Operational Manager

Job summary

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

Immigration Enforcement is responsible for enforcing the government’s immigration laws, tackling illegal migration, removing foreign national offenders and immigration offenders from the UK. It also aims to disrupt the organised criminal groups that exploit the vulnerable for their personal gain. Learn more on our careers pages.

International & Returns Services Command (IRSC) was formed in 2023 bringing together Returns Logistics Operations, Escorting Operations and Detention Progression and Returns, alongside Central Operations. These teams are at the heart of Immigration Enforcement’s operational activity to deliver the return of Foreign National Offenders and those with no leave to be in the United Kingdom as part of the wider Returns Directorate.

This is an exciting opportunity for the right candidates to utilise and develop their leadership, people and engagement skills within an extremely busy and high performing team, in a role that is both rewarding and energising.

This is a physically demanding role.

Job description

This post sits within the Detention Engagement Team (DET), which is a dynamic and responsive team working as part of Detention, Progression and Returns to enhance the quality and frequency of engagements between Home Office and the people entering Immigration Removal Centres (IRC).

IRCs are secure buildings that hold detained individuals (residents) prior to their removal from the United Kingdom or for nationality and identification purposes. The DETs are based on-site and interact with residents face-to-face.

You will be the on-site operational lead for the team, responsible for day-to-day delivery, resolution of issues, and escalation as appropriate. You will engage with stakeholders on and off site, IRC contractors, casework teams, wider Home Office teams and healthcare contractors to ensure that vulnerability and risk issues are identified and managed effectively at the earliest opportunity. You will be an escalation point for complex cases across the Home Office.

You will also work with Senior Management Team colleagues to improve operational delivery of the DETs, sharing best practice across the DET network.

We welcome applications from candidates who are able to work independently in a fast-paced environment and are confident, resilient self-starters who have an ability to build relationships of trust and work collaboratively as part of a dynamic team.

Key Responsibilities (list is not exhaustive)

• Managing and supporting the Engagement Officers, dealing with higher level issues and escalations in relation to the wider business
• Leading by example in promoting visibility, both within the administrative and residential working areas
• Carrying out quarterly assurance checks on engagements undertaken within their respective hierarchy
• Working closely with the local service provider to ensure that their welfare team are responding and acting to resolve any areas of concerns of people in Immigration Detention
• Overseeing the operational management of DETs, monitoring contact across multiple routes (face to face, email, telephone and post) ensuring that all contacts are dealt with, enabling business critical Service Level Agreements to be met
• Undertaking proactive workforce management ensuring optimal deployment of resources across business hours, escalating issues, exercising effective financial control in managing resources, ensuring propriety, compliance and value for money
• Overseeing the delivery of DET functions with quality, timeliness and attention to detail, providing guidance and support to your team relating to sometimes complex Immigration Enforcement policy and procedural issues involving those in Immigration Detention
• Be proficient in managing HR issues in line with policy. You will be responsible for line managing approximately 8 members of staff

Working Pattern

Due to the business requirements of this role, it is only available on a full-time basis.

Shift Working

Successful candidates will need to be able to attend for all shifts including early starts, late night finishes, and overnight shifts. Please note that the IRC has no public transport links The DET work on a roster system with shifts generally between 7.30am and 9pm Monday to Friday, and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays.

Training

You will receive full training and support to do the job. Training takes place on the job with a mentor who supports you until you are fully confident in the role. Even then you are never alone; you work as part of a team where there is always someone around for advice and support. Further information on what the training involves can be found on our website.

These roles can be physically demanding and if successful you will be required to complete and pass Personal Safety Training (PST) Level 2 which develops skills in personal safety techniques. The Dungavel IRC is a multi-level building and there is no lift, so you will need to be comfortable with using stairs throughout the day.

Person specification

Essential criteria

• Strong interpersonal and leadership skills
• Experience of leading an operational team
• Ability to work in a fast-changing environment
• Experience of working in collaboratively across teams and with external organisations at a senior level
• Experience of engaging and building trust with stakeholders to generate commitment to goals

Desirable criteria

• Knowledge of Immigration Detention

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Making Effective Decisions

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.
• This role currently attracts Annualised Hours Allowance (AHA) of 16.35% of salary, which equates to an additional £6,281 per annum based on salary minimum. Further information can be found on our website.
• See more of our benefits on our careers website.

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.

After submission of this first stage, you will be invited to complete the followingCivil Service Judgement test.

1.Online Test – by 4th March 2026

Our online test supplier will be performing scheduled maintenance between 16:00 - 00:00 on 01/03/2026. You will be unable to access tests during this period.

If you are in the middle of a test when the maintenance begins, your progress will be paused. You will be able to resume your test from where you left off via your application centre once the downtime has ended. Please note that you will not be able to launch any new tests while the system is offline.

If you successfully pass theCivil Service Judgementtest, you will be invited to complete the full application form. Please complete the online test as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended). If you fail to complete the online test or full application before the deadline, your application will be withdrawn.

Guidance for the Civil Service test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The online test is accessed via the Civil Service Jobs website.

You cannot complete the test on a mobile phone or tablet.

Following successful completion of your test, you will then be asked to complete the full application form.

2. Application by 4th March 2026

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

• CV
• Personal Statement (maximum 1000 words).

Your CV should consist of your career history, qualifications and skills/experience, including any key achievements in each role. Your CV will be scored against the experience required for the role as noted within the essential criteria.

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.

3.Sift – week commencing 9th March 2026

The sift will be held on the Personal Statement and CV.

4.Interview - week commencing 6th April 2026

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 Strength based questions.

The interview will take place via MS Teams.

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.

Reserve List

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.

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

Integrity Check

As well as successfully obtaining UK Security Vetting clearance, you will also be subject to an additional Integrity Check, as part of the pre-employment process, to determine your suitability to work for Border Force or Immigration Enforcement. For further information on what this involves, please visit our website.

Further information

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure Scotland 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-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.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

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 : Home Office Resourcing Centre
• Email : horccampaignteamie@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

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)