Control Room Officer - GillinghamAbout the jobJob summaryDiscover a career in your hands at HMRC. Whether you're seeking purpose, growth, or a workplace that gives you a true sense of belonging, hear from some of our employees as they share their story about what it's really like to work at HMRC.Visit our YouTube channel to watch the full series and come and discover your potential.HMRC's Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) is responsible for the department's civil and criminal investigations.Covert Operations, Digital Exploitation (CODE) sits within FIS. Working across Law Enforcement and government, CODE provides investigative tools and covert techniques to front-line investigations and works with key partners to develop and provide access to new technology and systems to enable investigators to respond to serious and complex tax evasion and crime.For this role, you will be part of a team working in a Control Room environment providing critical tactical support to HMRC Investigators and Intelligence Officers who are deployed in the operational field. This will involve the use of a variety of computer programmes and communications systems, some of which are detailed below. Full training will be provided.Due to the sensitive nature of some of the systems used, there is very limited scope to work from home and the team works on a shift basis to ensure the Control Room is staffed during its operational hours Monday to Friday 07:00-20:00. There are also occasions when staff will be expected to work flexibly to provide support outside the standard operating hours and the role requires an on-call commitment of one week in four.Staff will be paid an extra allowance to compensate for the flexibility and on-call aspects of the job.The jobholder will ideally be a good communicator as the role will necessitate daily interaction with investigators and intelligence officers to receive and provide updates in relation to their investigations. There may also be a need to represent the Control Room in meetings with internal and external stakeholders including other Government departments, police forces and/or law enforcement agencies.Job descriptionAs a Control Room officer, you will be in daily contact via telephone, email and/or secure radio systems with investigation and/or intelligence officers. The support you provide will be to some of the most impactful criminal cases under investigation by HMRC in furtherance of the enforcement of its compliance responsibilities.You will receive a grounding in the law, intelligence/evidence gathering and on-the-job training to ensure that you are equipped to work with your Control Room colleagues as part of a team delivering timely updates to FIS and RIS (Risk and Intelligence Service) colleagues.Person specificationAs a Control Room Officer you will report to a Control Room Manager and your duties will include:Monitoring and maintaining the telephone, Airwave radio system and mailbox feeds, triaging calls / requests as required.Monitoring and operating Control Room software, providing H&S overview of operational activity and tactical support as required.Live monitoring on ANPR systems and passing activations to operational staff.Running checks on various systems on a dynamic and reactive basis.Managing Airwave radio requests and providing Airwave support to operational staff.Broader Airwave and ANPR related duties which may include assisting with policy related matters.Attending meetings, engaging in team projects and maintaining statistics as necessary.Being part of a 1 in 4 on-call roster to cover night, weekend and public holidays.Support functions to the wider Unit which may include a range of administrative, clerical or logistical tasks.Other duties at the direction of the Control Room Manager or Senior Investigation Officer.The role will necessitate travelling and occasional overnight stays.This is a shift-work post and due to the business critical need to fill the vacancy with a shift-worker, alternative working patterns are not available.Shifts are generally rostered at 8 hours between the hours of 07:00 and 20:00 Monday to Friday, but with a regular requirement to work outside of these hours depending on demand or operational requirement. Weekend, night and public holiday attendance is covered by a 1 in 4 on-call roster. The requirement to work during these times can be unpredictable so flexibility is essential. Please see attached Flexibility Payment document.Essential Criteria:Experience of working in the criminal justice arena, particularly any experience of criminal investigations, intelligence or policing.Strong communication skills.Good IT skills, including the ability to operate Microsoft Office 365.The on-call requirements of the role necessitate the jobholder to attend the office within 60 minutes of being contacted.Desirable Criteria:In addition, you will need to attend a variety of training courses, some of which may require you to be away from home for up to a week at a time.Training Requirements:You will be expected to under take the following training which will form part of a 6 month Training and Assessment Period (TAP)2-week Intelligence foundation courseHydra decision-making courseRange of mandatory online training packagesFull Time onlyDue to operational needs, these posts are full-time; however, applicants who need to work a more flexible arrangement are welcome to apply. We can't guarantee that we can meet all requests to work flexibly as any agreement will be subject to business ability to accommodate. Any request to work a more flexible arrangement should be made prior to your acceptance of the provisional offer.Flexibility PaymentThis post attracts Flexibility Payments at Level 1a combined with Level 1b, which are paid monthly with salary.Level 1a allows HMRC flexibility to change your work pattern, at short notice, to meet business needs, Additionally, you will be expected to work longer hours from time to time, at weekends and outside your normal working hours/days (including bank holidays).Level 1b requires you to undertake periods of On Call. You will be expected to work on call 1 week in 4.In applying for a position and accepting the FP you agree that you can and will meet those attendance requirements.Note: Payment of FP is dependent on successful completion of role specific training and you will move to Level 1a+1b FP eligibility in stages (see the attached document for details).FP levels are reviewed annually - on a business need and personal basis - and may be subject to change.If you currently receive the Flexibility Payment, which may include Transition Protection and/or a Maintained Pension Value, moving to a new role may affect your payments.Details of the Flexibility Payment can be found in the attached document.BehavioursWe'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: Working Together Communicating and Influencing Managing a Quality Service BenefitsAlongside your salary of £31,096, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £9,008 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.HMRC operates both Flexible and Hybrid Working policies, allowing you to balance your work and personal commitments. We welcome applications from those who need to work a more flexible arrangement and will agree to requests where possible, considering our operational and customer service needs.We offer a generous leave allowance, starting at 25 days and