Operational Manager
| Posting date: | 02 March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £42,539 to £45,517 per year |
| Additional salary information: | This role currently attracts Annualised Hours Allowance (AHA) of up to approximately 16% of salary minimum. |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 11 March 2026 |
| Location: | Heathrow |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 450146/1 |
Summary
Immigration Enforcement is responsible for enforcing the government’s immigration laws, tackling illegal migration, removing foreign national offenders and immigration offenders from the UK. It also aims to disrupt the organised criminal groups that exploit the vulnerable for their personal gain. Learn more on our careers pages.
IRSC was formed in 2023 bringing together Returns Logistics Operations, Escorting Operations and Detention Progression and Returns, alongside Central Operations. These teams are at the heart of Immigration Enforcement’s operational activity to deliver the return of Foreign National Offenders and those with no leave to be in the United Kingdom as part of the wider Returns Directorate.
This is an exciting opportunity for the right candidates to utilise and develop their leadership, people and engagement skills within an extremely busy and high performing team, in a role that is both rewarding and energising. This is also a physically demanding role.
This post sits within the Detention Engagement Team (DET), which is a dynamic and responsive team working as part of Detention, Progression and Returns to enhance the quality and frequency of engagements between Home Office and the people entering Immigration Removal Centres (IRC).
IRCs are secure buildings that hold detained individuals (residents) prior to their removal from the United Kingdom or for nationality and identification purposes. The DETs are based on-site and interact with residents face-to-face.
You will be the on-site operational lead for the team, responsible for day-to-day delivery, resolution of issues, and escalation as appropriate. You will engage with stakeholders on and off site, IRC contractors, casework teams, wider Home Office teams and healthcare contractors to ensure that vulnerability and risk issues are identified and managed effectively at the earliest opportunity. You will be an escalation point for complex cases across the Home Office.
You will also work with Senior Management Team colleagues to improve operational delivery of the DETs, sharing best practice across the DET network.
We welcome applications from candidates who are able to work independently in a fast paced environment and are confident, resilient self-starters who have an ability to build relationships of trust and work collaboratively as part of a dynamic team.
Key Responsibilities
The successful candidate will be responsible for (but not limited to):
- Managing and supporting Engagement Officers, handling higher‑level issues and escalations across the wider business
- Leading by example to promote visibility within both administrative and residential working environments
- Conducting quarterly assurance checks on engagements undertaken within the relevant management hierarchy
- Working closely with local service providers to ensure welfare teams respond effectively to concerns raised by people in Immigration Detention
- Overseeing the operational management of DETs, monitoring contact across face‑to‑face, email, telephone and post to ensure all enquiries are handled and Service Level Agreements are met
- Delivering proactive workforce management, ensuring optimal resource deployment, effective escalation, financial control, compliance, and value for money
- Overseeing the delivery of DET functions with quality and timeliness, providing guidance on complex Immigration Enforcement policy and procedural matters
- Managing HR issues in line with policy, with line management responsibility for approximately eight staff members
Working Pattern
Due to business requirements, his role is available on a full‑time basis only.
Shift Working
Successful candidates will need to be able to attend for all shifts including early starts, late night finishes, and weekend working. These shifts may be outside of public transport operating hours.
The IRCs operate every day of the year, except Christmas Day and New Years Day, between the hours of 7:30am – 9:00pm on weekdays, and 8:00am – 7:30pm on weekends, with bank holidays operating the same as weekends.
Hybrid Working
The flexible working arrangement regarding working partly in the workplace and partly at home is not available for this role due to the requirements of the role.
Training
You will receive full training and support to do the job. Training takes place on the job with a mentor who supports you until you are fully confident in the role. Even then you are never alone; you work as part of a team where there is always someone around for advice and support. Further information on what the training involves can be found on our website.
These roles can be physically demanding and if successful you will be required to complete and pass Personal Safety Training (PST) Level 2 which develops skills in personal safety techniques. The Harmondsworth and Colnbrook IRCs are multi-level buildings so you will need to be comfortable with using stairs throughout the day, as there are areas where no lifts are available.
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