Generally, home affairs are the responsibility of the UK’s lead government department, which is known as the Home Office. Over recent years, this government department has received a hefty amount of attention due to its responsibility for counteracting terrorism. However, it’s also responsible for such issues as policing, drugs and immigration.
If you want to find out more about the police, drugs and counter-terrorism side of things, check out the Crime Prevention, Policing & Counter-Terrorism subsector now!
Alternatively, if you’re interested in working on the immigration side of things, head on over to the Borders, Immigration & Asylum subsector for more info. However, if you wish to focus on the core roles within the Home Office itself, then please read on.
What roles are available in home affairs?
The Home Office has a strategic hub that provides all sorts of job roles for anyone who is looking for a career within the organisation.
From the Home Office Headquarters based in Croydon, you could work within a professional services department that offers all kinds of career options, including project and programme management, or legal and telecommunications support. They even have a science and research department!
So why pursue your career with the Home Office? Well, the Home Office will always be one of the fastest moving government departments, as the security of the country will always be right at the top of any government’s list.
A controversial role that you will find at the Home Office, which understandably will never be an option for many people, is within the animal testing department. The people that work in this area of the Home Office are responsible for developing medicines and medical technologies that are tested on animals “when there is no alternative research technique and the expected benefits outweigh any possible adverse effects.”* This really does show that almost any profession can be pursued within this government department.
How do I get into the Home Office?
Every civil service organisation manages its own recruitment process and the Home Office is no exception. As with a lot of central government departments, many job vacancies are only open internally to existing civil servants.
However, some jobs are advertised externally. New job vacancies are advertised on the Civil Service website, in newspapers, professional journals, in job centres, on their own website and through other various online media.
Most civil servants are employed on a permanent basis and there are a range of opportunities for graduates and non-graduates. The Home Office doesn’t have its own graduate scheme, but it does take graduates through the Civil Service Fast Stream programme.
Candidates entering at a graduate level are likely to be working on the development of government policy and carrying out extensive research and analysis. Alternatively, they might be working on operational delivery: helping to drive forward and actively implement initiatives relating to home affairs. Graduates may also get involved with the corporate services side of things and work in procurement, finance or I.T.
Non-graduates are most likely to join the department as junior staff members, where they could be providing valuable administrative support to the HR, finance, procurement, marketing, PR and I.T. teams.
To be eligible to work for the Home Office, you will need to be a British or Commonwealth citizen, or an EU National with no restrictions that prevent you from working in the UK. Please view the Civil Service website for more details.
If you like what you’ve read so far then a career in home affairs might be the one for you! After all there really is no place like home…
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