Locations: London, Croydon
Homepage: home-office.gov.uk

Departments

• Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
• Department for Education
• Department for Transport
• Department for Work and Pensions
• Department of Health
• Export Credits Guarantee Department
• Food Standards Agency
• HM Revenue & Customs
• Home Office
• Ministry of Justice
• Office for National Statistics

Home Office

The Home Office building on Marsham Street, London.

Management and Policy Development

The Home Office, including the UK Border Agency, is the government department responsible for policies on immigration, passports, counter-terrorism, policing, drugs and crime.

The department is an exciting place to work with a clear focus on evidenced-based policy making. There are a number of Operational Research teams which support the various Home Office and UKBA functions by providing research and analysis on a range of issues relevant to management and policy. Many of the questions posed by our policy colleagues and Ministers can only be answered by high quality modelling, led by OR analysts and economists. Questions like:

• How can we make a rounded assessment of performance in policing and ensure that the money that the police service receives is used effectively?
• How might we use Horizon Scanning techniques to assess the impact of future trends on Home Office business?
• How can we improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the asylum processing system? How might this reduce asylum support costs?
• How should UKBA deploy its workforce in order to best control migration and protect the UK Border against evolving threats?
• How long should DNA records be retained before being destroyed?

Operational Research in the Home Office

The range of work we undertake reflects the whole spectrum of Home Office functions, using high-level economic analysis, operational research and modelling to provide an objective, scientific evidence base to support executive decision making in policy, strategic planning and delivery areas.

What to expect

There are currently around 35 OR analysts within the Home Office and UKBA. There are OR teams in several parts of the Home Office, including the corporate centre, the UK Border Agency, the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism, and Crime and Policing. The atmosphere is friendly and informal, with a mixture of academic backgrounds which makes the Home Office a very stimulating place in which to work.