Deputy Director National Intelligence Hub (NIH) and Deputy Director Organised Immigration Crime (OIC) Operations – 2 roles

Job summary

The Intelligence Directorate sits at the heart of the NCA and drives our operational work, leading the NCA tasking and prioritisation teams and supporting wider SOC system federated tasking. It is responsible for: providing a clear picture of the Serious Organised Crime (SOC) threat; prioritising the threat and identifying the most significant targets; developing operations to disrupt the threat; and providing specialist capabilities to both the NCA and wider law enforcement partners.

At our core we are collectors, analysts, assessors and exploiters of intelligence. Our aim is to develop the right operations, which target and disrupt - by the most effective means - the right offenders who seek to cause the highest harm to the UK. However, it is important to note that we are also an incredibly diverse directorate with a wide variety of unique functions and specialist skillsets in our ranks, some of which we deliver as the national provider for the wider SOC system. From our niche technical capabilities, to our overseas network of ILOs and our Tasking teams, there are many component parts which contribute to the efforts of the directorate and the Agency.

The Intelligence Directorate is made up of five distinct but interconnected Deputy Directorates:

• National Intelligence Hub (assessment, prioritisation & triage of leads, developing operations);

• Organised Immigration Crime Operations;

• Collection (including communications collection, human intelligence collection, technical collection);

• National Tasking & Coordination (leading the NCA, and wider SOC system tasking and prioritisation teams, oversight of NCA’s 7/24 operations, and other central support functions)

• Operations HQ (a joint function with Investigations Command).

Job description

The National Intelligence Hub is responsible for analysing, developing and disseminating intelligence for the NCA and Serious Organised Crime (SOC) system, in order to understand and articulate the threat from SOC and generate the most impactful opportunities for disruption and reduction of that threat.

Working closely with other departments, the NIH is at the heart of the NCA, analysing and exploiting all source intelligence to deliver opportunities which drive NCA and partner activity in response to the highest threats from SOC.

The NIH continually develops the intelligence picture of serious and organised crime that impacts on the UK, so we can flex law enforcement’s collective resources against the changing threats.

The NIH is currently undergoing an important review of its internal operating model and the successful incumbent would be expected to continue the leadership of this change programme.

DD NIH is responsible for:

• identifying the highest harm criminals from the NCA’s own sovereign collection capabilities, and from intelligence gathered from partners, for the purpose of developing actionable intelligence to generate opportunities for the NCA, and partners, to disrupt the threat from SOC in the UK.
• generating the operational pipeline for the following threats; Fraud, Money Laundering, Bribery & Corruption, Combating Kleptocracy, Firearms, Drug, Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, Hardened Secure Communications, Borders, Immigration Disruptions and Prisoner and Lifetime Offender Management.

• providing live time intelligence capability to tasked investigations within the NCA through the national network of National Targeting Centre (NTC) and Regional Intelligence Teams (RITs), and for analytical capability through the multi-threat National Tactical Analysis Unit.

  The NIH houses the Agency’s Child Sexual Exploitation Referrals Bureau (CSERB). This is subject to a critical incident under Op ANCHORWISE. The successful candidate will need to work with a range of stakeholders inside and outside the NCA to manage this critical incident.

  The job holder will be the UK’s Executive Board member for the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre (Narcotics) based in Lisbon, Portugal.

You will:

• Be able to operate effectively at Deputy Director level across Government, build productive relationships with a range of domestic and international law enforcement and national security partners, and engage in the corporate governance of the Agency;

• Champion the importance of intelligence in a national security/law enforcement context with a view to Police Reform;

• Have experience at a strategic level of being able to balance delivering operationally at pace with transforming operations for the future taking into account changes to the technology landscape.

DD Organised Immigration Crime Operations directs the Agency’s Intelligence and Analysis capabilities to protect the public and those vulnerable from OCGs and the harm caused by Organised Immigration Crime. The directorate brings together Intelligence Officers, Analysis and works very closely with the UK’s intelligence community.

OIC Intelligence and Analysis is responsible for collecting, analysing, disseminating and developing intelligence relating to the Agency’s main effort to disrupt the flow of illegal migrants to the UK through focusing on; small boat equipment supply, illicit finance, near Europe facilitators, upstream facilitators and Online Communications.

OIC Intelligence and Analysis works very closely with a range of law enforcement and other partners on the OIC threat, including Border Security Command, NPCC forces and Regional Organised Crime Units, and a number of international partners

The DD OIC Operations role will require the job holder to work the majority of their time in the office in line with the NCA’s Hybrid working Policy.

You will:

• Be able to direct and coordinate staff across the Agency from multiple business areas and geographical locations. You will therefore require strong leadership skills, alongside the ability to build high performing teams and deliver performance.
• Be comfortable, or show strong potential, to balance work across criminal justice outcomes and other disruption opportunities including complex overseas/cross border operations.
• Be responsible for complex areas of Agency work where sound judgement is critical, and which carry a significant risk to public confidence and agency reputation, and the confidence of our officers.
• Display key qualities based on professional operational competence and experience at a strategic and tactical level in respect of operations involving threat, harm and risk.
• Be able to work collaboratively at a senior level with internal and external stakeholders, and be able to brief effectively up to senior levels including Ministerial.

