Summary

The Home Office is here to make the UK safer. Border Force is a Law Enforcement arm of the Home Office with primary responsibility for UK Border Security, including counter terrorism, immigration and customs matters.

We are responsible for handling the UK border control by implementing immigration and customs regulations and working with the wider Home Office on counter terrorism, organised crime, modern slavery and trafficking. Border Force has five operational regions in the UK: North, Central, Heathrow, South and South East & Europe. These regions have responsibility for securing the border 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at the UK’s 140 seaports, airports, 200+ general aviation ports, postal depots and international rail network. This includes the Eurostar from Brussels and Paris to St Pancras International and the Eurotunnel from Coquelles to Cheriton, where Border Force has juxtaposed controls.

This is a fantastic opportunity to be part of a team that both protects and enhances the UK economy. Our work is varied and rewarding, attracting people from all backgrounds and walks of life.

Job description

Border Force Central Region (CR) covers a large geographical area of central and eastern England, stretching from the Thames estuary in the south across to the east coast ports and as far north as East Midland’s Airport (EMA), near Derby.

The Border Force Operation in CR comprises approximately 1250 staff and includes aviation, maritime and postal operations and also includes the regional mobile command teams at all Central Region Border Force locations, and general aviation/maritime duties at other sites.

Detector Dogs provide a specialised service to front line staff. They are a highly visible demonstration to society of our work in addressing criminality.

Duties include but are not limited to:

Working as part of a team in assisting colleagues to search cargo, baggage, persons, aircraft and premises as well as freight vehicles, vessels and fast parcel depots;

Organising and delivering detector dog training;

Identifying and resolving problems of poor performance of the dog;

Providing the dogs with exercise, feeding, grooming and medication as required;

Liaising with Border Force staff, public and external organisations such as HMRC, NCA and the Police;

Assisting with the search of persons and any element of the detection role when required;

Operating at all times in accordance with legislation, Departmental guidance and procedures and professional standards, ensuring that all actions are proportionate, legal, accountable and necessary;

Contributing to the proper control of offences, including the maintenance of chains of evidence, completing accurately and promptly in line with current guidance all documentation and data entry, including notebooks, offence/seizure documentation and witness statements;

Appearing as an official witness in court and give evidence when required.

This role will require regular travel to ports and airports both within and outside of the regional base. In the event of a critical incident you may be deployed by the National Dog Team and this could involve deployments to any port or airport in one of the 4 countries of the UK and juxtaposed controls in Northern France. Therefore, overnight stays are an integral part of this role.

The Border Force Stage 1 Initial Detector Dog Handler training is a minimum of eight weeks in duration and is a pass or fail course. On completion of the stage 1 training, a further 5 weeks operational training will be undertaken. Both stages of this training may be residential.

At the end of this training period, you will undertake an assessment which must be passed to obtain your license to operate as a Border Force Detector Dog Handler.

Prior to commencing your initial detector dog training, if not already trained, you will be required to complete and pass Customs Foundation Training and PST Level 3. This training may also be residential and is pass or fail.

As all aspects of this training programme are tested, failure to pass will be deemed as poor performance. New recruits to the Home Office, including transfers from other Government Departments will not receive AHA during their initial training, or periods where they are being mentored, if not working in a shift pattern or at weekends. Staff previously in receipt of AHA; Home Office staff on a level transfer or promotion will receive the rate of AHA applicable to the new role during initial training periods.

Candidates who successfully complete their probation will be managed through the Performance Management Policy. Failure in any aspects of training will trigger the use of the Managing Poor Performance policy and this may lead to a decision to dismiss on grounds of inefficiency. In certain circumstances the department may consider a request to re-grade as an alternative to dismissal.

Due to the training involved, there is a 2-year minimum posting period to this role.

Please be aware that this role requires a lengthy accreditation process which must be passed before you are legally allowed to undertake the duties of the role.

You must be comfortable and confident around dogs and must not have been disqualified from:

Keeping or owning a dog under the terms of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1989 or having custody of a dog under the terms of both the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Dangerous Dogs Act (change as appropriate for Scotland or Northern Ireland).

This post requires a high level of physical fitness as it is physically demanding as the role will require lifting and carrying of the dog. The role also requires working outdoors, often in hostile weather conditions.

Please note this post is not suitable for part time or job share arrangements due to dog welfare issues.

Please also note a valid UK manual driving licence is essential as this role is in a mobile unit and you will be required to drive a specialist dogs vehicle to various locations across the region.

