** Operations Officer

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. We also aim to disrupt the organised criminal groups that exploit the vulnerable for their personal gain. Learn more on our careers pages.

The Immigration Detention (ID) Compliance Team operates within Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) and plays a key role in monitoring supplier performance to ensure detained residents receive appropriate standards of care and service. The team supports the oversight of day-to-day operational activities, gathers evidence to assess compliance, escalates concerns where necessary, and works closely with colleagues to ensure contractual and operational requirements are met.

Job description

You will play a key role in ensuring that all aspects of the IRCs are run safely and securely, with full adherence to relevant policies, standards, and legislation. Working as part of a team, you will monitor the quality and consistency of service delivery, identifying areas of good practice as well as opportunities for improvement. This will involve maintaining a visible presence across the sites and building a comprehensive understanding of daily operations through direct observation and engagement.

The role also involves the collection and analysis of operational data to support performance monitoring and assurance activity. You will be responsible for producing timely and accurate reports, contributing to performance reviews, and providing insight to inform decision-making. In addition, you may support the planning and coordination of removals, ensuring that logistical arrangements are effectively managed where required.

You will have a responsibility to monitor incidents such as use of force, ensuring that appropriate oversight is maintained and that any concerns are identified and addressed promptly. Safeguarding is a key aspect of the role, and you will be expected to recognise, escalate, and support the resolution of any safeguarding issues involving detained individuals.

Alongside core operational duties, you will contribute to wider compliance activity, including participation in thematic reviews and targeted audits across different areas of IRC operations. You will also build and maintain effective working relationships with on-site partners and stakeholders, supporting a collaborative and transparent working environment that enables open communication and continuous improvement. This is an exciting opportunity to work in a fast-paced and varied role, requiring strong attention to detail, effective communication skills, and the ability to work professionally in a complex operational setting.

You may be required to undertake the same or a similar role within a different team or teams, where possible at your base location or within reasonable travel distance, depending on business priorities. With appropriate training and support, this will provide opportunities to broaden your experience and skill set.

Key Responsibilities

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Monitor contractual compliance and provide regular performance summaries, updates and feedback to the Home Office Compliance Manager.
• Oversee the IRC supplier’s compliance with contractual requirements, ensuring the site operates in a healthy, safe and secure manner in line with relevant legislation.
• Produce high-quality thematic reviews, dip sample reports and assurance summaries to assess contract delivery and adherence to policy.
• Ensure residents within the centre receive an effective service in line with Immigration Detention Performance Standards and Framework requirements.
• Carry out Immigration Enforcement’s statutory duties within the IRC, including authorising temporary confinement or removal from association where necessary.
• Collect, process and audit complaints in line with policy, working collaboratively with the complaints department to support effective resolution.
• Provide advice to managers on IRC policies and procedures, including supporting responses to parliamentary questions and other official correspondence.
• Manage the team’s shared inbox, responding to enquiries promptly and professionally.
• Represent the Home Office at a range of meetings, including difficult removals planning, daily operational meetings, resident consultative committees, Independent Monitoring Board meetings, security, healthcare and safer community forums.

Working Pattern

Due to the business requirements of this role, it is only available on a full-time basis. However, where business needs allow, compressed hours are available, once you have completed training.

Shift Working

You must be able to work all required shift patterns, including early starts, late finishes, overnight, rota-based and weekend shifts. Please note that some shifts may start or finish outside of public transport operating hours, and candidates should ensure they can travel to and from the workplace accordingly.

Training

You will receive comprehensive training and support to help you succeed in the role. You will be supported by experienced colleagues and mentors. While you will work as part of a wider team and have access to advice and support when needed, some shifts may be undertaken independently, particularly at weekends, during night shifts and on late shifts after 5pm. Further information on what the training involves can be found on our website.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders to support the timely delivery of objectives.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey information clearly, accurately and professionally to a range of audiences.
• Good organisational and time-management skills, with the ability to prioritise competing demands and deliver a high-quality service.
• Experience using Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and SharePoint, to manage information and support effective ways of working.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of working in a detention or prison environment, with understanding of the immigration system.
• Experience of contract monitoring/audit and assurance.

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• 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.
• This role currently attracts Annualised Hours Allowance (AHA) of 22.82% of salary, which equates to an additional £7929.72 per annum based on salary minimum. Further information can be found on our website.
• 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.

After submission of this first stage, you will be invited to complete the following Civil Service Judgement Test.

1. Online Test – by 19 October 2026

If you successfully pass theCivil Service Judgement Test, 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 tests are accessed via the Civil Service Jobs website.

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

You will be directed to the Talogy - True Talent – Scheduled Maintenance Window Webpage for online tests during an outage.

Our online test supplier will be performing scheduled maintenance between 4pm and 7pm and on Sunday 11th October 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.

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

2. Application – by 19 October 2026

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

• Personal Statement (maximum 500 words).
• Evidence of the Behaviour - Communicating and Influencing (maximum of 250 words per Behaviour).

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

3. Sift – commencing 21 October 2026

The sift will be held on the Personal Statement and Behaviour - Communicating and Influencing, as listed in the advert.

Should a high volume of applications be received, an initial sift will be conducted on the Personal Statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift will then be progressed to a full sift that will consist of all the remaining elements submitted, Behaviour - Communicating and Influencing. Candidates who fail to meet the minimum pass score for the initial sift will not have their remaining submitted elements scored and will only receive a sift score for that assessed at the initial sift.

4. Interview – commencing 11 November 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. All behaviours listed in the selection process will be scored at the interview.

The interviews will take place in person at Brook House IRC, Gatwick.

Please note: Travel expenses will not be reimbursed.

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 not guarantee that being held on a reserve list will lead to a job offer. Further information can be found on our website.

Breaking Tied Scores

The behaviours and strengths have been ranked in order of importance to enable us to differentiate between candidates with tied interview scores.

Standards

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

Appearance

This is a uniformed post and as such requires the highest standards. Further information on this and policies regarding tattoos can be found on our website.

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.

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-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

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 an enhanced (or equivalent) 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

2025-11-17 Pre-employment Checking - Document Requirements (V17) (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 231kB)candidate_information_v18_July_2026 Opens in new window (pdf, 8MB)