Experienced Investigator

Job summary

At the National Crime Agency (NCA), our Investigations Directorate is at the heart of our mission to protect the public. We lead the charge against the most dangerous and complex criminal threats facing the UK today—those that go beyond the reach of traditional law enforcement.

We are a world-class investigative force, powered by highly skilled and motivated officers who are driven by purpose and committed to making a difference. Our work is intelligence-led, nationally coordinated, and focused on the criminals and networks that pose the greatest risk to our communities.

Be part of a mission with real impact—protecting the UK from its most dangerous criminals.

Work in a supportive, inclusive, and professional environment.

Access specialist training and development to grow your career.

Join a team that values integrity, courage, and collaboration.

Please note - Candidates successful at sift will be invited to attend and face to face assessment centre. Locations will be confirmed upon being invited to assessment stage.

Job description

The Investigations Directorate provides a flexible, shared operational capability, designed to maximise the impact of the UK's collective resources against serious and organised crime, and in specialist support of major crime. Our teams respond to a broad range of threats, many of which also remain a responsibility for the police forces and other agencies as well as private industry.

Our teams lead investigations across the Serious and Organised Crime landscape for example; Organised Immigration Crime, Illicit Finance, Modern Day Slavery and Human Trafficking, Child Sexual Abuse, Internal Professional Standards, Economic Crime, Firearms, Drugs including County Lines, Anti-Kidnap and Extortion, Professional Enablers, Money Laundering and International Bribery and Corruption.

The teams provide a national service of specialist investigative skills and expertise to support major crime investigations conducted by police forces, such as abduction, serial sexual crime and no body murder.

Every day will be different, using innovative approaches and ground breaking techniques you will be making decisions which help to disrupt and bring to justice criminals who present the highest threat to the UK. You may be expected to work directly or indirectly in tackling Child Sexual Abuse (CSA).

Duties and Responsibilities

Investigations

Investigating serious criminality; collecting and developing intelligence and evidence to build and contribute to case file preparations to prosecute offenders. NCA Investigative teams respond to a broad range of threats including Organised Immigration Crime, Cyber Dependant Crime, Fraud, Human Trafficking, Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, Firearms and Drugs, as well as having internal Professional Standards teams. Investigations are undertaken in a varied and dynamic environment, identifying intelligence and evidential opportunities in support of investigation leads.

Team working and collaboration

You will be working closely with other NCA departments and partner agencies to identify threats from criminality and work in a challenging environment to pursue offenders.

Decision making

Using innovative approaches and ground breaking techniques you will be making decisions which help disrupt and bring to justice criminals who present the highest threat to the UK.

Intelligence and evidence identification

Investigations are undertaken in a varied and dynamic environment with critical roles in identifying intelligence and evidential opportunities in support of Investigation leads. These are challenging roles requiring a flexible approach to working long and varied hours, often at short notice, operating from locations within England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Public and Personal Safety Training (PPST):

It is an essential requirement for successful candidates to pass Public and Personal Safety Training (PPST). Applicants are urged to consider whether this is achievable prior to applying. The PPST combines cognitive input, armed and unarmed defence theory and practical techniques and, as such, requires a level of physical exertion due to the nature and repetition of the drills. The practical techniques include use of body weapons, movement and positioning, strikes (armed/unarmed) blocks, restraint and control. We will expect officers attending the course to have a standard of physical fitness. Progressive full body warm-ups are conducted each day to minimise risk of injury to the officer. It is expected that the officer is capable of a ground descent and ascent, unaided and within a reasonable timeframe. This is important both individually and in team tactics. Candidates must pass the PPST during the first 6 months of starting in the Investigator role. Failure to do so would mean you would not be able to continue in the operational Investigator role and your employment with the NCA will end. Barring any exceptional circumstances, the NCA would not seek to find you an alternative role within the Agency. An officer who passes the PPST will still be required to successfully pass their 12-month probation period to ensure continued employment with the NCA.

You could be deployed to work on any type of investigation, including, but not limited to Child Sexual Abuse. By applying for this role you are confirming that you are willing to undertake CSA roles. The NCA will provide access to Occupational Health Service and those in CSA roles will be required to undergo psychological assessment prior to joining the agency. You will need to give this consideration prior to applying for this role.

