Kennel Manager National Dog Team

Contents

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

Felixstowe

About the job

Job summary

Border Force is a law enforcement arm of the Home Office. We are responsible for managing UK border controls by implementing immigration and customs regulations and working with the wider Home Office on counter terrorism and tackling organised crime, modern slavery, and trafficking. Learn more on our careers pages.

The National Dog Team is a small team within National Operational Headquarters with a hugely important mission; to transform our canine detection capability and performance, and to ensure that we have the right policies, processes and procedures in place to support the operational business to drive up performance and ensure our dogs are trained on Control Strategy Priorities.

We are looking for a professional and dedicated individual to join this specialist team, who play a vital role in our efforts to combat and deter smugglers and those seeking to evade border controls.

The Kennel Manager will oversee daily operations and manage Animal Care and Welfare Technicians at Felixstowe kennel site and the new Border Force Detector Dog Training School in Tilbury.

Job description

In this varied role, which includes both physical interactions with the animals alongside administrative tasks, you will ensure that the health, fitness and welfare of Detector Dogs is maintained in accordance with organisational polices, guidance and animal welfare legislation and provide administrative support to the Dog Unit Manager and Senior Officer.

It is essential that you have a natural affinity with animals, a high level of physical fitness and a commitment to high standards of care and welfare management for all dogs within the program. This role requires the ability to lift and carry the dogs, providing exercise and high intensity interval training when needed. This job also involves an element of lone working both on and off site.

Key Responsibilities:

Animal Care and Welfare

• Manage a team of Animal Care and Welfare Technicians (ACWT) at both locations who are responsible for the day-to-day care of Detector Dogs to ensure that operational priorities and welfare standards are met. This will include producing roster and deployment plans for both sites, prioritising and reallocating resource as needed.
• Oversee kennel activities at each site ensuring that the performance, health, fitness, and welfare of Detector Dogs is maintained in accordance with organisational policies/guidance. This includes care, feeding and exercise to national standards and delivering kennel enrichment and stimulation tailored to the individual needs of the dog within your care. When required you will undertake these duties yourself.
• Utilising training received to deal with dog fights and dog aggression, reporting and recording of these incidents in line with Border Force Policy

Administrative Tasks

• Undertake regular kennel assurance reviews, ensuring the working kennel environment is maintained to required national standards of hygiene.
• Provide support to line manager and countersigning manager with national and regional tasking of K9 resources.
• Deliver the Kennel Training Package to all new staff.
• Writing and updating Business Continuity Plans, Risk Assessments, Safe Systems of Work, Fire Safety and Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) in line with policy and guidance.
• Financial/procurement responsibilities including liaising with external contractors to ensure all maintenance works are completed in a timely manner.

Working Pattern:

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

You will work shifts which are usually between eight or ten-hours in duration and will need to be flexible and adaptable to meet unexpected demands. This may mean rescheduling days off and changing attendance times at short notice to meet operational demands. You may also need to be on-call, for which an allowance will be paid.

Training:

You will receive full training and support to do the job. Training takes place initially in the classroom and then continues 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.

Training also includes the Border Force Kennel Training Package which is 2 weeks in duration and is pass or fail.

Travel:

You will be required to travel regularly between Felixstowe and Tilbury, as well as deploy to ports and airports both within and outside of the regional base. Overnight stays away from home are an integral part of the role.

Meet the team:

If you want to learn more about this role you can join one of our free online live events, during which you will hear from current members of the Border Force Dog Team about what the job is like, what opportunities and career prospects you will have and why the job matters. We will also talk about the recruitment process and you will have the opportunity to ask questions. Register by clicking on the date and time you want to attend. There’s no requirement to attend in order to apply.

Tuesday 11 February 11:00 – 12:00

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/border-force-kennel-manager-tickets-1224950763709?aff=oddtdtcreator

Monday 17 February 11:30 – 12:30 

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/border-force-kennel-manager-tickets-1224971666229?aff=oddtdtcreator

To learn more about the role, visit https://careers.homeoffice.gov.uk/news/border-force-kennel-manager

Licences

Due to the nature of the work and/or the geographical area, driving is a key requirement for this role. Applicants must have a full valid UK manual driving licence.

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions

Benefits

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

• 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.
• This role currently attracts Annualised Hours Allowance (AHA) of between 21% and 28% of salary, which equates to an additional £6,300 or or £6,615 per annum based on salary minimum. Further information can be found on our website.

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 : HORCCampaignTeamBorderForce@homeoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the recruitment

principles, and wish to make a complaint, then you should contact in the first instance

HORecruitment.GRS@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission.

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