26.122 EO HR Services Officer

About the Department

DBS was established under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 on 1 December 2012, working from two sites, which are Liverpool and Darlington. We operate on behalf of government delivering Disclosure functions in England, Wales, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, and Barring functions for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. We function within a framework of legal and regulatory requirements and that includes work with a range of external organisations including other government departments, regulators, and trade bodies.

We provide a service that enables organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors to make better informed, safer recruitment and other decisions. We do this by providing information to enable them to determine whether individuals are unsuitable or unable to undertake certain work, particularly with occupations involving regular contact with vulnerable groups, including children.

Our Strategy

Our current Strategy sets out our purpose, vision, and the impacts we want to achieve. Our strategy was co-created with our staff and has been supported by insight from our various partners, and throughout, you will find our ambitions to be achieved. Everything that we do within DBS, from developing our strategic intent, to the day-to-day operational delivery of our services, is underpinned by constant considerations of safeguarding, quality, sustainability, value for money, and diversity and inclusion. Our strategic objectives aim to enhance our effectiveness, influence, and customer satisfaction while fostering a supportive environment for everyone.

Equality, Diversion, and Inclusion at DBS

DBS is committed to fostering an environment that values individual differences and ensures fair treatment to unlock the full potential of staff and better support customers. Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are core to driving organisational success and we have developed specific equality objectives for DBS.

Every decision and activity will be considered through an EDI lens, aiming to build an inclusive culture, improve policies and practices, gain external assurances, and become a leading voice of good practice in EDI.

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For further information, please see below for a collection of DBS strategies and business plans:

• DBS strategies - GOV.UK
• DBS business plans - GOV.UK

Job Purpose:

The People Services team within the People & Inclusion Directorate play a key role in supporting the wider business achieve it strategic objectives. The role will involve working closely with the Resourcing Business Partner to ensure a great experience for our customers and managers.

This is a highly autonomous role, where you will play a central role in all human resources operations, as well as providing support to management on employment / resourcing issues.

It is fast-paced, where you will be working with a range of stakeholders and working on multiple projects to ensure the business delivers on its recruitment priorities. This is an exciting and challenging role which you will be fully supported in to ensure you perform to the best of your ability including developing new skills and building on your existing skill sets.

This is a permanent position and, as part of our commitment to developing future HR professionals, the successful candidate will be required to undertake the People Professional Level 5 Apprenticeship

About the Apprenticeship:

The People Professional Level 5 Apprenticeship is a nationally recognised qualification is designed to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours required of HR professionals and will provide valuable practical and theoretical experience across a broad range of people practices. Dedicated study time and support will be provided throughout the programme to enable successful completion.

To be eligible for the apprenticeship you:

• Must be at least 16 years old by the end of the summer holidays or when starting training. There is no upper age limit.
• Must not be enrolled in full-time schooling or another federally funded further or higher education program at the start date.
• Normally must be a UK/EEA citizen who has lived in the UK/EEA for at least the previous 3 consecutive years.

Please visit the following link for further information regarding the apprenticeship: People professional / Skills England

What we are looking for:

• You have a keen interest in HR and professional curiosity, which will be reinforced with the accompanying apprenticeship qualification
• You are customer focused; ability to work in a fast-paced environment and remain close to the detail and working to resolve issues in a timely manner.
• Confident in verbal and written communication.
• High volume administration experience (including systems/database administration)
• Someone who can work independently; multitask, organise and prioritise workloads and meet strict deadlines.
• Attention to detail is a must together with comfort handling a wide range of data (including sensitive and personal information).
• Maintaining the highest standards of confidentiality and ensuring the integrity of HR records and conduct.
• Being a trusted and professional ambassador for the DBS HR Team.
• An enthusiastic individual who is keen to learn and flexible in approach.
• Someone who has excellent organisational skills and the ability to plan ahead and manage their time effectively.

