Employment Vetting Officer

The Talent and Resourcing service at Essex County Council (ECC) delivers recruitment, vetting, learning, development and talent management services for all new and existing employees. We are a high-performing, collaborative team with a strong commitment to safeguarding, customer service and continuous improvement. We are looking for a highly organised and customer-focused Employment Vetting Officer (EVO) to undertake all pre-employment vetting checks for new joiners to ECC and our partner organisations. You will play a critical role in ensuring candidates are fully compliant to begin work as quickly as possible, while meeting all statutory, policy and safeguarding requirements. You will act as a subject matter expert on employment vetting legislation and ECC policy, providing clear advice and maintaining consistent, high-quality communication with candidates and hiring managers throughout the vetting journey.,

• Develop and maintain a strong understanding of ECC vetting policy and relevant legislation and guidance (e.g. DfE, Social Work England, OFSTED, Keeping Children Safe in Education).
• Provide expert advice and guidance to hiring managers on required pre-employment vetting, including bespoke checks for regulated roles (e.g. social care, education, legal services).
• Obtain and manage all required pre-employment checks, including references, DBS checks, right to work, vaccinations and other statutory requirements.
• Review all vetting outcomes to ensure they meet required standards, identifying concerns and escalating cases appropriately for safeguarding review in line with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.
• Use recruitment and vetting systems effectively to manage multiple cases simultaneously, working at pace and proactively chasing outstanding clearances within agreed timescales.
• Maintain regular, clear communication with candidates and hiring managers, including progress updates and managing expectations around delays.
• Provide professional judgement and subject matter expertise on complex vetting cases and additional checks, ensuring safeguarding principles are upheld at all times.
• Deliver a best-in-class candidate and hiring manager experience, responding to all emails within 24 hours and maintaining proactive engagement by phone and email.
• Adapt your approach, where appropriate, to accommodate individual circumstances without compromising safeguarding or compliance standards.
• Manage cases through to completion, including contract issue, accurate payroll integration and ensuring satisfactory survey feedback from candidates and managers.
• Meet individual and team performance targets as agreed through the annual performance management framework.
  
  Highly organised, with the ability to prioritise workload and meet deadlines.
• Strong customer service ethos with a professional, solution-focused approach.
• Ability to work at pace while maintaining excellent attention to detail.
• Willingness to learn and develop subject matter expertise in vetting legislation and policy.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with experience handling customer queries.
• Proven ability to build effective working relationships with colleagues and customers.
• Strong IT skills, with proficiency in MS Word and MS Excel.
• Highly motivated, results-focused and committed to continuous improvement.