Employment Vetting Officer

Employment Vetting Officer

Permanent, Full Time

£27,003 - £31,768 per annum

Location: Chelmsford

Working Style: Anywhere worker

Closing Date: 26th April 2026

This role offers hybrid working. Office attendance will be two days per week, either Tuesday & Thursday or Wednesday & Friday. The remaining three days will be worked remotely, unless business needs require office attendance.

You induction will take place over two weeks and be in our offices in County Hall Chelmsford.

The Opportunity

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.

Key Accountabilities

• 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.

The Experience You Will Bring

• 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.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you. 

In February 2025, Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government’s devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. You can read more about devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR)) on our careers site

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service.  The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate.  This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained.  For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email resourcing.team@essex.gov.uk

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Further details can be found on our careers page.

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