Role Description

Title:‘Designate’ Anti-Slavery Commissioner

Reports to: Home Secretary

Duration:This is a fixed term appointment for a period of three years

Remuneration:This role is remunerated at circa £95,000 per annum

Location:Flexible within England and Wales.

The Home Office is seeking to appoint a ‘designate’ Anti-Slavery Commissioner prior to Royal Assent of the Modern Slavery Bill and the relevant clauses coming into force. We expect the successful candidate will move to fill the statutory office of Anti-Slavery Commissioner once that is established in legislation (expected May 2015).

The Anti-slavery Commissioner, and the ‘designate’ office holder, will be appointed by the Home Secretary (subject to approval by the Prime Minister).

The Commissioner’s purpose will be to strengthen the law enforcement response to modern slavery in England and Wales, working in the interests of victims. The Commissioner will achieve this by encouraging good practice in the prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of modern slavery offences, including international cooperation.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Work closely with law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders to strengthen the response to modern slavery. This will include:
  • working closely with all England and Wales law enforcement agencies to improve the operational response to modern slavery;
  • making recommendations to any public authority in England and Wales about their functions in relation to tackling modern slavery;
  • building relationships and promote effective working with international law enforcement agencies to improve the UK’s overall response to modern slavery;
  • promoting good practice in the identification of victims of modern slavery;
  • undertaking relevant research; and
  • promotingmulti-agency working.
  • Prior to the Bill receiving Royal Assent, we expect the Commissioner Designate to establish their programme of work and to start to establish ways of working with law enforcement and other stakeholders; they will start to set expectations for the co-operation and support they expect to receive from law enforcement and other stakeholders.
  • Agree a programme of work with the Home Secretary through the development of a strategic plan in line with requirements.
  • Submit an annual report to the Home Secretary setting out how their priorities have been met, including a statement of other activities they have undertaken during the year.
  • Consult with other agencies and organisations in relation to their roles and responsibilities in tackling modern slavery.
  • Provide information, education or training to law enforcement agencies, public authorities and any other relevant organisations to: support the identification of victims; improve prevention and detection strategies and investigative techniques; and support an increase in the number of successful convictions.
  • When called upon, participate in Ministerial level and official level meetings to discuss their work and the strategic approach to tackling modern slavery.
  • Operate in the public interest and demonstrate the highest levels of personal integrity at all times.
  • Develop strong relations with the senior leadership teams of law enforcement agencies, public authorities and other relevant agencies or organisations.

The office holder will have specific responsibility for England and Wales and will be responsible for a budget of approximately £150k per annum.

Please note, the responsibilities of the Anti-Slavery Commissioner are set out in the Modern Slavery Bill, which is currently being considered by Parliament. As a result, they may be subject to revision by Parliament but will be finalised when the Bill receives Royal Assent.

Person Specification

All candidates will be required to demonstrate in their written applications and at interview how they meet the requirements of the post. The criteria that will be used to assess whether candidates have the required qualities, skills and experience are listed below.You must give examples in your application showing how in previous activity you have demonstrated each of the requirements:

Essential Skills and Experience

  • Knowledge and experience of operational delivery within law enforcement agencies, providing the background and insight required to challenge senior leaders within law enforcement to strengthen their contribution to tackling modern slavery.
  • Knowledge and experience of building relationships with law enforcement bodies, nationally and internationally, and the capability to conduct challenging conversations.
  • An understanding of how to improve operational delivery and a successful track record in promoting the use of good practice
  • Knowledge and experience of working with victims, including an understanding of the vulnerabilities and challenges faced by victims and the support they should receive.
  • Proven track record in managing relationships with diverse stakeholders who have differing priorities.
  • The flexibility and personal resilience to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances in an environment of regular scrutiny by the media, public and others.

Desirable Skills and Experience

  • Given the high profile of the role, experience of working with the media is desirable.

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