**Principal Security Adviser - Grooming Gangs Inquiry

The Statutory Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs (IIGG or “the Inquiry”) was established under the Inquiries Act 2005 following Recommendation 2 of Baroness Louise Casey’s National Audit on Group‑based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (June 2025). The Inquiry examines group‑based child sexual exploitation and abuse, with a mandate to understand what happened, why institutional failings allowed it to continue, and what must change to protect children in the future.

The Inquiry is led by Baroness Anne Longfield CBE as Chair, supported by Panellists Zoë Billingham CBE and Eleanor Kelly CBE, and has full statutory powers to compel evidence and call witnesses across institutional and geographical boundaries.

The Inquiry will operate across England and Wales and may conduct hearings, engagement activity and local investigations in multiple locations. Its security arrangements must protect people, information, evidence, premises and operations while remaining accessible, trauma-informed and consistent with the Inquiry’s statutory independence.

The Principal Security Adviser is the Inquiry’s professional head of protective security and the senior officer accountable for security.

You will have end-to-end strategic and operational responsibility for the Inquiry’s protective security function. This encompasses physical, personnel, personal, information, technical, cyber and supplier security; security risk management and assurance; incident management; organisational resilience; and the secure delivery of hearings and other public-facing activity.

Operating as a member of the Inquiry’s senior leadership, you will advise the Chair, Panel, Chief Executive and senior officials on complex and potentially high-consequence security decisions. You will have substantial autonomy to determine the Inquiry’s security strategy, operating model, priorities and deployment of resources, escalating matters where risks fall outside agreed appetite or require decisions by the Chair, sponsoring department or other accountable authorities.

You must balance several potentially competing imperatives: protecting victims, survivors, witnesses, staff and senior leaders; safeguarding sensitive information and evidence; enabling open and accessible proceedings; maintaining public confidence; complying with government security requirements; and protecting the Inquiry’s actual and perceived independence.

You may also provide strategic and operational security leadership to other statutory inquiries on a recharge or portfolio basis. These inquiries may be geographically dispersed and subject to different threats, operating models, sponsoring arrangements and delivery timetables.

Responsibilities

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Acting as the Inquiry’s professional head of protective security, leading all protective security workstreams and ensuring compliance with Government Functional Standard GovS 007, associated technical standards, sponsoring-department policy, the Inquiries Act 2005 and Inquiry Rules 2006, while safeguarding and modelling the Inquiry’s statutory independence.
• Developing, maintaining and implementing the Inquiry’s security strategy, governance and assurance arrangements, including threat and risk assessments, asset identification, security policies, incident-management arrangements and mechanisms for escalating risks requiring senior consideration or acceptance.
• Developing, testing and delivering holistic security plans for public and private hearings, protecting attendees, witnesses - including those requiring special measures - staff, information and evidence, and ensuring proceedings can take place safely, with dignity and free from disturbance or disruption.
• Developing and implementing security policies, procedures and minimum standards for pre- and post-hearing operations across physical, personnel and information security; leading the organisational response to security incidents and breaches; and embedding a positive, accountable and trauma-informed security culture through leadership, training, assurance and continuous improvement.
• Providing authoritative strategic and operational security advice to the Inquiry Chair, Panel, Chief Executive, Senior Civil Servants and wider workforce, and representing the Inquiry at senior level with the heads and deputy heads of sponsoring-department security, senior Government Security Group officials, National Technical Authorities, policing and private-sector security leaders.
• Leading arrangements for the personal security of the Chair, Panel and senior leadership, owning relationships with government, policing and commercial security partners and influencing them to commission or provide appropriate capabilities while maintaining the Inquiry’s independence.
• Leading the procurement and contract management of security goods and services, including providing operational leadership to the contracted hearing-security guard force, setting and assuring standards, managing performance, identifying efficiencies and securing value for money.
• Leading and deploying security resources across a geographically dispersed estate and portfolio, including task management of staff from EO to Grade 7, leadership of the Inquiry’s health and safety arrangements, and delivery of agreed security support to other public inquiries on a recharge basis.

Fixed Term Appointment (FTA)/Loan

This post is being offered on a 12 months’ basis in order to complete a finite piece of work. Please refer to attached Candidate Information Pack.

The Inquiry timeline is 36 months, and the assignment may be extended subject to relevant approvals.

Working patterns

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

Travel

The role will involve regular travel within the United Kingdom, including travel to hearing venues, Inquiry offices and locations involved in local investigations. Some overnight stays and out-of-hours working will be required, particularly during hearing periods, exercises or significant incidents.

Additional information

You will be required to obtain and maintain the appropriate level of national security clearance.

You must also maintain the highest standards of integrity, discretion, impartiality and political neutrality. You must be able to work constructively with the sponsoring department while consistently respecting and modelling the statutory independence of the Inquiry.

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.

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 Verbal test.

1. Online Test – by 14th September 2026

If you successfully pass the CS Verbal 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 tests are 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 14th September 2026.

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

• a CV.
• Personal Statement (maximum 1250 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 – from 16th September 2026.

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

Should a high volume of applications be received, an initial sift will be conducted on the CV. Candidates who pass the initial sift will then be progressed to a full sift that will consist of all the remaining elements submitted (Personal Statement). 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. First Interview – from 7th October 2026.

If you are successful at sift stage, you will be invited to an interview that will be Behaviours (as listed in the job advert). All Behaviours listed in the selection process will be scored at the interview.

The interview will take place via MS Teams.

5. Second interview – from 28th October 2026.

If you are successful at interview, you will be invited to a second interview with the Inquiry Chair and Panel which will consist of a 10 minute presentation. The presentation question/scenario will be provided to you with your interview invitation. Slides will not be accepted.

The presentation will be assessed against 'Experience' on the 'Success Profiles' and will be assessed against the 'Essential Criteria' as listed in the job advertisement.

The second interview will take place in person at our London or Leeds office.

Please note any travel expenses incurred in attending the interview will not be re-imbursed.

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.

Further information

Location preference

You will only be able to select a single location preference so please ensure this is a location that you are prepared to travel to. If you are offered a role at your preferred location and you decline, your application will be withdrawn.

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.

Reserve lists will be held for each location. Candidates will be appointed in merit order by location.

Breaking Tied Scores

The behaviours have been ranked in order of importance to enable us to differentiate between candidates with tied interview scores.

Standards

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

Additional Security Checks

As well as successfully obtaining UK Security Vetting clearance, candidates will be subject to a range of additional checks. The range of checks carried out will depend on whether you are a current Home Office employee, existing civil servant or an external new entrant as well as the role requirements. Further details are included in the Notes to Candidates.

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.

Criminal Record Check

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.

Feedback

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