Home Office Careers – Dog Unit Team Leader In Manchester Airport

Overview

Position Title: National Operational Headquarters

Company: UK Home Office

Location:  Manchester Airport, England, United Kingdom

Job Description

Detector Dogs provide a specialised service to front line staff. They are a highly visible demonstration to society of our work in addressing criminality. The post advertised is responsible for the day to day management of Dog Handlers and Kennel Assistants at Manchester Airport and will also provide technical support to dog teams based in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

This role will require regular travel to ports and airports across all four countries of the UK, as well as deployments to juxtaposed controls in Northern France; therefore regular overnight stays away from home are an integral part of the role.

The successful applicant will be expected to lead, manage the work and be part of a team in the detection of goods and people and may be expected to handle a dog themselves.

Responsibilities:

• Maintain and improve systems and operational procedures.
• Ensure that the performance, health, and welfare of the detector dogs are maintained.
• Act as a role model for the team, supporting and encouraging the sharing of knowledge and skills and best practice.
• Deploy to both maritime & air environments across all four countries of the UK to monitor performance and provide technical assistance to Dog Teams.
• Manage the performance, attendance and conduct of team members; ensuring staff are equipped to do their job and develop their individual potential.
• Operating at all times in accordance with legislation, Departmental guidance and procedures, and professional standards, ensuring that all actions are proportionate, legal, accountable and necessary
• Develop and maintain professional working relationships with a range of stakeholders both within and outside the organisation.
• Contributing to the proper control of offences, including the maintenance of chains of evidence, completing accurately and promptly in line with current guidance all documentation and data entry, including notebooks, offence/seizure documentation and witness statements.
• Handle a detector dog to meet deployment requests when required
• Identify and support resolution of problems with Border Force detector dogs
• Manage deployment requests in line with organisational priorities.
• Ensure effective and relevant continuation training of Border Force Detector Dogs is conducted.
• Assist handlers to meet the required standards of the Annual Certification.
• Assisting with the search of persons and any element of the detection officer role when required.
• Appear as an official witness in court and give evidence when required.

Requirements:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills, strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to influence stakeholders at senior and junior levels.
• Organisational skills; work effectively and professionally; take responsibility for your work in order to achieve goals; can multi-task to work within tight deadlines.
• Experience of working under pressure with limited supervision;
• Experience of line management and developing individuals and dog teams to achieve the delivery of key outcomes;
• A high level of physical fitness – this post is physically demanding as the role will require lifting and carrying of the dog. The role also requires working outdoors in often hostile weather conditions.
• Experience of using evidence and knowledge to support accurate, expert decisions and advice.
• It is essential that applicants have practical knowledge and experience of handling and training detector dogs and dog handlers in the operational environment
• A full UK Manual Driving License is required, and applicants must be willing to become an official driver.
• Applicants must be comfortable and confident around dogs and must not have been disqualified from: keeping or owning a dog under the terms of the dangerous Dogs Act 1989 or having custody of a dog under the terms of both the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Dangerous Dogs Act.