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£25,750 - £27,650Job grade
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Location
About the job
Benefits
Things you need to know
Apply and further information
Location
About the job
Job summary
Passports, Citizenship and Civil Registration (PCCR) is a directorate of the Home Office, which incorporates His Majesty’s Passport Office (HM Passport Office), Citizenship services and the General Register Office (GRO) for England and Wales. It is a directorate of the Customer Services function in the Home Office. It is a customer focused organisation providing passports for British citizens, passport verification services, citizenship services and overseeing the delivery of civil registration in England and Wales. PCCR employs around 4,000 people across the UK. We aim to deliver uncompromising public protection whilst providing world class customer service via a modern digital business.
HM Passport Office and GRO are undergoing a period of transformation with an aspiration of further improving our customer service by becoming a modern digital business. It is an exciting time to work in a part of government that touches the lives of the vast majority of citizens.
Further information about His Majesty’s Passport Office is available on the GOV.UK website HM Passport Office - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Job description
The management and development of an operational team with the aim of improving performance and consistently meeting targets for quality, efficiency and customer service in processing passport applications, customer complaints and correspondence.
Posts will be offered on our evening shift which attracts a 20% shift allowance from 8pm up until your contracted finish time. This can very slightly at each location.
Applications from part time candidates are welcomed, although any posting would depend upon suitable job sharing arrangements being available.
You may be required to wear corporate wear.
Travel around the UK, with occasional overnight stays, may be necessary.
Due to budgetary constraints, Excess Fares Allowance (EFA) will not be available for this role.
The successful candidate must pass security clearance and would only be offered the position on the condition that they subsequently pass the clearance process.
You may be required to undertake training on non-working days.
Person specification
- To manage all functions within a Passport Production Team to provide efficient and timely customer care to internal and external customers and to meet key productivity targets as outlined in the Local Business Plan.
- To manage the quality of the work produced by the team.
- To provide guidance and support to ensure that staff accurately examine passport applications in line with current policy, procedures and legislation.
- To manage staff and workflow within the team to provide efficient and timely customer care to internal/external customers.
- To ensure all dealings with customers are handled in a timely, courteous, and helpful manner.
- To manage the use of procedures in the team and apply appropriate management control so as to comply with HM Passport Office policy and best practice guidelines.
- To manage the attendance, deployment and availability of staff so as to provide the best match between available resources and likely demand.
- To brief staff, complete the induction of new members of staff, manage individual performance levels and address development needs and potential.
- To maintain an up to date knowledge and understanding of legislation, policy, procedure and best practice.
- To manage own time so as to complete all work efficiently and meet agreed service level response times.
- To take responsibility for own performance and personal development.
Note: An employee may be required to carry out other duties within the scope of the grade and within the limits of their skill, competence and training.
Essential Criteria
- Excellent communication, time management and prioritisation skills.
- Ability to work collaboratively with the flexibility to complete important tasks that may be required at short notice.
- Ability to manage a challenging workload and prioritise demands.
- Excellent team player.
Desirable Criteria
- Experience of leading a team.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
- Leadership
- Managing a Quality Service
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
- Communicating and Influencing
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
As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete:
- Statement of Suitability (Personal Statement) (maximum 500 words)
- Provide evidence of the behaviour Communicating & Influencing (250 words maximum)
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Please note that your Statement of Suitability (Personal Statement) should demonstrate how you meet the Key Responsibilities as set out in the job description and “Essential Criteria”.
Sift will be completed initially on the Statement of Suitability (Personal Statement).
The Statement of Suitability (Personal Statement) will be marked first for all candidates. Candidates who meet the minimum pass score for the Personal Statement, will then go on to have their lead behaviour Communicating & Influencing scored and will therefore receive sift scores for both of these elements. Candidates who fail to meet the minimum pass score for the Personal Statement will not have their lead behaviour scored and will therefore only receive a sift score for their Personal Statement.
Candidates successful at sift stage will be invited to interview which will be a blended approach of strength-based questions (no preparation necessary) and some behaviour-based questions, listed in the application (preparation recommended).
Sift and Interview dates:
Sift will take place week commencing 17th July 2023.
Interviews will take place week commencing 14th August 2023. This may change subject to business needs.
Please note - interviews are being carried out via Skype for Business or Microsoft TEAMS, however please note that this may change to face to face interviews should the Home Office Policy change:
- A laptop (personal or work) with a working webcam
- Good Internet access
- Skype for business or MS Teams
It is advisable to access your interview from a windows operating system laptop, desktop, phone or tablet as there is no guarantee that Microsoft Teams will work without issue on an Apple laptop, tablet or desktop.
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.
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
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.
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.
The Home Office as an employer has a responsibility to prevent illegal working. The steps to do so are set out in ‘An employer's guide to right to work checks’ which can be found on gov.uk webpage. To meet this responsibility, we will be completing right to work checks as part of the application process. In some instances, this may require the attendance at a Home Office site.
For more information about working for the Home Office, please visit Home Office Careers website.
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.
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.
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
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.
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 candidate’s 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.
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 Home Office acceptable ID documents.
Any move to the Home Office 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. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.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
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
HORecruitment.GRS@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission.
