Response Manager

Details
Reference number

438785

Salary

£37,300 - £39,911

GBP

Job grade

Higher Executive Officer

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

HO - Home Office Digital

Type of role

Digital

Working pattern

Full-time, Compressed hours

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

Location

Salford, Southport

About the job
Job summary

The Home Office works to build a safe, fair and prosperous UK. We achieve this through our work on counter-terrorism, policing, crime, drugs policy, immigration and passports.

Home Office Digital designs, builds and develops services for the rest of the department and for government. Every year our systems support up to 3 million visa applications, checks on 100 million border crossings, up to 8 million passport applications and deliver 140 million police checks on people, vehicles and property.

Cyber Security Response at the Home Office is at the front end of protecting a large government department and safeguarding critical digital infrastructure.

This role manages the procedures of user requests, cyber security queries and incident reporting.

You'll use your skills and expertise to; assist in meeting emerging threats and implement complex solutions. Help in the development of the Home Office cyber risk response, focussing on process improvement. Support the response to security incidents, communicating with other organisational business areas to ensure an effective response and mitigate against future incidents.

You'll join an expert team of cyber professionals, committed to maintaining a high level of cyber security across a complex network of systems. You'll be aided by a supportive organisational culture, and a commitment to further your continuous development.

Job description

The role of a response team is to manage the response procedures and investigations of security events or incidents. Response professionals must contain and remediate those incidents, identify potential process improvements, and maintain organisational readiness through preparedness exercises and co-ordinating red team activity. The Response team also advises product and service owners of potential mitigations.

Key responsibilities

Your main day-to-day responsibilities will be:

• Assisting in carrying out the organisation's response policies and processes to meet the needs in line with appropriate standards. Helping to provide standardised advice on mitigation, escalating where appropriate.
• Managing user queries and incidents, escalating to the appropriate channels when required to ensure minimal impact to the wide range of teams within the Home Office whilst preventing cyber security risks.
• Helping to produce incident reports. Communicating the results, supporting the team to improve and maintain a robust response to requests and incidents raised by users.
• Supporting the operations team to facilitate the mitigation of vulnerabilities to the business. Liaising with a range of teams across the Home Office to ensure the necessary work is communicated clearly.

Working pattern

Due to the business requirements of this role, it is only available on a full-time basis. However, compressed hours are available.

Person specification

Essential criteria:

• Experience communicating in a verbal and written manner, and a good understanding of the use of different channels and formats for different audiences.
• Ability to build strong partnerships with peers across the organisation.
• Experience in applying techniques to improve operational processes.
• Ability to follow processes and procedures.
• Understanding cyber risk and how it can impact the business.

Desirable criteria:

• Working within a structured programme or project environment.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service

Benefits

In addition to your salary, a career with the Home Office offers a range of benefits, including:

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
• In-year reward scheme for one-off or sustained exceptional personal or team achievements.
• 25 days annual leave on appointment, rising with service to 30 days.
• Eight days of public holidays, plus one additional privilege day.
• Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office.
• See more of our benefits on our careers website.

Things you need to know
Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Ability and Experience.

This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.

We will endeavour to conduct the selection process in line with the dates indicated below, but cannot guarantee that these will not, where necessary, be revised.

As part of the application process, you will first be asked to confirm your eligibility by providing some basic personal information.

After submission of this first stage, you will be invited to complete the following Civil Service Verbal test.

• Online Test – by 18th December 2025

If you successfully pass theCivil Service Verbaltest, you will be invited to complete the full application form. Please complete the online test as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended). If you fail to complete the online test or full application before the deadline, your application will be withdrawn.

Guidance for the Civil Service test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The online tests are accessed via the Civil Service Jobs website.

You cannot complete the test on a mobile phone or tablet.

Following successful completion of your test, you will then be asked to complete the full application form.

1. Application – by 18th December 2025

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete:

• CV
• Personal Statement (maximum 500 words).

Your CV should consist of your career history and skills/experience, including any key achievements in each role. Your CV will be scored against the experience required for the role as noted within the essential criteria.

The Personal Statement should be aligned to and demonstrate how you meet the skills and experience set out in the essential criteria, detailed in the job description.

For guidance and information on how to construct your application (CV, Personal Statement and Behaviours), you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers website.

1. Sift – week commencing 5th January 2026

The sift will be held on the CV and Personal Statement.

1. Interview – week commencing 26th January 2026

If you are successful at sift stage, you will be invited to an interview that will be Behaviours (as listed in the job advert) and Strength based questions.

The interview will take place via video using MS Teams.

For guidance and information on what to expect and how to prepare for an interview, you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers.

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.

Problems during the application process

If you experience problems accessing this advert, or you think you've made a mistake on an initial application, please contact , including the vacancy reference, at least two working days before the vacancy closes. Further information can be found on our website.

Do not create or attempt to submit another application, online test or use a different Civil Service Jobs account to proceed as this would be in violation of the candidate declaration.

Location preferences

You can select up to twolocations in order of preference. Please ensure that these are locations you are prepared to travel to. If you are offered a role at one of your preferred location(s) and you decline, your application will be withdrawn.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for a period of up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made. There is no guarantee that being held on a reserve list will lead to a job offer. Further information can be found on our website.

Reserve lists will be held for each location. Candidates will be appointed in merit order by location.

Candidates judged to be a near miss at interview may be offered a post at the grade below the one advertised without the need to go through a further selection process, providing the role has the same Success Profiles elements and essential skills. There is no guarantee that further such vacancies will arise.

All Civil Servants are expected to comply with the Civil Service Code, and its core values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.

Additional Security Checks

As well as successfully obtaining UK Security Vetting clearance, candidates will be subject to a range of additional checks. The range of checks carried out will depend on whether you are a current Home Office employee, existing civil servant or an external new entrant as well as the role requirements. The level of Criminal Record Check required for this role is SC. Further details are included in the Notes to Candidates.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Serviceon your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct.

If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre- stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Reasonable Adjustments

If a person with disabilities is at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact Government Recruitment Service via 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

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful 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 .

See our vetting charter .

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

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)
• 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

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code 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 .

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 Inclusion

The 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 and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants
Job contact :

• Name : Home Office Resourcing Centre
• Email :

Recruitment team

• Email :

Further information

If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Civil Service recruitment principles and you wish to make a complaint, then contact the Government Recruitment Service via If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission

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