Customer Service Group - Asylum and Human Rights Operation – Senior Operations Manager Glasgow, Scotland
Job description
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Salary
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Contract type
Business area
Type of role
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Contents
Location
About the job
Benefits
Things you need to know
Apply and further information
Location
About the job
Job summary
Asylum & Human Rights Operations is one of the key business areas within the Home Office. Alongside the other areas of the Home Office, the department is going through a transformational programme. Operational Excellence is at the forefront of what we do.
Our strategic aims contribute to the Home Office strategic objectives: preventing terrorism and extremism; cutting crime and protecting the vulnerable; and reducing immigration and preventing abuse.
IMPORTANT – Working patterns and hours
Annual Hours Working Allowance
These posts are subject to Annualised Hours Working (AHW). AHW is an attendance system in which you are required to work a set number of hours in a year rather than in a day or week. Within that, managers will ask you to work a flexible number of hours each day or week; this will include Saturdays, depending on the needs of the business and within restrictions of the working time regulations. Your AHW rate will be confirmed when you are assigned and will be paid as a percentage of your salary. The AHW rate is reviewed yearly.
Hours
All part time staff will need to work the full length/range of the shifts on the days that they work. Part time staff must be able to work a minimum of 3 days, including at least 1 Saturday per month.
As this is a customer facing operational delivery role. There is the requirement to be physically present on-site a minimum of 3 days a week. However, more days may be needed due to the nature of the role.
Please ensure you are able to commit to these working arrangements when applying for these posts as the roles are not suitable for fixed-hours or flexible working and we will not be able to transfer you into alternative roles.
Job description
The main role of the SEO within The Service & Support Centre is to manage a front facing operation for several workstreams including interviews with customers, enrichment activity, asylum registration and further submissions.
Your role will involve delivering a high quality, efficient and professional service for all customers and stakeholders, ensuring service standards are continually met.
You will be responsible for identifying areas of improvement within existing processes and successfully managing, supporting, developing, and stretching staff to deliver agreed goals and activities.
You will provide effective leadership and direction to your team of Higher Executive Officers (HEOs), Executive Officers (EOs) and Administrative Officers (AOs).
You will be required to wear a uniform when on duty, this will all be provided.
Person specification
Responsibilities will include but are not limited to:
- Leading Service and Support Centre customer-facing operations. Ensuring effective management of daily SSC & Asylum workflow, agreeing robust contentions, while monitoring daily complex safeguarding referrals.
- Ensuring effective management of staff and resources to deliver front facing customer services, taking account of demand pressures and capacity plans. Reviewing the performance of the unit to ensure service standards are met.
- Ensuring performance expectations are met and that delivery remains aligned with the strategic aims of the wider business.
- Management and leadership of your direct HEO reports and supporting them to manage their teams, applying HR and Health and Safety policies appropriately. Supporting and developing the team to achieve their full potential while completing your own personal learning and development.
- Represent Asylum and Protection positively by projecting a professional image to customers, colleagues, and stakeholders to help maintain customer service excellence accreditation.
- Continually identifying ways to improve customer service and the customer journey, placing the customer at the heart of everything we do. Resolving customer concerns face to face or in writing, as required.
- Leading and embedding transformational change, encouraging the team to embrace the journey, and driving forward Operational Excellence.
- Representing the SSC to various stakeholders, including legal representatives.
- Pro-actively identifying operational and reputational risks and taking appropriate action.
The role may include remote management of services in other locations such as ‘pop up’ SSCs.
Additional duties within the scope of the grade will vary dependent on business needs. Public-facing work is fast-paced, interesting and varied; but can, at times be pressurised so an ability to be flexible and prioritise is important.
You must be willing to undertake (if not completed recently)
- Safeguarding training.
- Personal Safety level 2 training with refresher training every 12 months.
Essential Criteria:
- Experienced of confident leadership, with the ability to give clear direction and effectively manage relationships within your management chain and across the wider business.
- Experience of managing competing priorities and with the ability to work to tight deadlines, acting promptly to reassess workloads and priorities when there are conflicting demands to maintain performance.
- Be adaptable and willing to work independently and flexibly, taking responsibility for operational delivery of work within your team.
- Experience of working in a fast-paced environment, with the ability to align team activities to contribute to wider organisational priorities.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills and experience of utilising digital communication methods.
- Experience as a team player, supporting colleagues and team members through change and bringing out the best in people to deliver key outcomes.
Desirable Criteria:
- Previous experience of leading customer-facing services.
- Operational knowledge of Immigration case working and the Asylum screening process.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Delivering at Pace
- Leadership
- Managing a Quality Service
- Seeing the Big Picture
Benefits
- Learning and development tailored to your role
- An environment with flexible working options
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
- A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
Things you need to know
Selection process details
This will be a 3-stage process and you will need to be successful at each stage to progress to the next.
Stage 1 – Test
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 a Civil Service Verbal Reasoning Test. If you successfully pass this test, you will then be invited to complete the full application form. Please complete the online test as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the test and full application form is 23:55 on 19 April 2023. If you fail to complete the online test or full application before the deadline, your application will be withdrawn.
Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the Verbal Reasoning Test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the Civil Service Jobs website.
You CANNOT complete the Tests on a mobile phone or tablet.