As members of the NCA’s SCS team you will be expected support the overall running of the NCA by taking on further corporate responsibilities, to be agreed on appointment.

Person specification

The Civil Service use a recruitment framework called Success Profiles. Success Profiles are made up of 5 elements: Ability, Behaviours, Experience, Technical, Strengths. You will be assessed against the following:

Behaviours

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Deliver at Pace
• Changing and Improving
• Culture/EDI (leadership)

We ask that you write a statement of suitability no more than 1250 words (Bahnschrift 11) evidencing relevant examples of your skills relating to the criteria listed below:

You will need to demonstrate the below essential criteria:

• Demonstrable commitment to lead, develop and nurture a diverse and talented workforce ensuring they feel inspired and motivated to be innovative and embrace change.

• Commitment to working collaboratively, with the gravitas and negotiation and influencing skills to deliver in a complex and interconnected context, building effective partnerships across government, and with international partners.

• Sound judgement including a proven ability to prioritise operational and transformational work in a complex operational environment. Assessing and balancing the impact of redirecting finite resources to priority areas, while managing political and operational risks.

• The ability to lead and deliver change, with a strong technical component and with experience of delivering Communications Strategies associated with business change.

• Strong people skills with a demonstrable commitment to ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

Please Note

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

The NCA is a 24/7 organisation, and working patterns must support business requirements. SCS1 officers are expected to participate in an on-call rota (approx. 2 – 3 weeks per year).

On-call runs 1800-0800 Mon-Fri and 24/7 weekends and bank holidays.

This is a corporate requirement and no additional remuneration is paid.

Examples for on-call include staffing incidents; building issues (flooding etc); operational incidents; cross-government liaison.

Individuals will be required to undertake and pass a substance misuse test as part of pre-employment checks.

If successful you must hold, or be willing to obtain, security clearance Enhanced Developed Vetting (DV) on entry and STRAP once in post. More information about the NCA vetting process can be found here: NCA Enhanced Vetting explained

We want to recruit and retain the very best and broadest diversity of officers so the NCA welcomes applications from individuals from all minority backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Please be aware that you can be posted to any location that you put in your preferences. If you would only like to be posted one location, please confirm one location only.

If you are posted to a location that you have requested and you do not accept that location, you may not be offered another role.

Successful candidates may be required to undertake a medical. If required, the medical will take place in either *London or Warrington. Unfortunately, travel costs will not be reimbursed.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £86,000, National Crime Agency contributes £24,914 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

Civil Service Pension

A competitive contributory pension scheme that you can enter as soon as you join where we will make a significant contribution to the cost of your pension; your contributions come out of your salary before any tax is taken; and where your pension will continue to provide valuable benefits for you and your family if you are too ill to continue to work or die before you retire.

If you are an active police pension member immediately prior to joining the NCA, you can continue your membership throughout your employment with us.

Annual Leave

25 days annual leave on entry (plus one privilege day for the King’s Birthday), plus 8 Bank Holidays, increasing to 30 days after reaching 5 years continuous service (plus one privilege day for the King’s Birthday), plus 8 Bank Holidays.

If qualifying criteria is met new joiners to the NCA from UK Police Forces or UKIC will have service with those employers taken into account for continuous service purposes for Annual Leave entitlement only, this will be up to a maximum of 30 days leave (plus 1 privilege day for the King’s Birthday).

Parental Leave

Family friendly policies including paid maternity, adoption, paternity and shared parental leave of up to 26 weeks.

Access to the government Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) scheme. Existing employees may be able to continue to claim childcare vouchers.

Flexible Working

Flexible working arrangements allowing you to split your work between the office and home, subject to the nature of the role.

Alternative working patterns such as part-time and compressed hours options subject to business needs.

Support for officers who are Reservists and Special Constables.

Learning and Development

Access to a range of learning and development activities, and opportunities to support career progression.

Paid time off to facilitate continuous professional development, and access to Civil Service Learning up to 5 days per year.

Wellbeing and Inclusion

Occupational sick pay and access to occupational health services.

A network of qualified Mental Health First Aiders and Workplace Support Officers, who can provide advice, signposting and support to all our officers.

On site facilities including fitness centres and canteens (where available). Access to a variety of active staff network groups.

Employee Savings

Interest-free loans allowing you to spread the cost of an annual travel season ticket.

Access to a wide range of discounts, offers and gift cards with a number of high street and online retailers through the Blue light Scheme and EdenRed.

Cycle2work salary sacrifice scheme to hire a bicycle up to the value of £4,000 to assist in improving health and fitness and save you money.

Access to a home and technology purchase scheme, allowing you to purchase items and spread the cost over 12 months through salary sacrifice.

Key worker status, enabling access to accommodation at a discounted rate, subject to eligibility.

Access to a range of sports, leisure and health benefits at reduced prices through membership with Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC).

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process, outlined below. This should be completed no later than 23:55 on Monday31st August 2026.

