Operations Officer, UKPPS
Job summary
The National Crime Agency's UK Protected Persons Service (UKPPS) delivers authorised protection to individuals at risk of serious harm, using a unique combination of traditional and covert capabilities not found elsewhere in UK law enforcement. As an Operations Officer, you will play a key role in implementing and maintaining protective measures, working within a national, multidisciplinary team to safeguard those at greatest risk.
Security Vetting requirements - To be considered, you will need to successfully complete SC Enhanced clearance before commencing the role. Subsequently you may be required to complete DV Enhanced clearance, subject to business needs.
Job description
The UKPPS is a nationally coordinated function within the NCA, providing vital protection to individuals assessed as facing a risk of serious harm. The service operates through a network of operational teams supported by specialist functions, combining expertise from operational, intelligence, finance and business support disciplines. It delivers protective arrangements through a blend of established methods and advanced covert capabilities, offering a level of flexibility and discretion that is unique within UK law enforcement.
As an Operations Officer, you will be responsible for implementing and maintaining tailored protection arrangements for individuals referred to UKPPS by police forces and other state authorities. You will manage a number of protected person cases, ensuring that all activity is conducted in full compliance with relevant legislation, policy and procedural frameworks. The role requires sound judgement and the ability to operate effectively in environments where situations are often time-critical, demanding the ability to prioritise competing demands and manage risk appropriately.
You will work as part of a dedicated operational team, contributing to the delivery of effective and proportionate protective measures. Success in the role requires strong organisational skills, attention to detail and the ability to operate professionally in sensitive and high-risk contexts.
Given the national remit of UKPPS and the nature of threats to life, the role requires a high degree of flexibility and resilience. This includes working irregular hours, travelling throughout the UK and undertaking overnight deployments when required. The position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to a highly specialised area of public protection, where professionalism, adaptability and teamwork are essential to safeguarding individuals at the highest levels of risk.
The postholder will be required to complete Operational Development training, including achieving NCA Powers within two years of appointment. This training is essential to ensure officer safety and the effective safeguarding of vulnerable individuals.
Duties and Responsibilities
Case Management - Manage day-to-day delivery of allocated protected person cases, ensuring all activity is conducted in accordance with European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) Articles 2, 6 and 8, SOCPA 2005, Authorised Professional Practice, and NCA policies and procedures.
Risk Assessment & Mitigation - Identify, assess and document risks to protected persons, ensuring appropriate mitigation strategies are developed, implemented and regularly reviewed in line with agreed case management plans.
Operational Deployment - Deploy operationally in support of protected person casework, responding to dynamic and at times time-critical situations requiring sound judgement and adaptability.
Protected Person Engagement - Maintain regular contact with protected persons and, where appropriate, their families, managing sensitive relationships and the pressures that can arise due to their circumstances and status.
Record Management - Prepare and maintain full, accurate and auditable case records, ensuring all documentation meets organisational and evidential standards.
Escalation & Decision Support - Recognise complex or high-risk issues and escalate appropriately to Senior Officers or Operational Managers in a timely manner to support effective decision-making.
Stakeholder Collaboration - Build and sustain effective working relationships with NCA departments, police forces and external partners to support the coordinated delivery of protection arrangements.
Advisory & Representation - Provide professional advice and representation on referrals, including assessing threat-to-life risks and contributing to proportionate and lawful decision-making.
Partnership Development - Identify opportunities to strengthen internal and external partnerships, supporting the development and sharing of best practice in line with UKPPS objectives.
Operational Security - Ensure that covert operational activity is securely managed, with risks properly assessed and appropriate safeguards in place to protect sensitive tactics and methodologies.
Information Security & Confidentiality - Manage protected person material in accordance with security requirements, maintaining strict confidentiality and fulfilling duty of care responsibilities at all times.
Ethical Use of Tactics - Support the lawful, ethical and proportionate use of covert capabilities, ensuring compliance with relevant policies and oversight frameworks.
Professional Conduct - Maintain high standards of behaviour and professionalism in line with NCA values, policies and codes of conduct.