Stage 2 - Sift
Following successful completion of the test, you will then be asked to complete:
- a Statement of Suitability (personal statement) (maximum 1250 words)
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
The Statement of Suitability should be aligned to demonstrate your skills and experience for the role and how you meet the essential criteria.
The sift will be conducted on the Statement of Suitability
Stage 3 - Interview
If you are successful at sift stage, you will be invited to an interview which will be a blended approach of strength-based questions and behaviour-based questions. The behaviours we will use are:
- Delivering at Pace
- Leadership
- Managing a Quality Service
- Seeing the Big Picture
There is no expectation or requirement for you to prepare for the strengths-based questions in advance of the interview, though you may find it helpful to spend some time reflecting on what you enjoy doing and what you do well.
Please note - interviews will be carried out via Launchpad (pre-recorded interview) for business where you will be required to have access to:
- A laptop (personal or work) with a working webcam
- Good Internet access
You will receive a link to complete a video interview and we will be asking you to video record your responses to pre-recorded questions. You will have 7 days to complete your interview once you receive the invite.
Please ensure you read the following guidance prior to completing your interview.
Please see https://launchpadrecruits.com/candidate-advice for more information.
Although we would appreciate your co-operation submitting within the 7 days, we will try to exercise flexibility in offering you an alternative date/extension.
Following the interviews, postings will be made on the basis of business need in merit order by location.
Successful candidates will be required to attend an appointment to conduct ID checks before pre-employment checks will begin.
Sift and Interview Dates
The sift will take place from week commencing 24th April 2023.
Interviews will take place from 24th - 30th May 2023.
These dates may be subject to change.
Further Information
For meaningful checks to be carried out, individuals need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time to enable appropriate checks to be carried out and produce a result which provides the required level of assurance. You should normally have been resident in the United Kingdom for the last 3 years if the role requires CTC clearance, 5 years for SC clearance and 10 years for DV. A lack of UK residency in itself is not necessarily a bar to a security clearance and applicants should contact the Vacancy Holder/Recruiting Manager listed in the advert for further advice.
NOTE FOR CANDIDATES: Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. All applications are screened for plagiarism and copying of examples/answers from internet sources. If any is detected the application will be withdrawn from the process. Further action, including disciplinary action, may be considered in such cases involving internal candidates. Providing false or misleading information would be contrary to the core values of honesty and integrity expected of all Civil Servants.
Please note: If you are currently an agency member of staff working within the Home Office, a contractor or contingent worker you can only apply for roles that are advertised externally, i.e., outside the civil service. If you are eligible to apply for a role, you are required to select yourself as an external applicant and not internal when submitting your application on Civil Service jobs. This will prevent any delays in pre-employment checks should you become successful in being made an offer of employment after the Interview stage.
For roles which are Hybrid working:
Hybrid working enables employees to work partly in their workplace(s) and partly at home. As Covid-19 restrictions are lifted, a hybrid working pattern may be available, where business needs allow. Applicants can discuss what this means with the vacancy holder if they have specific questions.
A reserve list may be created for other similar roles for a period of 12 months. Selection will be in Merit Order to fill the same role or similar roles with closely matching “Essential Criteria” and Success Profile elements without further assessment.
Successful applicants will be placed in roles based on their location preference and when roles become available. Where we are not in a position to offer posts immediately, we will place successful candidates, on a reserve list for up to 12 months.
For more information about working for the Home Office, please visit Home Office Careers website.
Personal Safety Training (PST)
These roles can be physically demanding and if successful you will be required to complete and pass specialist training including Personal Safety Training (PST) which develops skills in personal safety, arrest and restraint techniques. This demands physical activity and physical contact with delegates on the course. You will be required to complete a PST health declaration and, if necessary, attend a medical examination. A formal offer will be conditional upon you being physically fit to undertake and pass the training.
Appearance
As part of this role you will be required to wear a uniform (which will be provided). Staff must ensure that their uniform is worn correctly, in line with these uniform standards, is kept clean and is well presented. To support this requirement, adequate uniform supplies will be available and issued. Uniformed staff represent their organisation at all times and should ensure that their dress and personal appearance reflects this responsibility.
Every day, Home Office civil servants do brilliant work to develop and deliver policies and services that affect the lives of people across the country and beyond. To do this effectively and fairly, the Home Office is committed to representing modern Britain in all its diversity, and creating a welcoming, inclusive workplace where all our people are able to bring their whole selves to work and perform at their best.
If you are an external candidate and not a Civil Servant, please note that you will start on the minimum pay that is being advertised.
We are flexible, skilled, professional and diverse. We work to recruit and retain disabled staff and area Disability Confident Leader. We are proud to be one of the most ethnically diverse departments in the civil service. We are a Social Mobility Foundation top 75 employer.
For further information please see the attached notes for candidates which must be read before making an application.
Existing Civil Servants should note that some of the Home Office terms and conditions of employment have changed. It is the candidates responsibility to ensure they are aware of the Terms and Conditions they will adopt should they be successful in application and should refer to the notes for candidates for further details.
Transfer Terms: Voluntary.
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 [email protected] 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
Owing to the size of the campaign it will not be possible to provide candidates with feedback at either the sift or interview stage.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
- relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
- relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
- certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals
Working for the Civil Service
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).
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
Recruitment team :
Further information
principles, and wish to make a complaint, then you should contact in the first instance
[email protected]. If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission.
