Personnel Security Aftercare Manager

at  Department for Business and Trade

JOB SUMMARY

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has a clear mission - to grow the economy. Our role is to help businesses invest, grow and export to create jobs and opportunities right across the country. This role provides an exciting opportunity to work within an innovative, professional, and evolving unit, and to play an important part in delivering security functions.
The successful applicant will be responsible for ensuring the Department has the appropriate personnel security policies and processes in place, and that National Security Vetting Appeals and Aftercare are carried out efficiently and effectively.
As an HEO in a developing and dynamic environment you will play an active role in delivering these services. You will assist in building and implementing the Personnel security Strategy, support our insider threat group and actively help to role map the roles within DBT.
This will also include briefing staff on security vulnerabilities. You will also need to be aware of and consider where security risks to the business can be managed in post.
You will be trusted with highly sensitive and personal information, which you must handle securely in line with data protection rules whilst maintaining a professional and understanding approach with applicants, considering the sensitive nature of the information being shared.
As a manager you will provide advice and direction to others within the team to support the timely and efficient delivery of decisions and actions. This role is highly suited to a person who can make difficult risk-based decisions, conduct investigations in a sensitive way, and motivate and build the capabilities of staff under challenging circumstances.
This is an interesting and varied role the successful applicant will manage casework by assessing personal vulnerabilities for individuals with access to sensitive government assets, to assist them in maintaining their National Security Vetting clearance.
You will manage 1-2 members of staff, proactively monitoring the performance and delivery of the risk management team, to ensure that personal information and issues are handled sensitively, and that MI is recorded accurately.
You will also be responsible for implementing and conducting risk-based Aftercare for those holding National Security Vetting levels and taking forward appeals processes for those who appeal decisions for Vetting. You will support decision makers within the team including senior managers where Aftercare or appeals actions are required.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Your duties will include but will not be limited to:

• You will build professional and supportive relationships with colleagues across the security community, recruitment partners, supplier and DBT business areas to facilitate the continuous development of effective personnel security processes.
• You will champion vetting policy, procedure and process with colleagues at all levels, using various communication media.
• You will provide advice on how to handle insider threat issues, providing personnel security advice
• You will be responsible for managing the Aftercare mailbox and supporting the Vetting mailbox as well as monitoring the activity and performance of those in your line management.
• You will investigate and assess vetting cases, making decisions on individual’s ability to hold security clearance, escalating high risk cases where appropriate. This will include conducting briefings and investigative interviews.
• You will be responsible for implementing Aftercare measures, working closely with the Aftercare Lead and other stakeholders. You will update databases to ensure accurate records are maintained.
• You will support the Aftercare Lead in delivering a programme of role mapping cross the department to determine the appropriate clearance level for jobs.; delivering presentations and information sessions to participating teams.
• Line management and supervision of EO and AO team members.

This is not an exclusive or exhaustive list, and the post-holders 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.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES AND SKILLS:

• Possess strong stakeholder management skills
• Be able to prioritise and deliver confidently under pressure
• Be able to work effectively as part of a team
• Be organised and methodical
• Have good written and graphic skills to support production of presentation materials
• Possess good IT skills.

NATIONALITY REQUIREMENTS

This 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)

Your duties will include but will not be limited to:

• You will build professional and supportive relationships with colleagues across the security community, recruitment partners, supplier and DBT business areas to facilitate the continuous development of effective personnel security processes.
• You will champion vetting policy, procedure and process with colleagues at all levels, using various communication media.
• You will provide advice on how to handle insider threat issues, providing personnel security advice
• You will be responsible for managing the Aftercare mailbox and supporting the Vetting mailbox as well as monitoring the activity and performance of those in your line management.
• You will investigate and assess vetting cases, making decisions on individual’s ability to hold security clearance, escalating high risk cases where appropriate. This will include conducting briefings and investigative interviews.
• You will be responsible for implementing Aftercare measures, working closely with the Aftercare Lead and other stakeholders. You will update databases to ensure accurate records are maintained.
• You will support the Aftercare Lead in delivering a programme of role mapping cross the department to determine the appropriate clearance level for jobs.; delivering presentations and information sessions to participating teams.
• Line management and supervision of EO and AO team members