Animal Care and Welfare Technician

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.

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

The National Dog Team is a small team within UK Command Operations with a hugely important mission; to transform our canine detection capability and performance, 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.

Detector Dogs provide a specialised service to front line staff. They are a highly visible demonstration to society of our work in addressing criminality. Border Force has both body and goods detection dogs.

We have two posts available at Gatwick Dog Unit and one post at Felixstowe Dog Unit.

As a National Dog Team Animal Care and Welfare Technician, you will play a crucial role in supporting handlers and training instructors, by ensuring you monitor and record the welfare needs of each animal, as well as ensuring that all dogs receive the appropriate level of exercise and enrichment to meet their individual needs when the handler or instructor is off duty.

It is therefore essential that applicants have a natural affinity with animals and be prepared to provide the highest levels of care and welfare management to all dogs within the Border Force Detector Dog programme. You should be aware that the post is physically demanding and requires a high level of fitness as you will be required to lift and carry the dogs. This will be assessed during the selection process. You will also be required to work outdoors in often hostile weather conditions.

Key Responsibilities (list is not exhaustive)

• Ensuring that all dogs receive sufficient daily care, including twice daily exercise, feeding, grooming, accurate interpretation of medication boards and dispensing medication as required. Kennel duties will involve occasional lone working with minimal support and supervision.
• Delivering kennel enrichment and stimulation to meet the individual needs of the animals in your care and recording this information in line with policy. This will include undertaking High Intensity Interval Training and Target Training.
• Maintaining the high hygiene standards of the kennels with a daily cleaning regime of kennels and surrounding estate. This will include picking up dog faeces and working with chemicals and cleaning products.
• Maintaining the service records of detector dogs.
• Utilising training received to deal with dog fights and dog aggression, reporting and recording of these incidents in line with Border Force Policy.
• Daily driving of official vans to/from exercise areas, visits to veterinary providers and transportation of detector dogs across the UK when required.
• Weekly cleaning of the unit’s fleet of vehicles and maintenance and cleaning of other assets as instructed.
• Checking and maintaining kennel stores, food, medical and cleaning stocks.

Working Pattern

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

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.

Training

A high level of physical fitness is required as this post is physically demanding. It is essential applicants can lift and carry dogs as well as provide daily exercise and high intensity interval training to a number of dogs who may have to be exercised individually.

This role requires Public and Personal Safety Training 2 (PPST2). This demands physical activity and physical contact with delegates on the course. You will be required to complete a PPST health declaration and, if necessary, attend a medical examination. A formal offer cannot be made if you do not possess the required level of physical fitness to undertake and pass the training. Further information on what the training involves can be found on our website.

The successful applicant will also have to undertake the Border Force two-week kennel training package which is pass or fail. Should you fail to pass the training during your probationary period, you may be subject to dismissal.

The following training may also be provided:

• Canine First Aid Training and Canine Defensive Handling Technique Training
• Dock & Shipboard Awareness
• Ladder training
• Basic Airside Safety Awareness

Travel

This role may require undertaking kennel duties at other Border Force locations across the UK. Responsibilities include caring for, feeding, and exercising Border Force dogs, including at partner organisation facilities where dogs may be housed to meet operational needs. Therefore, there will be a requirement for overnight stays away from your unit of appointment with frequency determined by business requirements.

INFORMATION SESSION

To learn more about this role and how to apply, register for our free, optional live events. Click the link below.

• Tuesday, 15th September 1pm - 2pm

Working with purpose: Become an Animal Care and Welfare Technician Tickets, Tuesday, September 15 • 1 PM - 2 PM GMT+1 , Eventbrite.

Open to UK nationals only.

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

This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.

We will endeavour to conduct the selection process in line with the dates indicated below, but cannot guarantee that these will not, where necessary, be revised.

As part of the application process, you will first be asked to confirm your eligibility by providing some basic personal information.

After submission of this first stage, you will be invited to complete the following Civil Service Judgement test.

1. Online Test – by 24th September 2026

If you successfully pass the Civil Service Judgement Test, you will be invited to complete the full application form. Please complete the online test as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended). If you fail to complete the online test or full application before the deadline, your application will be withdrawn.

Guidance for the Civil Service test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The online test is accessed via the Civil Service Jobs website.

You cannot complete the test on a mobile phone or tablet.

Following successful completion of your test, you will then be asked to complete the full application form.

2. Application – by 24th September 2026

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete:

• CV
• Personal Statement (maximum 1000 words).

Your CV should consist of your career history, qualifications and skills/experience, including any key achievements in each role. Your CV will be scored against the experience required for the role as noted within the essential criteria.

The Personal Statement should be aligned to and demonstrate how you meet the skills and experience set out in the essential criteria, detailed in the job description.

For guidance and information on how to construct your application (CV and Personal Statement), you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers website.

3. Sift – 28th September 2026

The sift will be held on the Personal Statement and CV.

An initial sift will be conducted on the Personal Statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift will then be progressed to a full sift that will consist of all the remaining elements submitted (CV). Candidates who fail to meet the minimum pass score for the initial sift will not have their remaining submitted elements scored and will only receive a sift score for that assessed at the initial sift.

4. Interview – 16 October 2026

If you are successful at sift stage, you will be invited to the following interviews:

Interview 1 - Applicants successful at sift stage will be required to undertake a one-day assessment at either the Gatwick or Felixstowe Kennel site. The assessment will involve undertaking practical tasks to determine suitability for the role. This will include assessing candidates’ level of confidence around dogs in the kennel environment, handling of dogs for bathing and grooming and lead control on exercise. Candidates will also be asked to prepare food and interpret feeding and medication boards.

Interview 2 - Candidates who pass the assessment will be invited to attend an interview, which will test Experience via questions based around the Essential Criteria. The interviews will be held virtually via MS Teams.

For guidance and information on what to expect and how to prepare for an interview, you are encouraged to visit Civil Service 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 hocandidates.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk, including the vacancy reference, at least two working days before the vacancy closes. Further information can be found on our website.

Do not create or attempt to submit another application, online test or use a different Civil Service Jobs account to proceed as this would be in violation of the candidate declaration.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for a period of up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made. There is no guarantee that being held on a reserve list will lead to a job offer. Further information can be found on our website.

This is a uniformed post and as such requires the highest standards. Further information on this and policies regarding tattoos can be found on our website.

All Civil Servants are expected to comply with the Civil Service Code, and its core values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.

Integrity Check

As well as successfully obtaining UK Security Vetting clearance, you will also be subject to an additional Integrity Check, as part of the pre-employment process, to determine your suitability to work for Border Force, Border Security Command or Immigration Enforcement. For further information on what this involves, please visit our website.

Further Information

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 direct.

If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

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 via HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk 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. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you're deaf, a language service professional

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘Contact point for applicants’ section.

Feedback

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