Powers

In order for the NCA Designating Officer to delegate powers to an NCA officer under the Crime and Courts Act, the agency requires that any officer that requires powers for their role is required to pass the NCA Exams within their probationary period. Upon successful completion of all exams an officer will be designated under section 10 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 as a person having the following powers:

the powers and privileges of a constable;

the powers of an officer of Revenue and Customs;

the powers of an immigration officer; and

the powers of a general customs official.

Officers joining the agency will be provided with online access revision material and offered classroom based tutorials to support them taking exams.

Those working in Northern Ireland and Scotland are currently required to successfully complete the NCA Exams as above, Northern or Scottish powers course and the National Investigators Exam (NIE), if not previously passed

Person specification

Skills, Knowledge and Experience

Interviewing - Knowledge or experience of interviewing witnesses and suspects (custody time limits/procedures, extensions, authorisations and bail

Communication - Good communication skills with the ability to listen, empathise, provide support and adapt language, form and message to meet the needs of different people and audiences.

Investigations techniques - Experience and knowledge in the use of investigations techniques to meet operational outcomes.

Knowledge of conducting arrests - Knowledge of arrest procedures.

Seizure of exhibits - Experience and knowledge around seizure of exhibits, continuity of evidence, and seize/sift legislation, including experience in disclosure, and scheduling of material, and knowledge of CPIA legislation.

Completing case files - Experienced and competent in completing case files and liaising with prosecuting agencies or authorities.

Additional Information

Successful candidates at sift will be invited to attend a face-to-face assessment Centre.

This will consist of the following:

Interview - Assessing Behaviours, Experience and Strengths. These include the following behaviours: Delivering at Pace, Working Together & Making Effective Decisions. The experience criteria include the following: Experience of and knowledge of criminal investigations. To demonstrate this we would expect to see knowledge of interviewing witnesses and suspects (with awareness of custody time limits, bail procedures, and authorisations), applying investigative techniques, conducting lawful arrests, managing seizure and continuity of exhibits in line with legislation, fulfilling disclosure obligations under CPIA, and preparing accurate case files for prosecuting authorities.

Experienced Officer Knowledge Check (EOKC)

Essential qualification check - you will be required to bring in evidence of the essential criteria.

Substance misuse test

Where required, body armour measurements will be taken.

You may also be required to complete elements of the pre-employment check including occupational health assessments.

This event is currently planned for June - July 2026.

Full details will be given to the successful candidates.

Please note the knowledge check test will result in a "Pass" or "Fail".

On-call working

The post holder may be required to be part of an on-call 24/7 rota which will vary from each business area. Further detail with regard to team-specific on-call requirements can be found on the attached document.

Essential Criteria

You must meet the essential criteria and evidence this within your application to be considered for the role.

Qualifications, Membership and Licences

Full DVLA Driving Licence (includes Full EU licences) - this will need to be evidenced prior to an offer.

And one of the below:

Current/active Professionalising Investigation Programme Level 1 (PIP1) or Level 2 (PIP2) qualification with a certificate or evidence (detailed in the NCA applicant guidance attachment). Your PIP accreditation must be current/active within the last 3 years.

OR

An equivalent accreditation from a recognised government body with evidence (detailed in the NCA applicant guidance attachment).

Officers joining the NCA on a PIP-equivalent basis must attain the required PIP accreditation, and this will include taking all relevant exams and could include the requirement to complete an assessed portfolio of workplace-based evidence.

Joining the agency on an experienced investigator campaign, that doesn’t have the required PIP2 accreditation for their role, will be required to complete the PIP2 accreditation upon joining the agency.

Joining the agency on an experienced investigator campaign, an officer with PIP2 accreditation will be required to have a professional discussion with an accredited assessor upon joining the agency.

Any applications from candidates not meeting this eligibility criteria will not progress.

Virtual Open Evening Event

To find out more about the role and the application process we will be holding virtual open event via MS Teams on Tuesday 12th May 2026 at 1800

This event is by invitation only.

To register, please click on the following link

Virtual Event Tuesday 12th May 1800-1900

You will be asked for your name and email address.

Registration will close on Monday 11th May 2026 at 12pm

You will not be able to register after this date and time.

