Joint Head of Intelligence - Head of Intelligence Analysts

Job summary

The Insolvency Service is a leading Government agency which plays a crucial role in providing essential services to the public and to business. The work we do is important to the proper functioning of markets, the economy in general and support for thousands of people each year who are in financial difficulty.

This is an exciting time to join the Insolvency Service as we undergo significant transformational change, placing intelligence and analytical insight at the centre of our investigations and enforcement work. The agency is expanding its economic wrongdoing and anti money laundering intelligence capability, strengthening its contribution across government, and supporting closer operational and intelligence collaboration with Companies House, following the introduction of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA).

Inclusive and diverse teams are important to us. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups underrepresented in our workforce. The Insolvency Service strives to ensure that the agency is a safe, inclusive, and welcoming place for everybody to bring their true self to work and to help the agency to achieve its diversity objectives. We have 9 active employee network groups available to join or become an ally, these include, Carers Network, Disability network group, Employee Assistance, Representatives, FACES Network Group, LGBT+, Mind Matters, Part Time Workers, The Shed - Men’s Network Group and Women’s Network Group.

We offer full-time, part-time, job share and flexible ways of working. We value capability, technical skills and experience and we place great emphasis on lifetime development to support our people. We encourage our employees to become more involved in areas they feel strongly about, whether it be for the benefit of the agency, though our Engagement network or in their own local communities via volunteering opportunities.

The Insolvency Service is a great place to work, learn and grow your career!

Job description

As the Head of Intelligence Analysts, you will play a pivotal role in shaping, leading and professionalising the agency’s analytical capabilities. Working jointly with the other Heads of Intelligence, you will provide senior leadership to analytical teams delivering high quality intelligence products that inform operational decision making, strategic threat assessment and the agency’s overall response to fraud, economic crime and corporate misconduct.

Working jointly with the other Heads of Intelligence, you will be responsible for ensuring analytical excellence, driving innovation in intelligence methods, and embedding a culture of high quality intelligence practice across the organisation and wider enforcement community.

Responsibilities

Strategic and Specialist Leadership:

• provide senior professional leadership for the agency’s intelligence analysis capability, shaping analytical priorities and ensuring that all assessments are methodologically robust, accurate and aligned to organisational needs
• act as the agency’s senior analytical specialist, assuring the quality of analytical outputs and providing expert advice to senior leaders on emerging themes, threat developments and cross government intelligence trends
• oversee professional standards, ensuring analysts work in line with relevant frameworks such as the Government Counter Fraud Profession (GCFP), PHIA (Government Common Analytical Standards) and the College of Policing’s Intelligence Professionalisation Programme (IPP)
• lead the development, mentoring and professional growth of analysts, in line with relevant frameworks, supporting accreditation pathways and capability-building across geographically dispersed teams
• lead quality assurance across all analytical output, embedding rigorous review processes and supporting the continual improvement of assessments, methodologies and products, ensuring value for money and effective risk management
• champion innovation across analytical practice, promoting the adoption of modern tools, techniques and digital capabilities to strengthen organisational intelligence insight

Leading the Intelligence Assessment Team:

• lead the Intelligence Assessment Team responsible for producing the Strategic Assessment, tactical intelligence assessments, thematic reports and other core analytical products
• ensure assessments are produced on time, to high standards, and effectively support operational decision making, prioritisation and resource allocation
• coordinate the end-to-end assessment lifecycle, from tasking and prioritisation through to analytical development, review, publication and dissemination
• work with operational leads, investigators, intelligence officers and partner agencies to ensure analytical products are aligned with live risks, operational requirements and corporate priorities
• oversee the development and maintenance of the Control Strategy and ensure strong alignment between tactical and strategic intelligence activity
• maintain a strong understanding of the agency’s operational landscape and proactively identify opportunities for assessments to add value to enforcement, prevention and strategic planning

Operational Leadership:

