Operations Senior Officer - Integrated Communications Intelligence Protect

Job summary

Intelligence Collection coordinates NCA collection capabilities against the NCA’s highest priorities. Intelligence Collection includes forensics, open source, covert human intelligence sources, undercover officers and technical collection capabilities. This includes responding to threats and exploiting opportunities relating to the use of electronic communications by Subjects of Interest using the various powers conferred within the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA). This is a dynamic and diverse arena with constant and rapid change, suiting those officers who thrive on near constant challenge.

ICI-Protect roles are responsible for ensuring that the NCA Integrated Communications Intelligence (ICI) team maintains the NCA’s ‘Licence to Operate’ and enhancing the NCA’s legitimacy in the highly regulated sensitive intelligence collection environment in relation to intelligence obtained under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA 2016) including the lawful interception of communications and communications data.

Job description

As an ICI Protect Senior Officer you will be integral in the delivery of core responsibilities across Assurance, Criminal Justice Liaison Team (CJLT), Public Inquiries, Inquests and Errors (PIIE) and Policy.Successful applicants for ICI - Protect Senior Officer will be assigned to functions to meet their skills and the needs of the NCA and ICI - Protect Team. Senior Officers may be rotated through all the ICI - Protect functions to meet operational need and to provide development opportunities.Please Note: Due to the nature of our work and the systems we access, our roles are office based and hybrid working is not available.Minimum part time hours for this role are set at 30 hours minimum.Duties and Responsibilities

• The Criminal Justice Liaison Team (CJLT) - As a CJLT Senior Officer you will: Assess NCA intercept material for relevancy in criminal prosecutions; deliver 'fairness of trial briefings' ( also know as Preston Briefings) to senior CPS Prosecutors and appointed Prosecution Counsel ensuring that the NCA's obligations are met; advise prosecutors on the compliant handling of NCA intercept material and the restrictions on its use in legal proceedings; assist in the development of strategies to manage intercept material during prosecutions; advise internal and external Senior Investigating Officers, Disclosure Officers and Investigators on the management of NCA intercept materials; making disclosures to the judiciary. The CJLT role is regionally-based and involves regular travel throughout the United Kingdom to meet stakeholder needs. There may be a requirement for overnight stays and travel early or late in the day to meet customer requirements. Full training will be given for the role but candidates with an understanding of assessing intelligence or disclosure and criminal processing would be most suited to this function.

• The Assurance Team - As an Assurance Senior Officer you will advise NCA and policing partner leaders in the management and development of NCA intercept material; lead assurance visits; identify, and report risks associated with non-compliance, and advise on mitigations and actions required to address; compile and quality assure reports of compliance and non-compliance and advise on the issuance of authorities to receive and manage NCA intercept material to ICI customers; report to the ICI - Assurance Manager and report identified and assessed risks to the NCA's 'Licence to Operate' as an Intercept Authority. The Assurance Senior Officer role is regionally-based and involves regular travel throughout the United Kingdom to meet stakeholder needs. There may be a requirement for overnight stays and travel early or late in the day to meet customer requirements. Full training will be given for the role but candidates with an understanding of assurance processes and report drafting would be most suited to this function.

• The Public Inquiries, Inquests and Errors (PIIE) Team - As a PIIE Senior Officer you will be responsible for the identification, reporting and mitigation of errors in the handling of NCA intercept material; work closely with Inspectors from the Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office (IPCO) and with the Home Office Investigatory Powers Unit (IPU) to determine the impact of errors, and to implement corrective action. This will involve engaging with internal and external stakeholders to enhance understanding through the provision of upskilling to practitioners. There may be a requirement for overnight travel to meet stakeholder requirements. You will be required to work closely with the NCA Security Incident Team (SIT), and Operational Standards, Capability, and Assessment Unit (OSCAU) to develop processes to reduce the occurrence and impact of errors. The PIIE role involves regular travel throughout the United Kingdom to meet stakeholder needs. There may be a requirement for overnight stays and travel early or late in the day to meet customer requirements. Full training will be given for the role but candidates with an understanding of intelligence and assessing risk would be most suited to this function.

• The Policy Team - As an ICI- Policy Senior Officer you will; be responsible for working as part of a team of ICI - Policy Officers to develop and maintain ICI-Policy, and to harmonise ICI Policy with the ICI's vision and NPCC partners; develop ICI policy to support the ICI Communications Intelligence Programme (CIP) and the ICI Future Operating Model (FOM). Lead on ICI engagement with the NCA Policy Consultation Network, acting as a 'critical friend' to share best practice and ensure cohesive policy across the agency. Full training will be given for the role but candidates with an understanding of Policy frameworks and document drafting and review would be most suited to this function

• Line Management - As an ICI Protect Senior Officer you will have responsibility of line managing ICI Protect Officers. You will allocate tasks, working together with other ICI Protect Senior Officers across the functions to monitor and manage workflows. You will engage with your team members to support development, welfare and manage performance.

Person specification

Relationship Management

Develops and maintains positive relationships with internal and/or external stakeholders in order to achieve stakeholder needs and business objectives.

Collaboration

Works effectively with others and is inclusive of their ideas - sharing knowledge , expertise and experience to meet shared objectives.

Gathers Information

Seeks a variety and diversity of information with which to evaluate a situation and make effective decisions.

Analyses Data

Uses analytical skills, varied sources of information and different methodologies to support decision-making.

Analyses Risk

Identifies and evaluates the risks associated with a task, project or decision.

