We have one of the most challenging and important jobs in government; safeguarding the vulnerable and their host communities and keeping our border secure. Every colleague within the Home Office plays a part in making that happen.

In Asylum and Human Rights Operations (A&HRO) we conduct thousands of interviews and make thousands of decisions each year about who can stay in the country. Our decision makers conduct face to face interviews with vulnerable customers to ensure we have all the information necessary to make an appropriate decision on their future. Asylum decision makers develop specialist knowledge of legislation and policy, keeping up-to-date with guidance and caselaw and seeking advice from colleagues within the team.

Asylum decision makers work directly with people seeking asylum. They play an important role in offering protection to the most vulnerable and refusing those who do not qualify, ensuring effective immigration control and keeping the UK safe and secure. Our colleagues work closely with non-government organisations, local authorities, legal representatives and the wider public sector to achieve this.

Asylum decision making is a hugely rewarding and very satisfying role. There are few other roles in the Civil Service where you will be responsible for making a life-changing decision on an individual's future.

Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of Asylum Operations. We are a diverse organisation serving diverse communities, so respect is one of our key values. If you are motivated, hard-working, committed and looking for a varied and stimulating role, we have much to offer you.

Is the role of an asylum operations decision maker the right one for you?

There are key personal attributes that we are looking for in our decision makers. If you answer yes to the below questions, then this role could be perfect for you:

• Are you inquisitive? The role requires getting to grips with policy and guidance including a lot of reading. Do you enjoy individual learning and formulating arguments/decisions based on extensive research? Do you like getting into the detail, often drawing on information from a wide range of resources?
• Are you emotionally resilient? You will be interviewing some of the most vulnerable people in society, hearing their stories and then formulating a decision.
• Can you remain empathetic and professional whilst dealing with potentially traumatised individuals on a daily basis?
• Can you process information and work at pace? Do you enjoy a fast-paced environment whilst maintaining a high-quality customer service?
• Are you IT literate and able to multi-task? You will be undertaking lengthy (2-3 hour) interviews with individuals seeking asylum and be required to type a verbatim record of the discussion as the interview takes place. You will set the pace of the interview as you are the person asking questions.

The work that you undertake is life-changing and in order to achieve your best you will be supported, coached and mentored by an experienced team and given full training enabling you to make considered, timely and fair decisions made in line with Home Office policy, guidance and with reference to relevant country information and case law.

Some of the key responsibilities in these roles include (but not limited):

• Conducting Asylum interviews to the required Home Office standard ensuring all information necessary to make an appropriate decision is obtained.
• Following the required processes in order to make decisions on asylum cases within the decision-making framework.
• Considering large amounts of information, legislation and case law to produce individually written, clear, structured letters on behalf of the Home Secretary outlining reasons for the decision.
• Demonstrating sensitivity, emotional resilience and understanding of the needs of vulnerable adults and children throughout the process.
• Providing accurate information in a professional and helpful manner by collecting and assessing relevant data and information from various sources.
• Working positively with internal and corporate partners and stakeholders.
• Updating systems accurately, within agreed time frames with support from Technical Specialists. You will use feedback from the Assurance and Compliance Team, Technical Specialist and appeal hearings to assist in identifying any learning and development to be fully efficient in the role.
• Participating in regular one to one coaching meetings with your line manager and Technical Specialist support.
• Developing specialist knowledge of legislation and policy, keeping up-to-date with guidance and case law, seeking advice and escalating to senior colleagues or specialist caseworkers.

Essential Criteria

• IT literate with ability to quickly learn how to use different IT platforms/packages.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to build customer relations.
• Able to analyse and use a range of relevant, credible information from internal and external sources to support decisions.

Further Information

A reserve list may be held for a period up to 12 months from which further appointment may be made.

Hybrid working is available for this role and is currently set at 40% in the office and 60% working from home. This may change in the future subject to business needs.

Please note, for part time working the minimum hours are 25 per week, due to the intense training and mentoring required within the first 6-12 months. However, all candidates need to be able to work full time during the formal training, which usually takes place in weeks 2-4 and 8-9.

Recruitment and Retention Allowance (RRA)

An additional retention rate allowance has been agreed for the Asylum Decision Maker role. If you are successful and accept an offer of employment, you can expect an additional annual pay allowance of £1500 after successfully completing 12 months in this role, and this will rise to £2500 after the completion of 24 months in this role.

If you previously worked in this role and are re-applying, the duration of your previous service in this role will be taken into account when determining the activation of this allowance.

• 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%

Job contact :

Name :
HO-Recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com
Email :
HO-Recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com

Recruitment team :

Email :
HO-Recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com