• provide tactical level leadership across the agency’s intelligence function, working in a matrix structure with Analysts, Intelligence Officers and operational teams
• clarify lines of accountability within matrix management, ensuring Analysts receive professional direction from you while operational tasking is coordinated collaboratively with relevant investigation and enforcement leads
• oversee the delivery of high-quality analytical products that support live investigations, criminal and civil enforcement activity, and multi-agency operations
• ensure that intelligence assessments informing Tactical Tasking, Strategic Tasking and Control Strategy are of consistently high quality, evidence-led, and support value for money and effective risk management
• build capability and confidence across all analytical teams, ensuring a consistent approach to standards, methods, tools and data use

Transforming Intelligence Capability:

• support the Assistant Director in designing and delivering the Future Intelligence Model for the Insolvency Service, embedding intelligence at the heart of operational planning
• drive cultural and organisational change within the agency’s intelligence community, promoting modern practice, digital innovation and strong professional identity
• lead or contribute to cross agency strategic projects, including those supporting the implementation of APMIS
• champion continuous improvement across systems, dataflows, tools and processes to ensure the intelligence function remains modern, efficient and high impact

Collaboration and Influence:

• work closely with Companies House and the Department for Business and Trade to support delivery of Companies House Reform and ECCTA linked intelligence objectives
• represent the Insolvency Service across the wider economic crime community, contributing to joint workstreams and partnerships tackling corporate abuse, fraud and financial wrongdoing.
• build strong, trusted relationships with law enforcement, regulators and wider partners to strengthen intelligence sharing, joint analysis and collective enforcement outcomes
• promote the intelligence function across the agency, ensuring strong integration with operational, strategic and policy colleagues

Person specification

Essential Skills and Experience

• extensive experience in a senior intelligence or analytical leadership role within law enforcement, regulatory, national security or economic crime environments
• demonstrated ability in leading analytical teams at both tactical and strategic levels, delivering high impact intelligence products that guide operational and organisational decision making
• strong understanding of threats relating to fraud, economic crime, money laundering, corporate abuse or financial wrongdoing
• demonstrable experience in leading transformation or organisational change within an intelligence or investigative context
• exceptional leadership skills, with a track record of building, developing and motivating high performing analytical teams across multiple locations
• ability to communicate complex intelligence, data and risk information clearly and persuasively, adapting analytical insights for both technical and non-technical audiences
• experience in delivering against operational intelligence or investigative targets, ensuring rigorous quality assurance and effective performance management

Essential Criteria

• must be capable of obtaining and maintaining SC Security Clearance

Desirable Skills and Experience

• we are seeking a suitably qualified and accredited analyst with professional qualifications or accreditation through recognised bodies including the Government Counter Fraud Profession, PHIA, College of Policing IPP, or other recognised intelligence frameworks
• experience of designing, improving or modernising intelligence processes, systems or dataflows (including value for money focused improvements)
• strong background in multi-agency intelligence work, particularly in economic crime, enforcement or regulatory environments
• ability to exploit data, digital tools and technology within an intelligence or investigative environment to enhance intelligence insight, strengthen assessments and improve operational efficiency. Maximising the value of diverse data sources and adopting new approved technologies to drive measurable operational efficiencies

Further Information

Please note: This vacancy is advertised across 11 locations; however, Stratford and Croydon are only available to current Insolvency Service Staff. The advertised salary includes London weighting, which is only applicable to internal candidates.

