Senior Service Manager - Home Office Cyber Security Operations Centre in Salford

Location: Salford

Salary: 49,850 - 52,850 per year

Employment: Flexible

Category: Applications Manager

Employer: Home Office

Job summary

Home Office Digital designs, builds and develops services for the rest of the department and for government. Every year our systems support up to 3 million visa applications, checks on 100 million border crossings, up to 8 million passport applications and deliver 140 million police checks on people, vehicles and property. Home Office Cyber Security (HOCS) is the team that ensures all this is done safely and securely, by mitigating and minimising disruption due to cyber incidents.

As a Senior Service Manager within the Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC), you will liaise with internal and external, senior and 3rd party stakeholders who are involved in some of the most cutting-edge skills and topics within information technology. You will have a strong background and experience in IT Service Management, enjoy working in a fast-paced environment and be proactive and adaptable. Using your strong knowledge and expertise, you will effectively influence change within one of the largest government organisations and have the opportunity to manage national critical services.

You will interface with HOCS Colleagues, Service Architecture & Transition, Service Operations & Programme Portfolios to assure the delivery of the service(s) you are responsible for, ensuring the quality of the service being delivered meets the business needs. Where business needs allow some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. Where this is the case, employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in the office.

Job description

As a Senior Service Manager with the CSOC your main day to day responsibilities will be:

• Ensuring that the customer receives the highest level of service from the CSOC and HOCS teams and managed suppliers, promoting a culture of customer satisfaction.
• Managing and working effectively with stakeholders at all levels both internally & externally, managing stakeholder expectations and showing flexibility to adapt to reach consensus.
• Effectively communicate and collaborate with non-technical and technical stakeholders, 3rd party and internal suppliers across government teams to ensure alignment.
• Maintaining a working knowledge of projects and change programs both in the pipeline and in delivery with respect to the specific customer organisation.
• Identifying and leading initiatives to drive continuous improvement across customer services, whilst protecting the integrity of existing services.
• Reviewing supplier financial performance including invoice validation to identify cost reduction opportunities.
• Representing customers in Service Readiness reviews and assessments, identifying, managing and escalating service risks appropriately.

You will also be expected to mentor more junior members of the Service Management community, undertaking line management responsibilities, if required. As well as participating and supporting collaboration initiatives and career development within the IT Operations and cyber communities, building in-house capability via a professional community of practice.

Person specification

Essential Skills

You’ll have a demonstrable passion for Service Management, with the following skills or strong experience in:

• Understanding Service Management and agile and other project methodologies and models.
• Using your understanding of the different communication channels and formats to effectively engage with various audiences, adapting your approach where required.
• Understanding how your current work fits into broader CSOC and HOCS contexts and strategies so that deeper underlying problems and opportunities can be identified.
• Using commercial agreements to manage suppliers and ensure that we get the most out of the contract in order to deliver value.
• Ensuring actual costs of running a service are within budget, highlighting any financial risk due to overspend or opportunities due to underspend.
• Driving continual service improvements through the measurement and challenge of services and processes, tools and capability.
• Understanding of SIAM Lean, Agile and DevOps principles within a Product-centric delivery model.

Qualifications

ITIL v3 / v4 foundation is desirable but not essential for this role and should not prevent application.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: Making Effective Decisions.

Technical skills

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

• Specialist Advice (TECH) – level 3
• Financial Management (FMIT) – level 3
• Risk Management (BURM) - level 3
• Service Level Management (SLMO) – level 3
• Supplier Management (SUPP) - level 3
• Stakeholder Relationship Management (RLMT) – level 3

Benefits

Alongside your salary of 49,850, Home Office contributes 14,441 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Why work for us...

Find out more information at: Benefits - Home Office Careers, but some of the primary ones are:

• A Civil Service Pension with employer contribution rates of at least 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.
• 8 days of public holidays, plus 1 additional privilege day.
• Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office.

