required.
• Flexibility to work away from home for extended periods to lead and support various aspects of inspection activities and undertake training.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of Inspection process
• Experience of using analytical skills and using performance and management information to improve performance.
• Experience of presenting to and managing relationships with chief officers or senior stakeholders.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £46,062, His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services contributes £13,344 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• A Civil Service Pension

See the Civil Service website for more information Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

• Learning and development tailored to your role

We are committed to investing in our staff and providing all staff with opportunities to maximize their skills and achieve their potential. We offer a range of work-based training, learning and development opportunities including access to coaching and mentoring, and five days volunteering per year.

HMICFRS has an Inspection Development Programme and linked accreditation process that all inspection staff undertake in our organisation. The scheme is approved by Skills for Justice and is based on you demonstrating competencies against a framework of role-specific tasks. The expectation is that all new inspection staff will complete a portfolio of evidence within agreed timescales (normally 12 months) and once this is complete it will be assessed by a trained assessor.

• 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 staff to work from home and/or in the office 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 are able to 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 this grade level.

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 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.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV detailing job history/qualifications/skills and a Personal Statement (500 words).

The CV is for information purposes only and will not be marked.

For guidance and information on how to construct your application (CV, Personal Statement and Behaviours), you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers website.

The Personal Statement should be aligned to and demonstrate how you meet the skills and experience as set out in the essential criteria, detailed in the job description.

Please give details of any qualifications and knowledge or experience you have and reference all 4 essential criteria in your statement (maximum 500 words).

The first stage of the sift will be carried out only on the Personal Statement which should be aligned to the essential criteria. If you do not meet the essential criteria, your application will not progress any further.

Those candidates who achieve the minimum pass score for the Personal Statement will progress to an interview.

If you are successful at sift stage, you will be invited to an interview that will be:

• Strength questions only.

We will ask questions to help us understand if you have the relevant strengths for the job. There are no right or wrong answers to these questions. The best way to prepare is to reflect on:

• What you think your personal strengths are
• Your preferred ways of working

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

Sift & Interview Dates

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 - week commencing 9th March 2026

Interviews - by Video link from week commencing 30th March 2026

Reserve list.

A reserve list will 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.

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.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not overseas.

Starting salary

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

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.

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

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.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct.

If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentCheck

Plagiarism

The ideas and experience provided by candidates during the recruitment process must be their own. Where plagiarism has been identified (which could include content generated by Artificial Intelligence), candidate applications may be rejected. Existing Civil Servants found to have plagiarised may be subject to disciplinary action.

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 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 : Emma Huntly
• Email : Recruitment@hmicfrs.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : HORecruitment@homeoffice.gov.uk

Further information

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

Attachments

candidate_information_v16_January_2026 Opens in new window (pdf, 429kB)2025-11-17 Pre-employment Checking - Document Requirements (V17) Opens in new window (pdf, 231kB)