Enter your CV details setting out your career history, including key responsibilities and achievements. It is essential that your CV reflects the role you are applying for. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any employment gaps within the last two years.

Submit a statement of suitability (no more than 1250 words, Bahnschrift 11) with detailed evidence of your skills and experience in response to the criteria on page 11.

In order to monitor the effectiveness of the National Crime Agency’s Diversity & Inclusion strategy, the NCA require certain personal details about you on submission of your application. Please note that this will be treated in confidence and will not impact your application.

As part of your application, you will be asked to complete a diversity monitoring form. If you do not wish to provide a declaration on any of the particular characteristics, you will have the option to select ‘prefer not to say’. All monitoring data will be treated in the strictest confidence and will not be provided to the selection panel. The information you provide when submitting your application will help us monitor our progress towards the Civil Service becoming the most inclusive employer.

Should you encounter any issues with your application please get in touch with our recruitment partners at the following email address: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Your application will be acknowledged by our recruitment partners. If you do not receive acknowledgement of your application within 48 hours, please contact us.

The role is expected to be based in Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Gartcosh, London, Warrington. Please ensure you are only selecting locations you are willing to work in as you may be offered a post in any of your location preferences.

Further Information

If you have any questions about the role itself or would like to discuss the post and your fit within the organisation, please contact: scs.appointments@nca.gov.uk

Complaints

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the recruitment principles or you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, please raise it with Civil Service Commission Info Mailbox info@csc.gov.uk

Shortlist

The shortlisting meeting will be held in the week commencing 14th September 2026.

Your CV and Statement of Suitability will be assessed against the essential criteria.

Assessment Centre

A virtual Staff Engagement Exercise (SEE) will be delivered week commencing 21st or 28th September 2026. It will be a focus group format.

This stage will not result in a pass or fail decision. It is designed to support the panel’s decision-making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview.

More information on this assessment will be provided to shortlisted candidates.

Final Panel Interview

The interview will be held virtually in week commencing 5th October 2026. The panel will assess your previous experience and professional competence against the essential criteria, which aligns with the CS behaviours cited on page 12.

As part of the interview stage, you may be asked to deliver a 5-minute presentation to the panel or undertake an in-tray exercise.

Full details of the requirements will be given to shortlisted candidates ahead of their interview.

Offer

Regardless of the outcome, we will notify all candidates as soon as possible.

If your application is successful and we are unable to offer you a post immediately, you will be invited to join our reserve list so that we can continue to communicate with you regarding your employment with the Agency, and the incredible work that we do. If over the next 12 months we are able to offer you a position, we will contact you as soon as possible.

If you are found appointable at the higher grade but there are no positions available you may be offered an appointment at the lower grade.

Appointments will be made in adherence to the Civil Service Recruitment Principles and in strict merit order with the highest scoring candidates being appointed first.

We will keep you updated throughout your application and whilst in the candidate pool, we wish you every success in this process and are excited for the journey ahead.

The NCA is a law enforcement agency and as such we are part of the Criminal Justice System. Therefore, if you are going into an

operational role we need to be aware if any of our officers have, either before they join us or afterwards, any of the following:

• Any criminal conviction (including by Court Martial), or caution or fixed penalty notice for disorder or theft.
• Any adverse judicial findings.
• Any charges or summonses where the proceedings are not complete.
• Any misconduct or gross misconduct findings or where proceedings are not complete.

You will be asked to complete a declaration form covering the above if offered a role with the NCA.

Each case will be considered on its merits and a positive declaration does not automatically mean that your application will not be progressed. However, should you fail to disclose a relevant matter then your application or employment will be adversely affected. If in doubt, please declare it at this stage.’

Indicative Timeline

Please note that these dates are only indicative at this stage and could be subject to change. If you are unable to meet these timeframes, please let us know in your application letter.

The anticipated timetable is as follows:

Advert Closing Date - Monday 31st August 2026

Expected shortlist announcement - w/c 14th September 2026

Staff Engagement Exercise (SEE) - w/c21st or 28th September 2026

Interviews - w/c 5th October 2026

Pre-employment checks

Pre-employment checks take on average 16 weeks from the point of offer to arranging a start date. This includes vetting, occupational health assessments, employment history checks and substance misuse tests. This is an approximate time frame and is to be taken as a guideline only as this can very between candidates. This is dependent on when all requested documentation is provided.

Candidates are asked to note the above timetable, which may be likely to some change, and are asked to exercise flexibility through the recruitment and selection process.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact Government Recruitment Service at: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
• Complete the ‘assistance required’ section in the ‘personal information’ page of your application form to provide information we should be aware of that will enable us to support you further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Further Information

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : SCS Recruitment Team
• Email : scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the recruitment principles or you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, please raise it with Civil Service Commission Info Mailbox info@csc.gov.uk

Attachments

Deputy Director National Intelligence Hub (NIH) and Deputy Director Organised Immigration Crime (OIC) Operations – 2 roles Final Opens in new window (pdf, 1568kB)Accessibility Pack Deputy Director National Intelligence Hub (NIH) and Deputy Director Organised Immigration Crime (OIC) Operati Opens in new window (docx, 39kB)