Things you need to know

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.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills. As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and 1000 word personal statement:

• CV – include a brief employment history outlining for each role, the organisation, job title, dates in post, and key responsibilities and achievements. Any recent employment gaps should be explained. A second section should set out the skills and experience most relevant to this role, drawing on your career, training, and other relevant activities without repeating the employment history. Focus on the evidence that best demonstrates your capability to meet the role requirements.
• Personal statement - this should present a clear and coherent narrative explaining why you are applying, what you would bring to the role, and how your experience meets the essential criteria. Use well‑chosen examples to illustrate your impact, drawing on STAR ‑style thinking where helpful, but ensure the statement reads as a single, flowing document rather than a set of isolated responses.

To ensure you are assessed on merit alone, we ask you to anonymise your application. This means removing personal identifiers such as your name, age, and place of education. You do not need to remove your employment history, job titles, or any information about your work.

Watch our three short videos on how to apply for our roles: Applying - Home Office Careers.

Problems during the application process

If you experience problems accessing this advert, or you think you’ve made a mistake on an initial application, please contact, including the vacancy reference, at least two working days before the vacancy closes. Further information can be found on our website.

Sift stage

The sift will be held on the CV and personal statement. Please read the essential skills for this position carefully. We will only consider those who meet the listed requirements. In the event of a high number of applications received, the sift will be held on the Personal Statement only.

Interview stage

Candidates reaching the required standard will then be invited to attend an interview. The interview will assess your Technical Skills (SFIA Framework) and Behaviours, using technical & behaviour-based questions. If you are invited to an interview, you will be required to bring a range of documentation for the purposes of establishing identity and to aid any pre-employment checks.

Sift and interview dates

The sift will commence from 24 November 2026. Interviews are expected to take place during the week commencing 7 December 2026 (subject to the panel’s operational requirements/priorities). Interviews will be conducted remotely via MS Teams. We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates.

Further information

If you have previously made an unsuccessful application for a role with the same essential skills and are not able to demonstrate how you have developed these skills since your last application, please reconsider applying as your application is unlikely to be successful.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms directly. If you are doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Reserve list

A reserve list of successful candidates will be kept for 12 months. Should another role become available within that period you may be offered this position. Reserve lists may be held for each location. Candidates will be appointed in merit order by location where this applies.

Similar roles

Job offers to this post are made based on merit. We often have similar roles available at different grades. If a candidate is suitable for a similar role or a lower grade than they have applied for, we may offer the candidate that role without the need to go through a further selection process providing the role has the same behaviours and essential skills.

UK residency and security requirements

For meaningful security checks to be carried out, individuals need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time. Security Checks - Home Office Careers. Please note that this role requires Security Check (SC) clearance, which requires 5 years’ UK residency in the past 5 years. Failure to meet this residency requirement will result in your security clearance application being rejected. This role requires Non-Police Personnel Vetting Level 3 (NPPV3) clearance. Candidates who do not currently hold this level of clearance must be willing to undergo the vetting process. Failure to obtain or maintain the required clearance may result in the offer of employment being withdrawn.

Visa sponsorship

We are unable to sponsor any individuals via Skilled Worker Sponsorship / Tier 2 (General) work visas as we do not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License.

Capability allowance

The advertised role is part of the Home Office Government Digital and Data Profession. This role has access to a digital capability-based allowance. Applicants who are successful at interview will be invited to complete a Capability and Skills Assessment post-interview. Any allowance awarded will be based on the assessment of your capability against the six skills advertised for this role.

Please see the Home Office Pay Framework Allowance Careers page for more information. The allowance values are set by the Home Office, subject to remaining in a qualifying role. This allowance is non-contractual, subject to an annual review and could be withdrawn at any time.

For both new entrants and existing civil servants, the total compensation offer is a combination of base salary and, if applicable, a capability-based allowance. The pay ranges for this role are National: 49,850 - 52,850. New entrants to the Civil Service will start on the pay range minimum. For existing civil servants, our policies on level transfer and promotion will apply.

Reasonable Adjustments

If a person with disabilities is at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact Government Recruitment Service as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
• Complete the “Assistance Required” section in the “Additional Requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process.

Feedback

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found.

Apply and further information

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