Corporate Duties:

The roles and responsibilities for this role are varied, no days are ever the same and you may be working on a number of activities at any one time. Below is a list of some of the key duties you will be responsible for:

• Cover the HR Services Team mailbox on a rota basis, reviewing and managing the team mailbox, actioning emails and ensuring a timely response. Answering queries or triaging queries to the right person if they cannot be immediately answered.
• You will be the first point of contact for our customers and will drive a positive customer experience.
• Dealing with day to day queries (e.g. recruitment, pay, rewards, Learning & Development, pensions, policy guidance) and where necessary directing queries to the best person or team to deal with them.
• Managing all staff file requests in line with agreed SLA’s for the business.
• Processing Learning and Development requests
• Managing, maintaining and updating a number of databases and spreadsheets
• Supporting the delivery of the Contingent Labour Recruitment Process across the business.
• People related administration and coordination tasks (e.g. new starter processes, pay and pension queries, Learning and Development queries).
• Providing accurate and timely management information, ensuring compliance with data protection requirements and best practice with regard to maintenance of HR systems and records.
• Raising purchase orders and ensuring invoices are paid promptly.
• Supporting HR and management on a wide variety of people related topics and projects including support for recruitment activity.
• Supporting the HR People Advisors and HR Business Partners with queries from the business.
• Supporting on recruitment campaigns from identification of role through to appointment (sifting, testing, selection, psychometric testing, vetting and appointment).
• Supporting the onboarding of all new starters into the business.
• Supporting compliance and governance on Security Vetting.
• Supporting the team with continuous improvement of HR systems and policies in line with best practice.
• Supporting colleagues across the wider People and Inclusion Directorate with any project work being undertaken.

The above information is not an exhaustive list, the roles and responsibilities are varied which require a real focus on the successful candidate being able to demonstrate the right attitude and behaviours to be successful in this role.

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) (opens in a new window)
• 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 (opens in a new window)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Ability and Experience.

As part of the application process the DBS will conduct an ability, experience and behaviour based sift and interview process.

After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Judgement Test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application.

Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended). If you fail to complete the online test before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. Please note the Civil Service judgement test is not timed.

Further information regarding the Civil Service Judgement Test can be found here: Preparing for the Civil Service Judgement Test - GOV.UK

Please note: Our online test supplier will be performing scheduled maintenance on 23 August - 4pm to 7pm and 30 August - 4pm to midnight

You will be unable to access tests during this period.

If you are in the middle of a test when the maintenance begins, your progress will be paused. You will be able to resume your test from where you left off via your application centre once the downtime has ended. Please note that you will not be able to launch any new tests while the system is offline.

The Online Test is only be one element of the application process. You should ensure you set aside plenty of time to undertake the full application process for this role.

If you are successful following the online test, you will be asked to provide a CV along with a personal statement of no more than 500 words, outlining how your skills and experience meet the requirements of the role, including all essential and desirable criteria.

You will also be asked to provide behaviour examples within the application form for the following behaviours:

Managing a Quality Service (Lead)

Delivering at Pace

The CV and Personal Statement will be sifted first for all candidates. Those candidates who achieve the pass mark for the CV and Personal Statement, will progress to a further sift. Should a large number of applications be received, the sift may be conducted using the lead behaviour, Managing a Quality Service.

In the event of a high volume of applications, the hiring manager reserves the right to raise the benchmark throughout the sift stage.

Candidates successful at the sift stage will be invited to attend an interview consisting of a practical exercise assessing elements of the essential criteria, followed by a panel interview.

The panel interview will assess the following behaviours:

Managing a Quality Service

Delivering at Pace

Making Effective Decisions

Working Together

The following timetable outlines indicative dates. Please note, these dates may be subject to change without prior notice

Closing date: Tuesday 1st September 2026 at 12.00

Sift: from Tuesday 1st September 2026

Interviews: w/c 21st September 2026

Whilst we will endeavour to provide some flexibility with regards to dates wherever possible, it is unlikely that we will be able to offer an alternative date once an appointment has been scheduled.

Interview will take place at Shannon Court, Princes Parade, Liverpool.

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