increasing by a day for every year of qualifying service up to a maximum of 30 days.Pension - We make contributions to our colleagues' Alpha pension equal to at least 28.97% of their salary.Family friendly policies.Personal support.Coaching and development.To find out more about HMRC benefits and find out what it's really like to work for HMRC hear from our insiders or visit Thinking of joining the Civil ServiceThings you need to knowSelection process detailsThis vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.How to ApplyAs part of the application process, you will be asked to provide the following:A name-blind CV including - Job History and Skills & Experience section (max 500 words) which should demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria.A 250-word Personal Statement - Demonstrate what you and your experience can bring to the role. It should also highlight how you meet the essential criteria.Three separate 250-word statements on the following Behaviours - Working Together (Lead Behaviour), Communicating and Influencing, and Managing a Quality Service. Please complete a separate statement (Max 250 words) for the Desirable Criteria where applicable. This is not essential for the role but may be considered by the vacancy-holder where candidates have the same scores at sift or interview.Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.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 for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.SiftIn the event of a large number of applications being received, an initial sift may be held on the CV, Personal Statement and the Lead Behaviour Working Together.At full sift all behaviour statements, and your CV, and your Personal Statement, will be assessed, with the successful candidates being invited to interview.We may also raise the score required at any stage of the process if we receive a high number of applications.InterviewDuring the panel interview, you will be asked behaviour-based questions to explore in detail what you are capable of, and you will be asked strength-based questions to also explore what you enjoy and your motivations relevant to the job role.This is an example of a strengths-based question:"It is often said that the customer's needs should come first. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?"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.Candidates may refer to notes during their interview.Interviews will take place face to face at Stratford Regional Centre. Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.EligibilityPlease take extra care to tick the correct boxes in the eligibility sections of your application form. We understand mistakes sometimes happen but if you contact us later than two working days(Monday-Friday) before the vacancy closes, we will not be able to reopen your application for you. If you do make a mistake with your eligibility form, please contact us via: unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk - Use the subject line to insert appropriate wording for example - 'Please re-open my application - (insert vacancy ref) & vacancy closing date (insert date)'.To check that you are eligible to apply for this role, please review the eligibility information before submitting your application.Reserve ListA reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles - if this applies to you, we'll let you know via your Civil Service Jobs account.Merit ListAfter interview, a single merit list will be created, and you will only be considered for posts in locations you have expressed a preference for. Appointments will be made in strict merit order in line with the set number of roles in each location.Criminal Record CheckApplications received from candidates with a criminal record are considered fairly in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice and the Recruitment of ex-offenders Policy.Hybrid working at HMRCHMRC is an office-based organisation, and colleagues are expected to spend 60% of their working time in the office. Our offices provide opportunity for interaction, collaboration which aids learning and development and a sense of community. Where the role allows it, and where the home environment is suitable, colleagues can work from home for up to 2 days a week, averaged over a calendar month (or a proportionate amount of time for colleagues who work less than full time). Reasonable AdjustmentsWe want to make sure no one is put at a disadvantage during our recruitment process. To assist you with this, we will reduce or remove any barriers where possible and provide additional support where appropriate.If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: Contact the UBS Recruitment team via unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.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.Additional Security InformationPlease note: in addition to the standard pre-employment checks for appointment into the Civil Service, all candidates must also obtain National Security Vetting at Security Check (SC) clearance level for this vacancy. You will normally need to meet the minimum UK residency period as determined by the level of vetting being undertaken, which for SC is 5 years UK residency prior to your vetting application. If you have any questions about this residency requirement, please speak to the vacancy holder for this post.Important information for existing HMRC contractual homeworkers:Please note that this role is unsuitable for contractual homeworkers due to the nature and/or requirements of the role.Terms and Conditions Customer facing roles in HMRC require the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English and/or Welsh where required. Where this is an essential requirement, this will be tested as part of the selection process.HMRC has a presence in every region of the UK. For more information on where you might be working, review this information on our locations.The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. The evidence you provide in your application must relate to your own experiences.Any instances of plagiarism or other forms of cheating will be investigated and, if proven, the relevant application(s) will be withdrawn from the process. Recording of interviews is prohibited unless explicit agreement is sought in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulations.Questions relating to an individual application must be emailed as detailed later in this advert.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. A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.New entrants will join on the minimum of the pay band.Please note that, if you are applying for roles on a part-time basis, the salary agreed will be pro-rata, reflective of the working hours agreed within your contract.If you experience accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section. For more Information for people applying for, or thinking of applying for, roles at HM Revenue and Customs, please see link: Working for HMRC: information for applicants - GOV.UK.Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.SecuritySuccessful 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 security 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 requirementsThis 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 ServiceThe 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 InclusionThe Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).