Casework Support Officer
2 days ago
Belfast
Descriptions & requirements Job description About the Role: Keeping people safe from Northern Ireland Related Terrorism (NIRT) is one of the UK Governments strategic aims and the Security & Protection Group (SPG) in the NIO delivers this through our core teams including Casework and Protection. We pride ourselves on delivering high-quality work on issues that matter, at pace and often in challenging circumstances. You will work closely with team colleagues to support the work of the National Security Casework and Protection team. You will have a broad portfolio, supporting the team and engaging with the public in delivery of home protection, firearms appeals, explosive precursor licensing and compensation claims. You will assist in running the home protection maintenance line. Good communication and relationship management skills will be essential. Another key area of this role will be the administration of the NIOs Explosive Precursor licensing scheme and Firearms Appeal regime. You will be articulate, discreet and thoughtful in your approach, quick to pick up new subjects and proactive in all your dealings. In this busy and varied area of work, you will have a high level of responsibility and autonomy, so good judgement is essential. You will be an enthusiastic, self-starting and committed person with strong interpersonal skills, accustomed to building productive relationships. You have an eye for detail and will be accustomed to being agile and able to anticipate and respond quickly to new challenges. The ability to prioritise competing tasks will be essential, as is the ability to work at pace. Duties and Responsibilities: The main responsibilities of the role include but are not limited to: Covering the HPS maintenance line, dealing with the public, logging issues, and passing on to caseworkers or our contractor for resolution. Administration of invoices for the home protection scheme. Administration of firearms appeals. This will include dealing with incoming requests, gathering relevant information from security partners, addressing any requests for updates, and supporting caseworkers. Administration of explosive precursor licensing, progression of applications, and the issuing of licences. Essential Criteria: The post holder will need to demonstrate the following in their application and at interview: The ability to develop and maintain effective responsive relationships with colleagues, customers and stakeholders, using your interpersonal skills to achieve results. The ability to self-organise, prioritise and pay close attention to detail, capable of overseeing the administration of schemes to ensure efficient delivery of service. You should have, or be willing to undertake national security vetting to SC level. Desirable Criteria: An understanding of the political and security environment in Northern Ireland. Experience of financial administration, including paying invoices and using Account NI. Experience of a customer facing role, and in particular dealing with members of the public. Behaviours: We will assess you against the following Success Profiles behaviours at the EO level during the application sift and interview process: Managing a Quality Service (Lead behaviour) Communicating and Influencing Working Together Experience: Please provide a CV and statement of suitability no longer than 750 words outlining how you meet the essential and desirable criteria. Both will be used in order to assess any demonstrable experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role. Your statement of suitability needs to set out evidence of how your experience meets the requirements set out above. Your layout is entirely your preference; you may choose narrative, bullets, etc. One narrative example may cover the requirements needed. You dont have to explain the whole process, just what you have done and the skills and experience you have used. Share with us what makes you suited to this role and why. What you can do, the skills you have that are transferable and the life experience or passion you have that are linked to this role. If you dont have work-based examples then give examples from school/college, clubs, volunteering or other activities you have been involved in. You will also be asked to complete a CV with details of your education, professional qualifications, previous skills and full employment history. Your CV will not be formally assessed so please put the main evidence of your skills into your personal statement. Your CV will be used to add context to your personal statement. More information on behaviours and success profiles can be found here. Please note that in the event of a large number of applications being received we may run the initial sift on the lead BehaviourManaging a Quality Service. Interview: You will be assessed against the same behaviours at the interview stage and will be asked to provide examples of how you have demonstrated the behaviours. It may help to use one or more examples of a piece of work you have completed or a situation you have been in and use the WHO or STAR model to explain: WHO- What it was? How you approached the work/situation? What the Outcomes were, what did you achieve? or STAR- What was the Situation? What were the Tasks? What Action did you take? What were the Results of your actions? All applications for employment are considered strictly on the basis of merit. Offer Once all interviews have been completed, you will be notified of the outcome by email. Offers will be made in strict merit order to the highest scoring candidate first. The successful candidate will be notified of a start date following successful security checks. Additional information received after the closing date will not be considered. Failure to provide sufficient information in support of an application prior to the closing date will not be considered as grounds for an appeal if an applicant is not shortlisted for interview. Security Clearance: This role requires National Security Vetting given the access to sensitive information afforded by the job role. You can find more information by reviewing the information held in the following links: United Kingdom Security Vetting: Applicant - GOV.UK ( The vetting charter - GOV.UK ( In addition, there is a minimum UK residency requirement set by the Cabinet Office which is dependent on the security level required for the role. This role requires SC and to be eligible to apply for this role you should have been present in the UK continuously for the past 5 years. Neither Detached Duty terms nor relocation costs will apply to this post. Artificial Intelligence 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. Further Information: Further information about the post may be obtained from Dominic McSorley via email to . All applications for employment are considered strictly on the basis of merit. This job description should not be taken as constituting conditions of employment. Please note that due to the high interest in NIO opportunities, feedback cannot be given if you are unsuccessful at the sift stage. Feedback is available on request if unsuccessful following the interview. Complaints: The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commissions Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles. Please contact SSCL () in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: Reserve Lists: In the event that the advertised post following interview, identifies more appointable applicants than available posts, we may hold applicant details on a merit/reserve list for a period of 12 months from which further future appointments can be made. Candidates placed on a reserve list will be informed of this. Those candidates who do not wish to remain on the reserve list should contact to be removed from the reserve list. Additional Information Working Arrangements & Further Information The NIO offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non-contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different NIO sites and / or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). All employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office, subject to local estate capacity. Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyones circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review. Flexible working hours The NIO offers a flexible working system in many offices. Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week. NIO welcomes part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns, where they meet the demands of the role and business needs. All applications for part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns will be considered in accordance with the NIOs Flexible Working policy. Benefits: Access to learning and development A working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balance A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity A Civil Service pension 25 days annual leave, increasing to 30 days after five years service. Public Holidays Season Ticket Advance