Civil Service - how long is normal to wait to be allocated a role?

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I was recently successful at interview for a professional role within CS. They let me know the day after the interview that I'd been successful and asked for degree certificates, proof of ID etc.

They said that they would get back in touch once they'd matched me with a role. It has been 5 weeks. Is it normal for it to take this long?

I feel like I'm in limbo and am starting to worry that they aren't actually going to find a suitable post.

What do you mean by "match you with a role"? Did you not apply for a specified job / role or are you on the waitlist?

Have they done any security checks yet? Presumably you answered an ad for a particular role and department.

It is a professional role where you are recruited centrally then allocated a post somewhere with the CS doing that job. They recruit several times a year. No mention of a waitlist.

was it one of those civil service bulk recruitment campaigns?

I’d just email them and ask for an
update on the timeline.

It will depend on how long your DBS checks take to be completed. They can take an awfully long time. 5 weeks isn't really that long in the CS

I’m going through all the checks at the moment and they’ve said they’ll take up to 3 months. It’s for a specific role though and I was allocated my office within 3 weeks.

They haven't mentioned DBS checks yet.

Ds took 3 months for general security checks and references, then another three weeks for additional clearance when allocated a role.

If your lucky it will take around 6 weeks for all security checks and vetting. More likely 3-4months. If unlucky 6months plus. Dont quit your current job until you've had confirmation the checks are complete. The CS are not quick on recruitment

I interviewed for a CS role in April, was offered the job a month later and it then took about 6 weeks for the security checks to be completed.

I took up my first professional role 5 months after I was offered the role, but I knew exactly where it would be from the job offer and with which agency. My second role, I still waited 5 months despite being an internal candidate because I needed a higher security clearance.

The CS is notoriously slow at recruitment so if you're needing clarity definitely contact them.

I work in the NHS. Recruitment can take up to 3 months

Thanks for all the replies.

It is central civil service, not NHS.

As I say, I was told that I was successful at interview within 24hrs, it is the actual allocation that is taking time. I was asked for ID documents but they haven't explicitly mentioned security checks yet so I'm not sure whether they start those straight away or if they wait until they've allocated you to a department.

I'm a little worried that if it goes on too long it will get tangled up in a recruitment freeze given that cuts in public spending are likely to be announced in the autumn statement tomorrow.

All roles at the moment are being subject to heavy scrutinies and justification, so if its a permanent role I wouldn't worry too much yet.

We're hearing there will be no redundancies offered (in the Ministry of Justice) because they'll rely on natural wastage - resignation, retirement, inter-departmental moves. Redundancy packages cost money and they don't have the money to pay them.

2023-2024 budgets are already agreed and have already been slashed, so internal cuts are underway without spending money to make them IYSWIM. Frontline services are ring-fenced. I'm technically a HQ function, but my work is hugely frontline (think investigations) so we think we'll be OK, but anyone leaving probably won't be replaced in future. We do, however, have 3 roles currently undergoing recruitment which we absolutely expect to be filled.

Plenty of roles will have to be recruited, including externally, no matter what cuts come in.