Assistant Criminal Investigator

Job summary

We are recruiting for two Assistant Criminal Investigators to join our Unregistered Social Care Delivery team.

Ofsted is strengthening its approach to tackling unregistered children’s social care by creating a centralised Unregistered Social Care (USC) team. The USC team will take responsibility for all aspects of our response to unregistered social care, from the point when information of potential unregistered social care first comes to Ofsted, through to case management and issuing warning letters, conducting criminal investigations, issuing fines, and assisting the legal team with prosecutions.

Working as part of a team of criminal investigators, you will support investigations into providers suspected of operating unregistered social care services. You will assist with securing and evaluating evidence, preparing case files to prosecution standard, and supporting cases through legal review.

Reporting to the Senior Criminal Investigator (SCI) – USC and working closely with Ofsted's legal team, you will contribute to high-quality criminal investigatory practice and help ensure compliance with relevant legislation and procedures.

The successful candidate will have experience supporting criminal investigations, including gathering, recording and retaining evidence, and completing disclosure schedules in line with prosecution requirements. Knowledge of Disclosure Manuals, the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (CPIA) and the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) is desirable.

You will be confident, adaptable and able to work on your own initiative. The role requires the ability to quickly understand and apply legislation relevant to the investigation of unregistered social care provision, while working collaboratively with colleagues to achieve positive outcomes.

This is a fantastic opportunity to further your experience in Ofsted’s well-established team. The post holder will work with high-achieving professionals at all levels, surrounded by a friendly and supportive team. They will have access to amazing benefits, such as flexible working hours, the Civil Service Pension Scheme, and 32.5 days annual leave + 8 bank holidays. We offer a hybrid working model, so you may also choose to spend a proportion of time working from home.

Job description

Please refer to the job specification for further information.

Person specification

Please refer to the job specification for further information.

Qualifications

Qualified to level 1 Professionalising Investigations Programme (PIP), active within the last three years. (Essential)

Qualified to level 2 Professionalising Investigations Programme (PIP). (Desirable)

Holds a relevant degree-level qualification (for example, Social Work, Criminal Justice, or a related field) or has equivalent relevant professional experience. (Desirable)

Please indicate on your application form the actual qualification you hold.

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together

Technical skills

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

• Experience of conducting investigations. (Essential)
• Experience in preparing case files to include disclosure schedules, including to a prosecution standard. (Essential)
• Experience working to Disclosure Manual standards, the Criminal Procedure & Investigations Act 1996 , & Police & Criminal Evidence Act 1984 , including recording & retaining admissible evidence to support investigations and prosecutions. (Essential)
• Knowledge of Criminal Procedure Investigations Act 1996 (CPIA). (Essential)
• Understanding of the law relating to unregistered social care and relevant social care frameworks and legislation. (Desirable)
• Able to communicate effectively in writing, demonstrating clarity and influence. Expresses judgements precisely and persuasively. (Essential)
• Strong IT skills, including the ability to access information, reports and templates electronically, update databases and produce statements, reports, letters and instructions in electronic format and to a high standard. (Essential)

We only ask for evidence of these technical skills on your application form:

• Experience of conducting investigations. (Essential)
• Experience in preparing case files to include disclosure schedules, including to a prosecution standard. (Essential)
• Experience working to Disclosure Manual standards, the Criminal Procedure & Investigations Act 1996 , & Police & Criminal Evidence Act 1984 , including recording & retaining admissible evidence to support investigations and prosecutions. (Essential)

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £37,524, Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills contributes £10,870 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

Full details of the benefits available can be found in our Ofsted Offer brochure.

Ofsted is devoted to equality, diversity and inclusion. Within our Ofsted Strategy 2023-2027 we have stated that we will improve the representation of under-represented groups across the organisation and publish our progress on this annually. We are always looking to expand on our diverse workforce by recruiting candidates from varied backgrounds and differing experiences. We are proud to be a Disability Confident – Leader, we continually engage with our 5 staff networks for protected characteristics, and highlight the work of our Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Group. We ensure all candidates are treated with fair and open competition, with all appointments being made on merit and we use our Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) to provide assurance to all candidates of this.

Things you need to know

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 (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

Application and shortlisting