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

The Detention Progression and Returns Command (DPRC) serve all detained casework commands including the Immigration Enforcement (IE) National Returns and Progression Command, IE Foreign National Offenders (FNO) Returns command, Detained Asylum Casework, as well as Border Force and Special Cases unit.

The DPRC provides:

• Entry to detention, through the Detention Gatekeeper (DGK).
• Consideration of raised medical practitioner concerns, through the (Detention Centre) Detained Medical Report Team (DMRT).
• Interaction with those in immigration detention, through Detention Engagement Teams (DETs).
• Consideration of last minute representations, through the Operational Support Certification Unit (OSCU).
• Changes to detained casework processes, through the Detained Casework Oversight and Improvement Team (DCOIT).

We are offering the opportunity to play a key role in redefining Home Office interactions with our detained population, providing a humane, safe and secure environment for those in detention, whilst the Home Office progresses their case. Detention Engagement Teams are in place in all eight Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) across the UK.

Job description

As a Senior Operational Manager, you will work alongside the Detention Engagement Team (DET) G7s and counterpart SEOs who have operational responsibility of Heathrow, Gatwick, Dungavel, Derwentside, Haslar, Campfield and Yarls Wood.

Part of your role will be to take ownership for agreed action points following any internal reviews – for example from the IE Risk and Assurance Team and External Review, HMIP (His Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons), ICIB (Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration). You will also implement any recommendations that have been taken forward as well as Action agreed third party recommendations across the DETs.

Please note: this role is a non-uniform role.

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 both your experience and skill set.

Key Responsibilities

The successful candidate will be responsible for (but not limited to):

• Ensuring that engagement with those in detention is robust and meaningful. Monitoring contact across multiple disciplines (face to face, email, telephone and post) ensuring that all contact opportunities enable business critical objectives to be met.
• Identifying risks and seeking continuous improvement opportunities to further shape and develop DETs, ensuring that best practice is shared with colleagues across the network.
• Undertaking a proactive approach to workforce management, ensuring optimal deployment of resources across business hours and raising associated issues, exercising effective financial control in managing resources, ensuring propriety, compliance and value for money.
• Providing guidance and support to managers relating to sophisticated Immigration Enforcement policy and procedural issues involving those in detention.
• Acting as the lead on-site contact point between DETs and a wide range of internal/external stakeholders, in particular across Immigration Enforcement and Detention Services.
• Leading, managing and reporting on staff performance for those in the assigned management line, address any staff development needs, handle attendance and sickness related absence in line with current policies and procedures.
• Acting on Call oversight for DETs during out of hours and weekends on a Rota basis alongside the wider DET SEO team.
• Ensuring that all relevant Management Information relating to engagement activity is available, accurate and supplied to the DPRC management in a timely fashion.

Working Pattern

Due to business requirements, this role is 100% office based and 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 and late night finishes. These shifts may be outside of public transport operating hours.

Training

You will receive full training and support to do the job. Training will take place on the job. Even then you are never alone; you work as part of a team where there is always someone around for advice and support.

This role 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. Further information on what the training involves can be found on our website.

Travel

You will occasionally be required to travel to other DET office locations as part of the role.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Strong leadership, both personal and corporate in a constantly evolving environment.
• Experience of working in partnership and collaboratively across teams and with external organisations at a senior level engaging and building trust with stakeholders to generate dedication to goals.
• Experience of team management in an operational environment
• Ability to remain calm under pressure, think quickly, work independently and exercise strong judgement

Desirable Criteria

• Immigration Detention knowledge.

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions

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

• Leadership

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 8% of salary, which equates to an additional £3,776.00 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.

1. Application – by 05 June 2026

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

• Personal Statement (maximum 750 words).
• Evidence of the Behaviour - Leadership (maximum of 250 words).

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.

2. Sift – 09 June 2026

The sift will be held on the Personal Statement and Behaviour - Leadership.

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 (Lead Behaviour). 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.

3. Interview – 30 June 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 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, 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.https://careers.homeoffice.gov.uk/reserve-lists

Breaking Tied Scores

The behaviours, experience 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.

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.

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.

Criminal Record Check

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Serviceon 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.

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

2025-11-17 Pre-employment Checking - Document Requirements (V17) Opens in new window (pdf, 231kB)Candidate_Information_v17_April_2026 Opens in new window (pdf, 207kB)