Responsibilities

Essential criteria

You must be able to demonstrate:

Excellent organisational skills, working effectively and professionally whilst taking responsibility for your work in order to achieve goals; and multi-tasking to work within tight deadlines;

Experience of working under pressure with limited supervision;

Strong interpersonal skills and ability to be confident when working with the public;

Experience as a team-player, supporting colleagues and team members to deliver key outcomes.

Desirable criteria

Previous experience of working with or handling working dogs in a professional capacity.

Licences

Full valid UK manual driving licence

Behaviours

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

Making Effective Decisions

Delivering at Pace

Working Together

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

Making Effective Decisions

Benefits

Learning and development tailored to your role

An environment with flexible working options

A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity

A Civil Service pension

Things you need to know

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check.

See our vetting charter.

People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Ability and Experience.

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 Judgement 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 13th June 2022. 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 test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the Civil Service Jobs website.

Following successful completion of the test/s, you will then be asked to complete:

a CV detailing job history and skills

a statement of suitability (personal statement) (maximum 500 words)

provide evidence of the behaviour Making Effective Decisions (250 words maximum)

The statement of suitability should be aligned to demonstrate your skills and experience for the role and how you meet the essential criteria as detailed in the job description.

The sift will be held on the behaviour Making Effective Decisions and the statement of suitability (personal statement). The CV will not be scored.

Candidates successful in the sift will be required, prior to interview, to undertake a one-day assessment which will involve practical tasks to determine suitability for the role. This will include assessing candidates’ level of confidence around dogs in the kennel environment, handling of dogs for bathing and grooming and lead control on exercise. Candidates will also be asked to prepare food and interpret feeding and medication boards.

The assessment will take place at Stansted Dog Kennels, Round Coppice Road, Stansted, Essex, CM24 1SE where candidates will be given a full explanation of the role, duties involved and have the opportunity to ask further questions regarding the role.

Please note that only those who pass the assessment will be invited to attend the next stage of the selection process which will be the interview.

The interview will be a blended approach of strength-based questions and behaviour-based questions.

Sift and Interview dates

Sift is expected to take place week commencing 27th June 2022.

Interviews are expected to take place week commencing 18th July 2022. We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert, however on occasions these dates may change.

While COVID-19 remains a risk, interviews will be carried out via video. Candidates will be required to have access to:

A laptop (personal or work) with a working webcam

Good internet connection

Skype for Business/Microsoft Teams

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.

For more information about working for the Home Office, please visit Home Office Careers website.

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 aAre these Reserved Posts for UK Nationals only?

fter the Interview stage.

UK nationals who hold dual nationality are able to apply for this reserved post. If a UK passport is not being presented, then candidates will need to provide alternative evidence of UK nationality in line with the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

Annual Hours Working Allowance:

We operate 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year and you would be required to work flexibly and operate over a 24/7 shift rota, this can include: Night shifts; Early morning starts, sometimes before 6am; Late night finishes, sometimes after midnight; Weekend and Public Holidays; Shifts can vary in length and can be up to 12 hours; Shifts that change or extend according to business need.

These posts include shift allowances of up to 40% which is subject to review.

Age: These are shift working roles and so you must be 18 years or over.

Additional Security Checks:

As well as successfully obtaining UKSV clearance and passing the right to work and pre-employment screening, anyone who applies to work for Border Force will also be subject to additional Border Force specific security checks to determine their suitability to work for the organisation.

Please see the Home Office Recruitment Privacy Information Notice (PIN) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/recruitment-privacy-information-notice for more information on how your details may be shared for the purpose of additional security checks.

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.

A non-offensive visible tattoo is permissible, as long as it is not on the face or on the front or side of the neck (above the collar line). Tattoos behind the ear lobe on the back of the neck are also acceptable within these policy guidelines. You will be required to cover tattoos, when it is seen as appropriate for certain official events, e.g. State Funerals, Opening of Parliament, Remembrance Parades and other Ceremonial events. Under no circumstances should tattoos which could be considered offensive be visible. Examples of these include discriminatory; offensive; undermine political neutrality i.e. rude, lewd, crude, racist, sexist, sectarian, homophobic or violent tattoos.

These roles can be physically demanding and id 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.

Hybrid working:

The flexible working arrangement of Hybrid working (working partly in their workplace(s) and partly at home) is not available for this role due to the requirements of the role. Successful candidates will be required to attend the office/other work location as specified in the advert at all times to carry out this role.

Reserve list

A reserve list will be held for 12 months from which further appointments may be made.

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 Stonewall top 100 Workplace Equality Employer and 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 here

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.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code 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.

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.

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment.

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