Full advert details for this vacancy can found on the advert on the NCA Recruitment Portal. Please follow the link to apply at advertisers' site.

Licences

Full UK Driving Licence

Qualifications

Current/active Professionalising Investigation Programme Level 1 (PIP1) or Level 2 (PIP2) qualification with a certificate or evidence (detailed in the NCA applicant guidance attachment). Your PIP accreditation must be current/active within the last 3 years.

OR

An equivalent accreditation from a recognised government body with evidence (detailed in the NCA applicant guidance attachment).

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,270, National Crime Agency contributes £12,245 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

New entrants to the NCA receive 26 days annual leave, rising to 31 on completion of 5 years continuous service, plus 8 bank holidays.

If qualifying criteria is met new joiners from UK Police Forces or the UK Intelligence Community (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 31 days leave (including 1 privilege day).

Other benefits include:

• Flexible working, including flexi-time, compressed hours and job sharing (in line with business requirements)
• Family friendly policies, notably above the statutory minimum
• Learning and Development opportunities
• Interest free loans and advances, including season tickets, childcare and rental deposits
• Housing schemes - Key Worker status
• Discounts and Savings with a wide variety of services including Cycle to Work, Smart Tech schemes, dental insurance, gym discounts and savings on everyday spending, available through the Reward Gateway , Edenred and Blue Light Card schemes.
• Staff support groups/networks
• Sports and social activities, including membership to the Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC)

Further information is available on the NCA Website.

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

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

Your application will be assessed against the following:

Experience - This will be assessed:

CV

Please include your full career history, training, qualifications, key responsibilities, and achievements. Explain any employment gaps in the last two years. Ensure all accreditation dates are accurate.

Details of what is expected within you CV are as follows: Please upload a CV no more than two pages Font size 11. Please demonstrate within your CV how you meet the six elements outlined in the person specification. You should also provide details of how you meet the essential qualifications and licence requirements listed in the advert.

Please Note: Only the first two pages of the CV will be reviewed; any additional pages will be disregarded

Experience Criteria - will be assessed by 250 word examples on:

Team Preference (This is not assessed and for informative purposes only for candidates to specify what team(s) they are interested in working with)

A panel will assess how well your application demonstrates the requirements outlined above.

You will receive an acknowledgement once your application is submitted.

We aim to have sift completed and scores released within 10 working days of the closing date of the advert. For high volume campaigns this timeframe may be extended.

Scores will be provided but further feedback will not be available at this stage.

Assessment 1

The format of this assessment will be Interview which will be tested on the criteria listed in the Success Profiles at Assessment section.

Additional assessment methods used alongside Interview

As part of the assessment process Written assessment will be required to assess the criteria outlined below:

Candidates will complete a written assessment - this will be the EOKC test - this will result in a pass or fail.

The interview will include scenario based questions that will assess behaviours and experience.

Success Profiles at Assessment

Behaviours

Delivering at Pace

Working Together

Making Effective Decisions

Experience

Experienced Officer Knowledge Check - Written Assessment

Experience and knowledge of criminal investigations.

Strengths

Strengths are tested at interview stage - the strengths tested are not shared before the interview.

Assessment Outcome

Outcomes will be communicated via the NCA recruitment portal.

If successful but no role is immediately available, you may be placed on a reserve list for 12 months.

Reserve lists can be used to fill similar role types across the Agency where the assessment criteria is considered a match by the recruitment team and the business area.

In the event of a tie at the assessment stage, available roles will be offered in merit order using the following order:

Lead criteria (behaviours/technical/experience)

If still tied, desirable criteria will be assessed (if advertised)

If still tied, application sift scores will be used

Feedback is provided only to those who attend an assessment.

You will be subject to vetting and pre-employment checks before appointment.

Once the vacancy closes, the advert will no longer be accessible. Please save a copy for your records.

We encourage all candidates to visit the NCA Careers Page for more information.

Full advert details for this vacancy can found on the advert on the NCA Recruitment Portal. Please follow the link to apply at advertisers' site.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (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

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

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 : The Recruitment Team
• Email : central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk
• Telephone : central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk

Further information

If you believe your application has not been treated fairly, email: Central.Recruitment@nca.gov.uk (quoting the vacancy reference).
If unresolved, you may escalate your complaint to the Civil Service Commission.