Health, Safety & Compliance - Adhere to health and safety legislation and organisational policy, ensuring risk assessments are applied and maintained across all relevant activities.
Resilience & Working Conditions - Demonstrate resilience and self-motivation, with the ability to work independently, remotely and at short notice in challenging and high-risk environments.
On-Call & Availability - Participate in on-call rotas and undertake irregular hours, including national travel and overnight deployments, in response to operational requirements.
Wellbeing & Suitability - Maintain personal resilience to operate effectively in a high-risk, high-profile environment and engage with psychological assessment processes where required.
Person specification
Risk-Based Decision-Making - Demonstrable experience of making effective decisions in challenging and high-pressure environments, with the ability to identify, assess and manage risk proportionately. Able to balance operational urgency with legal, ethical and organisational considerations.
Vulnerability Management - Experience of working with vulnerable, intimidated or at-risk individuals, including those at risk of serious harm. Able to build trust, manage sensitive relationships and gain cooperation to support the implementation of protective arrangements.
Legal Framework Knowledge - Good working knowledge of the UK criminal justice system, including the practical application of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act (CPIA) and relevant disclosure requirements within a law enforcement context.
ECHR Application - Understanding of the ECHR, particularly Articles 2, 6 and 8, and the ability to apply these principles in operational decision-making.
Communication Skills - Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to convey complex or sensitive information clearly, professionally and appropriately to a range of audiences.
Interpersonal Skills - Highly developed interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage confidently with protected persons, colleagues and external stakeholders in potentially sensitive or pressured situations.
Partnership Working - Experience of working collaboratively with internal teams and external agencies, contributing to coordinated outcomes and maintaining effective professional relationships.
Organisation & Prioritisation - Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage competing demands, prioritise effectively and maintain attention to detail, particularly in time-critical environments.
Resilience & Adaptability - Proven ability to remain resilient and adaptable when working in high-risk, fast-paced or uncertain environments, including managing emotional pressures associated with the role.
Integrity & Professionalism - Demonstrates high levels of integrity, discretion and professionalism, particularly when handling sensitive information and operating within secure or covert environments.
Operational Awareness - An understanding of law enforcement operations and the importance of maintaining operational security, including handling sensitive material appropriately.
IT & Record Management - Competent in maintaining accurate records and using IT systems to support case management, ensuring information is recorded, stored and retrieved in line with policy and evidential standards.
Licences
Full UK or International Driving Licence - Candidates must hold a valid driving licence permitting them to drive a car in the UK. This may include a full UK driving licence or an appropriate international driving licence recognised for use in the UK, as the role requires regular travel to operational deployments and visits across the country.Benefits
Alongside your salary of £40,670, National Crime Agency contributes £11,782 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 Strengths and Experience.Your application will be assessed against the following:Experience - This will be assessed:Experience Criteria - will be assessed by 500 word examples on:- Experience in making decisions in challenging environments through the management and mitigation of risk.
- Experience of dealing with vulnerable and/or intimidated persons, or individuals at risk of serious harm.
- Proven experience in effective decision making.
Longlist
In the event of a high number of applications, we may operate a longlist. Applicants will need to meet the minimum pass mark for the lead criteria.
- Experience in making decisions in challenging environments through the management and mitigation of risk. .
Candidates who do not meet the minimum pass mark for the lead criteria will not progress to having their other criteria assessed. Applications must meet the minimum criteria to be progressed to the assessment stage.
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.
For guidance on the application process, visit:NCA Applying and Onboarding
Assessment 1
The format of this assessment will be Assessment Centre which will be tested on via the details listed below.
Candidates who pass the initial application sift will be invited to attend an in-person Assessment Centre (locations and dates to be confirmed).
The Assessment Centre will comprise role-play exercises, a panel briefing, and a strengths-based interview.
Further details will be shared with shortlisted candidates.
Success Profiles at Assessment
Strengths are tested at interview stage - the strengths tested are not shared before the interview.
Assessment OutcomeOutcomes 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 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 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.
Medical
Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.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
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 : central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk
- 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.
Salary range
- £40,670 per year