**PIP 1 Accredited Criminal Investigator, Castle Donington

About the job

Job summary

The Home Office works to build a safe, fair and prosperous UK. We achieve this through our work on counter-terrorism, policing, crime, drugs policy, immigration and passports.

Immigration Enforcement is responsible for enforcing the government's immigration laws, tackling illegal migration, removing foreign national offenders and immigration offenders from the UK. We also aim to disrupt the organised criminal groups that exploit the vulnerable for their personal gain. Learn more on our careers pages.

Our Criminal and Financial Investigation (CFI) teams are committed to disrupting and dismantling the organised crime groups facilitating immigration abuse; utilising its financial investigations capability to remove the proceeds of crime and strip criminals of their assets. Through working closely with partners in the National Crime Agency (NCA), territorial policing and many other agencies and departments, our CFI Teams take vigorous action against those criminals that seek to benefit from illegal migration.

Are you looking for an exciting new challenge and a way to use your investigation and communications skills and protect the public? Come and join us on the frontline as an Immigration Officer helping us to tackle crime and deliver secure borders.

We employ talented people who challenge and guide each other. In CFI you will work within a highly capable team who will support you to develop your skills, knowledge and experience.

Job description

As a Criminal Investigator within CFI, you will undertake a wide range of activities including investigating the full range of immigration criminality in line with organisational priorities and use the Proceeds of Crime Act to strip criminal gangs of their illicit profits.

You will be responsible for leading serious and complex criminal investigations into organised immigration crime. This includes gathering evidence, conducting investigations and working with partner agencies including but not limited to territorial police forces, Local Authorities, Regulatory Bodies and National Crime Agency.

You will have ownership of complex and high impact cases from arrest to prosecution, having a direct impact on public safety and securing the UK's borders.

Our people need to operate in sometimes difficult and pressurised environments and are required to make well balanced decisions. This role is physically demanding, and you will need to have a high level of mobility and fitness to carry out this role.

It is a requirement that successful PIP 1 accredited candidates progress to PIP2 investigator status, with full support provided throughout their learning journey.

You may be required to undertake the same or a similar role within a different team or teams (where possible, at your base location or within reasonable travel distance), depending on business priorities. With appropriate training and support, this will provide opportunities to broaden both your experience and skill set.

Key Responsibilities

The successful candidate will be responsible for (but not limited to):

• Planning and carrying out criminal investigations into organised immigration crime, setting investigative priorities, directing lines of enquiry, gathering and assessing evidence and coordinating operational activity
• Working closely with partner agencies to disrupt organised criminal groups, safeguard victims, and build robust cases that support successful prosecutions
• Undertaking witness and suspect interviews in line with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and associated procedures in relation to investigations that include serious and complex crime
• Maintaining personal responsibility for all aspects of file preparation including gathering, recording, storing, accessing, and sharing of evidence in compliance with organisational procedures, codes of practice and legislation
• Attending Crown Court, Magistrates'Court and giving evidence as required

Working Pattern

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

Successful candidates will need to be able to attend for all shifts including early starts, late night finishes, and overnight shifts. These shifts may be outside of public transport operating hours.

You must be at least 18 years of age at the time of submitting your application. You will be required to work between 22.00 and 06.00, so this is a legal requirement. For more information visit: Night working hours: Hours and limits - GOV.UK

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.

Eventbrite

If you want to learn more about these roles, you can join one of our free online live events, during which you will hear from staff about what the job is like, what opportunities and career prospects you may have, and why the job matters. We will also talk about the recruitment and security vetting processes, and you will have the opportunity to ask questions from our friendly and experienced team members.

1PM Thursday 21st May 2026 -

Tuesday 26th May 2026 -

specification

Essential Criteria

• Professionalising Investigation Programme (PIP) Accreditation Level 1 or Scottish equivalent is required for this role (see below). This must already be held.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, able to engage with a diverse set of internal and external stakeholders
• Sound judgement and analytical skills, able to take evidence-based decisions and calculated risks
• Resilient and flexible, able to deal with any potential conflict and adapt quickly
• Maintains good attention to detail with good workload management and organisational skills
• Has a strong sense of personal ethics and honesty, whilst working within the confines of legislation, policy, and procedure
• Committed to continuous self-improvement, seeking out learning opportunities to improve own knowledge

Desirable Criteria

• An all-round awareness of the specialist functions associated with complex crime investigation such as use of Proceeds of Crime Application (POCA), surveillance, exploitation of digital devices, operational planning and public

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/automatic driving licence at the time of application. You will be required to present your full valid driving licence at the interview.

Qualifications

Successful candidates must currently hold minimum PIP Level 1 accreditation or Scottish equivalent.

Professionalising Investigation Programme (PIP) is a four-level accreditation programme under the auspices of the National Police Chiefs Council and the College of Policing. A professional accreditation of Professionalising Investigation Programme (PIP) Level 1 or Scottish equivalent is mandatory. For further information please see the attached documents.

An initial check prior to interview will be made on candidates holding PIP 1 accreditation or Scottish equivalent. Candidates who are confirmed as not being accredited will automatically have their application rejected and will not attend an interview.

Behaviours

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

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

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) of30%of salary, which equates to an additional£9,633per annum based on salary minimum. Further information can be found on our website.

See more of our benefits on our careers website.

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, Strengths and Experience.

This gives us the best possible chance of …