Senior Intelligence Analyst

Job summary

Border Security Command works to disrupt and dismantle organised immigration crime, including organised criminal gangs. We reduce illicit goods and irregular migration and deliver detection and interception at the border. We safeguard people exploited through trafficking and smuggling and help build public confidence in the UK’s border security.

The Joint Maritime Security Centre (JMSC) is a multi-agency, military-civil organisation hosted by the Home Office that acts as the UK government’s centre of excellence for maritime security. Its mission is to increase awareness and understanding of maritime security threats and enable cross-government coordination to deliver a whole-system response to mitigate them.

The Centre offers government departments and agencies a central point of UK maritime expertise and understanding to assist policy and decision making. Working internationally with states and with key international organisations to support information sharing, relationship development and capacity building efforts.

The JMSC is mandated to provide Maritime Domain Awareness & Understanding, Operational Coordination & Coherence, Strategic Maritime Threat Assessment, Support to Sanction Regimes, International Engagement & Liaison, and Strategy & Transformation.

Job description

As a Senior Analyst in the JMSC Sanctions Assessment Team, you will lead the delivery of high‑impact assessments on maritime sanctions‑related activity, shaping analytic direction and assuring tradecraft standards. Working to the Assistant Director, you will set approaches for complex assessments, determine evidence thresholds, and apply accountable judgement under uncertainty.

As the potential first point of contact for emerging maritime events, you will be expected to apply sound judgement and escalate issues to senior leaders to enable an effective and timely response.

Key Responsibilities:

Your responsibilities will include (but not be limited to):

• Shaping how JMSC understands a rapidly evolving maritime risk landscape, turning complex sanctions‑related behaviour into clear narratives that help senior decision‑makers act with confidence.
• Guiding the team through competing demands, ensuring assessments, routine reporting, and urgent requests all reinforce a coherent picture of maritime sanctions activity and its implications for UK objectives.
• Creating an environment where high‑quality analysis thrives, helping colleagues refine their thinking, stress‑test assumptions, and develop the confidence to apply robust tradecraft under pressure.
• Acting as a trusted voice for JMSC across government and internationally, building the relationships and shared understanding needed to tackle sanctions evasion, emerging obfuscation techniques, and wider maritime security challenges.
• Providing steady leadership in fast‑moving situations, helping the team respond quickly to new developments, supporting operational partners with grounded insight, and offering senior representation when required.

Working Pattern

This role is available on a full-time basis and is also suitable for part-time working hours, with a minimum requirement to work 30 hours per week due to business requirements.

Training

Mandatory training will need to be completed for the role.

Travel

Occasional travel will be required to partner locations across the UK, or in some limited cases travel to overseas.

Overnight stays may be necessary on occasion.

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

• Developed Vetting (DV) clearance required.
• Lead complex assessments end‑to‑end, setting analytic direction, evidence standards and quality thresholds, and exercising accountable judgement under uncertainty.
• Shape and deliver the team’s programme, brokering priorities across partners, sequencing work to land deadlines, and maintaining rigorous sanctions horizon scanning to inform JMSC and wider HMG objectives.
• Provide analytical leadership, championing PHIA‑compliant tradecraft, applying and enforcing structured analytic techniques, and leading peer review and quality assurance.
• Represent JMSC authoritatively, building and leading domestic and international partnerships, chairing engagements, and delivering concise, executive‑level briefings at pace.
• Demonstrate expert maritime and sanctions awareness, integrating routing anomalies, obfuscation methods, insurance/class/flag risk and energy‑market dynamics to support policy and operational partners; lead operational response during urgent tasking.

Desirable Criteria:

• Completion of Professional Head of Intelligence Assessment's (PHIA) New Analyst Programme (or its predecessors), Experienced Analyst Programme or equivalent.
• Demonstrable experience in line management or staff development, providing clear direction, feedback and support to maintain analytical rigour and team wellbeing.

Behaviours

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

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Seeing the Big Picture

Benefits

• In addition to your salary, a career with the Home Office offers a range of benefits, including:

• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
• In-year reward scheme for one-off or sustained exceptional personal or team achievements.
• 25 days annual leave on appointment, rising with service to 30 days.
• Eight days of public holidays, plus one additional privilege day.
• Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office.
• See more of our benefits on our careers website.

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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.

This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.

We will endeavour to conduct the selection process in line with the dates indicated below, but cannot guarantee that these will not, where necessary, be revised.

1. Application – by 16 July 2026

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

• CV
• Personal Statement (maximum 1000 words).
• Evidence of the Behaviour Seeing the Big Picture (maximum of 250 words per Behaviour).

Your CV should consist of your career history, skills/experienceincluding any key achievements in each role. Your CV will be scored against the experience required for the role as noted within the essential criteria.

The Personal Statement should be aligned to and demonstrate how you meet the skills and experience set out in the essential criteria, detailed in the job description.

For guidance and information on how to construct your application (CV, Personal Statement and Behaviours), you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers website.

2. Sift - commencing 20 July 2026

The sift will be held on the Personal Statement, CV, Behaviour Seeing the Big Picture.

Should a high volume of applications be received, an initial sift will be conducted on the Personal Statement.

Candidates who pass the initial sift will then be progressed to a full sift that will consist of all the remaining elements submitted Lead Behaviour and CV.

Candidates who fail to meet the minimum pass score for the initial sift will not have their remaining submitted elements scored and will only receive a sift score for that assessed at the initial sift.

3. Interview – 10 August 2026

If you are successful at sift stage, you will be invited to an interview which will be Behaviours (as listed in the job advert) and Strength based questions.

All Behaviours listed in the selection process will be scored at the interview.

The interview will take place on MS Teams.

For guidance and information on what to expect and how to prepare for an interview, you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers.

Problems during the application process

If you experience problems accessing this advert, or you think you’ve made a mistake on an initial application, please contact hocandidates.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk, including the vacancy reference, at least two working days before the vacancy closes. Further information can be found on our website.

Do not create or attempt to submit another application, online test or use a different Civil Service Jobs account to proceed as this would be in violation of the candidate declaration.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for a period of up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made. There is no guarantee that being held on a reserve list will lead to a job offer. Further information can be found on our website.

Breaking Tied Scores

The behaviours and strengths have been ranked in order of importance to enable us to differentiate between candidates with tied interview scores.

Standards

All Civil Servants are expected to comply with the Civil Service Code, and its core values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.

Security Checks

As well as successfully obtaining UK Security Vetting clearance, you will also be subject to an additional Integrity Check, as part of the pre-employment process, to determine your suitability to work for Border Force or Immigration Enforcement. For further information on what this involves, please visit our website.

Further information

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

Reasonable Adjustments

If a person with disabilities is 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 HOrecruitment.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.

Feedback

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 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 : Home Office Resourcing Centre
• Email : HORCCampaignTeamBorderForce@homeoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

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

Further information

If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles. and you wish to make a complaint, then contact the Government Recruitment Service via HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission.

Attachments

Candidate_Information_v17_April_2026 Opens in new window (pdf, 207kB)2025-11-17 Pre-employment Checking - Document Requirements (V17) Opens in new window (pdf, 231kB)