People Vetting and Compliance Specialist

· Contract Type: Full time, Permanent

· Salary: £34,421 per annum

· Hours: 37.5 hours per week

· Location: Birmingham-based (Hybrid – 2 days per week in Birmingham Office)

· This role does not offer eligibility for visa sponsorship.

This role offers a starting salary within Nacro’s pay structure of £34,421, per annum with expected progression to £35,454, per annum within the first year, subject to meeting clear criteria and performance standards, with further pay progression available in the future. Nacro’s pay framework provides transparent progression points and supports ongoing professional development and career growth.

At Nacro, we believe that everyone deserves a good education, a safe and secure place to live, the right to be heard, and the chance to start again, with support from someone on their side. That’s why our housing, education, justice, and health and wellbeing services work alongside people to give them the support and skills they need to succeed. And it’s why we fight for their voices to be heard and campaign together to create lasting change.

We see your future, whatever the past.

“Do you want to make a difference to people’s lives and want to work for an organisation that will invest in your personal development?”

About the role

This is a specialist role with organisation-wide influence. You’ll support the accurate and timely completion of mandatory vetting and pre-employment requirements, helping to ensure colleagues are appropriately cleared before undertaking restricted or regulated duties.

You’ll provide technical quality assurance across vetting activity, maintain and monitor workforce compliance records, support complex cases and ensure renewals and clearances are followed up within the required timescales. You’ll also play an important role in right-to-work and immigration sponsorship compliance, including permitted activity within the Sponsor Management System.

You’ll work closely with People Operations colleagues, People Partners, Safeguarding, Recruitment, Payroll, Education and operational teams, providing clear guidance and helping to strengthen compliance practice across Nacro.

What you’ll be doing

• Provide specialist operational guidance on workforce vetting, safer recruitment, DBS, BPSS, HMPPS and prison vetting, right to work, sponsorship, references, identity and employment-history checks.
• Act as the first technical escalation point for People Operations Coordinators and managers, supporting complex, unusual or higher-risk cases.
• Undertake risk-based quality assurance checks, identify control weaknesses and provide clear corrective guidance.
• Coordinate information gathering and provide evidence-based advice where disclosures, discrepancies, adverse findings or other vetting concerns arise.
• Ensure mandatory pre-employment, safeguarding, regulatory and contractual requirements are completed before individuals undertake restricted or regulated duties.
• Maintain and monitor Nacro’s central workforce-vetting and compliance register, ensuring records remain accurate, complete and audit ready.
• Monitor renewals and expiring clearances, including DBS, right to work, visas, sponsorship, BPSS, HMPPS/prison vetting and other role-specific requirements.

·       Support Nacro’s immigration sponsorship obligations as an authorised Level 1 user of the Sponsor Management System, completing permitted sponsorship activity and required reports to UKVI accurately and within statutory timescales.

·       Undertake quality checks across workforce vetting and compliance data, with specific responsibility for checking Nacro Education’s Single Central Record, and prepare compliance information and reports highlighting trends, risks and areas for improvement.

·       Ensure all advice, decisions, approvals and risk-related actions are accurately documented and supported by a complete audit trail.

• Develop guidance, checklists and training materials and provide technical briefings and coaching to colleagues and managers.

·       Keep up to date with changes in relevant legislation, statutory requirements and official guidance, recommending updates to procedures, guidance and working practices where required.

• Contribute to continuous improvement by using data, audit findings and feedback to strengthen controls, improve processes and reduce errors or delays.

You’ll be someone who

• Has relevant experience in workforce vetting, safer recruitment, right-to-work, sponsorship or People compliance.
• Has strong working knowledge of DBS, BPSS, HMPPS/prison vetting, right-to-work and UK sponsor requirements.
• Has experience assessing complex vetting concerns and providing clear, evidence-based advice within established policies and governance arrangements.
• Has experience managing registers, renewals, compliance controls, quality assurance and audit activity.
• Has excellent attention to detail and can handle highly sensitive information with discretion, integrity and confidentiality.
• Has strong analytical skills and the ability to identify gaps, trends and control weaknesses and monitor corrective actions.
• Is, confident communicating technical requirements clearly to candidates, colleagues, managers and senior leaders.
• Has sound judgement and knows when matters can be resolved within established requirements and when they need to be escalated.
• Can challenge non-compliance appropriately while maintaining a fair, respectful and collaborative approach.
• Is committed to continuous improvement and can identify practical ways to strengthen compliance processes and ways of working.

Experience of working within a charity, education, criminal justice or another highly regulated environment would be desirable, as would experience supporting inspections or external regulatory/contractual audits. A CIPD, compliance, risk, safeguarding or equivalent professional qualification would also be advantageous.

Experience as an authorised Sponsor Management System user is desirable, although the successful candidate must be eligible for appointment as a Level 1 user.

Click here to view the Role Profile

Click here to view the Candidate Pack

 Application deadline: 30/09/2026.

 Nacro is a fair and inclusive employer

At Nacro, we believe in the power of a diverse and inclusive team. We are a Ban the Box employer and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, including those with criminal records. Convictions are not discussed during the application process and will only be considered later if relevant to the role, assessed fairly, proportionately and confidentially. For advice, contact our confidential Criminal Record Support Service on 0300 123 1999 or helpline@nacro.org.uk