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About the job
Job summary
The Home Office has one of the most challenging and critical jobs in Whitehall: to keep Britain safe and secure. We operate at the heart of the Government’s agenda, leading on immigration and passports, drugs policy, crime policy, counter-extremism and counterterrorism and work to ensure visible, responsive, and accountable policing in the UK. The challenges the Department faces are significant and can change rapidly in the global environment in which we operate, making this one of the most exciting and stimulating Government Departments in which to work.
This post is within the Security Culture and Awareness Team, which sits within the Home Office Security Adviser Team, Home Office Security, Corporate and Delivery. The post holder will support the G7 in the successful delivery of the team’s work objectives.
The Home Office Security Adviser Team (HOSAT) sits at the heart of the Security and Investigations Unit within the Corporate and Delivery Directorate. HOSAT is responsible for supporting Home Office business areas to improve their security standards and enable them to deliver their priorities in a secure manner. HOSAT works closely with the Government Security Centres and technical authorities to ensure that advice is always current and relevant. The team chairs and attends various cross government forums, ensuring that the department remains a role model in security best practices.
This is a busy role requiring leadership qualities and will require you to have responsibility for the production and delivery of security awareness materials, products and services relating to all areas of protective security to the department and to have a good understanding of the wider political and security context. You will be expected to brief senior officials and Private Office on a regular basis.
The Home Office is an equal opportunity employer and value diversity and inclusion. It is committed to creating a welcoming, inclusive workplace where all its people can work and perform at their best.
The Home Office is committed to investing in its staff and offers a range of work-based training and qualifications, coaching and mentoring opportunities, with a guaranteed five days of learning and five days volunteering per year.
Job description
This is a fantastic opportunity for a highly motivated, dynamic, well organised individual to join the team and enact impactful change to a prominent and diverse department. This role will be key in increasing Home Office staff’s understanding and knowledge of security responsibilities, leading on improving security culture in the Home Office through consistent and standardised security behaviour change activity. You will work closely with a range of internal Home Office business areas as well as cross-government partners for example, the Government Security Education and Awareness Centre (SEAC) and National Technical Authorities to ensure that information and best practices remain up to date as threats and mitigations continue to evolve at pace.
Due to the operational nature of this post this position is only open to Full Time members of staff.
Hybrid Working
Hybrid working enables employees to work partly in their workplace(s) and partly at home. 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.
Person specification
Main responsibilities will include:
- Developing and deploying an array of strategies to embed a positive and impactful security culture across the department. Liaising with internal communications colleagues as well as external bodies to ensure that individuals have relevant and current information available to them to make security conscious informed decisions.
- To write, edit and manage written content for a variety of security communications campaigns / products through a variety of channels (for example written articles, internal communications on the HO intranet, written documents).
- Work on the development, planning, coordination, and delivery of the campaign (internal and cross Gov), particularly at a local level, working with local partners, other Government departments and senior leaders.
- Liaising and navigating work across other Government departments and local delivery partners, ensuring plans are aligned to wider UK Government security communication objectives. This includes Building relationships with senior policy stakeholders and external agencies to understand how strategic communications can best support them and implement these improvements to optimise the campaign.
- Build peer and senior relationships with departmental and other colleagues to ensure the successful delivery of campaigns.
- Close engagement with other HOS/PSC teams, National Technical Authorities, Cabinet Office, other key stakeholders to establish any priorities or objectives to be planned for in overarching programme of Home Office Security Culture work.
- Provide effective and strong line management for HEO (and counter management of EOs) in line with performance management expectations.
- There is also a requirement to contribute in delivering face-to-face security briefings to Private Office and presentations across a variety of security topics linked to security policies and general security awareness work.
Note: This is not an exclusive or exhaustive list, and the post holder will be required to perform any additional duties reasonably expected of them within the scope of the grade and within the limits of their skill, competence and training.
Essential Criteria
- Excellent written, verbal communication and presentation skills.
- Highly motivated, dynamic and proactive; able to work in a fast-paced environment, managing time and priorities effectively.
- Problem solver and able to provide clear, accurate direction to own team & stakeholders.
- Confident and enthusiastic leadership, motivating colleagues by articulating how the work contributes to wider departmental priorities.
- Able to gather, analyse and manage information, with the ability to express this to a range of stakeholders and audiences at both operational and strategic levels.
- The ability to build effective relationships within a multi-stakeholder environment.
- You will be a collaborative team player, with a positive attitude, able to build effective working relationships to support the Team and Senior Management Team (SMT).
- You will have strong IT skills including Outlook inbox and calendar, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Desirable Criteria
- Embedding security culture at a departmental level & developing communications products / experience.
- Line management experience.
Behaviours
We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
- Making Effective Decisions
- Seeing the Big Picture
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%