From 1st April 2026, applicants will be required to meet nationality and residency requirements so that National Security Vetting (NSV) checks can be conducted. If you want to learn more, visit United Kingdom Security Vetting: Applicant - GOV.UK

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £57,367, Insolvency Service contributes £16,619 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

We want you to have a good work-life balance and want to support you in all that you do, so we offer a great benefits package including:

• flexible working arrangements and flexi-time
• full time new entrants to the Civil Service and those Civil Servants on modernised terms and conditions will be entitled to 25 days leave increasing on a sliding scale to 30 days after 5 years’ service
• in addition to this you are entitled to 8 public/bank holidays plus an additional day of privilege leave
• competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave
• 5 days paid leave for learning and development
• 5 days paid for volunteering
• a Cycle to work scheme
• staff have access to an employee assistance programme, Workplace Wellness, for confidential, independent support and advice during difficult times in either their professional or personal life

Your pension is a valuable part of your total reward package where the employer makes a significant contribution to the cost of your pension. Your contributions come out of your salary before any tax is taken. This means, if you pay tax, your take-home pay will not be reduced by the full amount of your contribution; and 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. For more information, visit www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk

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.

As part of the sift process, you will be asked to complete:

• CV
• Personal Statement
• Behaviours
  • Behaviour 1 – Leadership
  • Behaviour 2 – Communicating and Influencing
  • Behaviour 3 – Seeing the Big Picture
  • Behaviour 4 – Delivering at Pace

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the CV and Personal Statement, assessing candidates against the essential criteria. Candidates successful at this stage may then progress to a second sift, conducted using the lead behaviour, Leadership. Only those who meet the essential criteria at these stages will proceed to a full assessment of their application. If a candidate does not meet the minimum requirements during the initial sifts, the remainder of their application will not be reviewed. Candidates who pass the initial sifts may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to interview.

Your CV should provide a clear overview of your employment history, key responsibilities, relevant qualifications, and the skills and experience you’ve gained throughout your career including any notable achievements.

Note: Your CV will be scored as part of the assessment process and will be assessed against the criteria outlined in the job advert.

Your personal statement should be no more than 1250 words and must demonstrate how your personal skills, qualities, and experience align with the requirements of the role. Please ensure your statement references the essential criteria outlined in the person specification, as well as any desirable criteria. This will help provide a clearer basis for scoring and will be particularly useful in the event of tied scores.

If successful at the sift stage, at interview, you will be assessed on the following:

• Experience
• Behaviours- assessed through:
  • Behaviour 1 - Leadership
  • Behaviour 2 – Communicating and Influencing
  • Behaviour 3 – Seeing the Big Picture
  • Behaviour 4 – Delivering at Pace
• Strengths
• Presentation

Candidates shortlisted for interview will be asked to deliver a short presentation as part of the assessment process. We will provide the presentation topic when inviting candidates to interview.

Expected timeline (subject to change)

Sift – 10 April 2026 to 17 April 2026

Interview – 6 May 2026 to 8 May 2026

Location – MS Teams

Your interview will be conducted by video. You will be notified of this if you are selected for interview. Candidates are asked to note the above timetable, exercising flexibility through the recruitment and selection process.

Visa Applicants
To sponsor a candidate under the Skilled Worker visa, a sponsorship licence is required. The Insolvency Service does not currently hold this licence and therefore, cannot legally sponsor Skilled Worker visa applicants.

Hybrid Working

Insolvency Service operates a hybrid working policy subject to business need, giving people the flexibility to choose when and where they work and collaborate with others.

Individuals are expected to work from one of the office locations stated in the advert to connect with their colleagues, as required by their role and business team needs. There is flexibility to split the working week, spending a minimum of 60% in the workplace, which includes the office, site visits, court etc.

Further Information

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to Insolvency from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service/Disclosure Scotland on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

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 via insolvencyrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

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

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 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.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).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 : IES Workforce Planning
• Email : IES_WorkForcePlanning@insolvency.gov.uk

Recruitment team

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

Further information

If you feel there have been procedural irregularities at any stage of the recruitment process or that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles, and wish to make a complaint, then in the first instance you should contact hr.recruitment@insolvency.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive you can then contact the Civil Service Commission.

Attachments

Insolvency Candidate Information Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 6509kB)Applying for a Job - A Candidate Guide Opens in new window (pdf, 3061kB)