Welcome
Applications Closed
I am delighted that you are considering joining us in the Home Office working across both Her Majesty’s Passport Office (HMPO) and the General Registry Office (GRO). This is an incredibly exciting time to be working for HMPO and GRO, as we become part of the Home Office’s new Customer Services Capability, where our vision is to place our customers’ needs at the centre of what we do, being adaptive, responsive and respectful at all times.
HMPO is the sole issuer of UK passports to British citizens, providing passport services for British nationals residing in the UK and, in association with our partners at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, to those residing overseas. We provide a passport validation service (PVS) to support the business community and government departments in preventing fraud. We have 7 regional passport offices and over 50 passport interview offices across the United Kingdom.
GRO joined HMPO in 2008 and provides the necessary systems and guidance for civil registration, such as the registration of births, deaths, marriages and civil partnership by local authorities in England and Wales.
HMPO has a been on a transformation journey, to become a modern, digital business with which customers can interact easily. This has, and continues to entail significant organisational change, from deploying new technology to implementing paperless processes. Our customer focus has brought significant recognition and most recently, we have been shortlisted in two categories (Quality Service Provider and Best Customer Service Co-Creation/Collaboration) at the UK Customer Satisfaction Awards 2021.
The new Director will be responsible for leading a large and complex operation, building on a culture of excellent customer service and high-quality decision making.
They will take on a significant leadership and transformation challenge in terms of people, performance and productivity. They will be an experienced systems leader, able to operate in an ambiguous and complex environment, with a focus on delivering improved outcomes for citizens and a passion for creating an inclusive culture for colleagues.
The postholder will lead an operation of circa 3700 staff; and they will manage a wide network of senior stakeholders including Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and other government officials. In the Home Office, we are dedicated to promoting equality, valuing diversity and being inclusive by instinct. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds to apply to become part of our team including, from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.
If you share our passion for delivering high quality customer services and have previous experience leading in a complex, changing environment, I would love to hear from you.
Abi Tierney, Director General Customer Services Capability
Background
Customer Services was a newly created capability on 1st April 2021. We have created a new vision which is to place our customers’ needs at the centre of what we do, being adaptive, responsive and respectful at all times.
The Customer Service capability is responsible for making millions of decisions every year about who has the right to visit or stay in the country, with a firm emphasis on national security and fostering a culture of customer excellence. This includes considering applications for British citizenship from overseas nationals who wish to settle here permanently; running the UK’s asylum service offering protection to those eligible under the 1951 Geneva Convention; considering passport applications and subsequently issuing them and deciding on applications from employers and educational establishments who want to join the register of sponsors.
We are undergoing a significant transformation programme, digitising passport applications in HMPO and certificate production in GRO.
The coming two years are likely to have exceptional pressure for passports due to a pent-up demand built up during COVID. This is likely to prove highly challenging for the organisation with exceptional peaks expected for over the coming 18 months and possibly beyond.
The Director for Passports and GRO will be expected to have full operational responsibility for this remit, as well as play a corporate leadership role across the Customer Services capability as well as the Home Office.