Understanding and Explaining Data

Creating valuable insights from the interpretation of data to give further context and understanding to an intended audience.

Verbal Communication

Conveys information clearly and effectively through the spoken word.

Written Communication

Conveys information clearly and effectively through the written word.

Presenting

Can create and deliver compelling presentations that effectively communicate information and ideas.

Attention to Detail

Focuses on accuracy and outcomes, identifies and rectifies potential errors.

Delivers Timely Outcomes

Manages stakeholder expectations and meets service level agreements - communicates intended outcomes and keeps stakeholders updated on progress

Gives advice and Guidance

Provides guidance to support the development of others and/or effective decisions

Process Improvements

Identifies ways to make existing processes faster, more accurate, more efficient and more reliable.

People Performance

Sets clear expectations, uses feedback and coaching in performance conversations, recognises good performance and promptly addresses poor performance and behaviour

Decision Focus

Empowers team to make decisions on a diverse range of evidence and perspectives. Assesses effectiveness and impact of decisions, learns from successes and failures.

Builds Culture

Embraces diversity of thinking enabling open and respectful discussions to create and inclusive environment in live with civil service code and values.

Team Wellbeing

Actively supports and monitors the wellbeing of the team, creating a safe space to understand and assess individual needs and any required adjustments.

Desirable Criteria

Desirable criteria are only used for assessment in the event of a tie break.

A good understanding of relevant UK legislation affecting Agency activity.

Licences

Some roles will require a Full UK Driving Licence before starting the role.

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

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

• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Experience of identifying risk and implementing change
• Build and maintain relationships with stakeholders at all levels

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £45,326, National Crime Agency contributes £13,130 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).

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, Experience and Technical skills.

How we will assess you

Your application will be assessed against the following:Technical - this will be assessed by 250 word examples on:

• Strong verbal and written communication skills

• Experience of identifying risk and implementing change

• Build and maintain relationships with stakeholders at all levels

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

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.

- Strong verbal and written communication skills .

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 Interview which will be tested on the criteria listed in the Success Profiles at Assessment section.

Success Profiles at Assessment

Behaviours

• Leadership

• Delivering at Pace

Technical

• Strong verbal and written communication skills

• Experience of identifying risk and implementing change

• Build and maintain relationships with stakeholders at all levels

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:

1. Lead criteria (behaviours/technical/experience)
2. If still tied, desirable criteria will be assessed (if advertised)
3. 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.

Vetting requirements - SC Enhanced

Prior to commencing the role, you will need to successfully complete SC Enhanced clearance and then achieve both DV Enhanced and DV STRAP clearance within the first 12 months in post. The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years.The requirement for DV Enhanced clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 7 of the last 10 years.To obtain DV STRAP you must be willing to undergo STRAP induction and must hold full UK nationality or dual nationality, where one component is British. Applications will be considered on a case by case basis.Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.If you fail to obtain the increased clearance within 12 months of starting, your contract of employment is at risk of termination.For further information on National Security Vetting checks please visit the following page Demystifying VettingIndividuals will be required to undertake and pass a substance misuse test as part of pre-employment checks.

Occupational Health

Successful candidates will be expected to undertake an occupational health assessment. Depending on the role an in-person medical may be required in either London or Warrington. Unfortunately, travel costs will not be reimbursed.

Things you need to know

Multi Location

Where multiple locations are advertised, appointments will be made in merit order for each location.

Please indicate up to three location preferences clearly. Only your first three preferences will be considered. You may be allocated to any of the locations you select. If you decline an offer for a location you have selected as a preference, a further offer may not be made.

If you choose to reject an offer and no alternative preferred location can be offered, you will not be able to return to the process or be placed on a reserve list.

Only the advertised locations are available; any additional notes added to the application will not be taken into account.

Near Miss

If you meet the criteria for a lower grade, you may be offered that role if not appointable at the advertised grade.

Conversely, if found appointable at a higher grade but no posts are available, you may be offered a lower-grade role.

All offers are made based on merit.

Hybrid Working

The NCA supports hybrid working. The extent of remote working will depend on the role and can be discussed at the offer stage.

Reasonable Adjustments

We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Leader and an inclusive, equal opportunities employer.

We’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone can be their authentic self. If you’re neurodiverse, have a disability, or live with a long-term health condition, we encourage you to let us know about any reasonable adjustments you may need during the recruitment process.

If you experience accessibility issues with the advert or require reasonable adjustments, please contact our Recruitment Team at Central.Recruitment@nca.gov.uk before the advert closing date.

Please ensure you complete the ‘Equal opportunities’ and 'Reasonable Adjustments' sections in the application form to inform us on what support you may need in the recruitment process.

For more on our Disability Confident commitment, visit Disability Confident Scheme , Civil Service Careers.

Visit NCA Benefits and Support for more details.

Inclusion

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

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

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit on merit through fair and open competition, in line with the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles.

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.

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.

Working for the NCA

The National Crime Agency is a 24/7 organisation, and working patterns must support business requirements. Some roles may require you to respond at short notice or outside of core hours.If preferable, alternative contract types may be available. Please review the green bar of this advert to view all available contract types for this role. Where Loan or Secondment options are available, these would be for existing Civil Servants (Loan) and applicants from accredited Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) or any other employer (Secondment). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.

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

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

Recruitment team

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

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint in relation to any stage of the recruitment and selection process please email central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk. please ensure that you refer to the campaign reference number. If you remain dissatisfied following the outcome of your complaint you have the right to contact the Civil Service Commission to pursue it further.