Sensitive Intelligence Officer

Job summary

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is a small government department with a big mission: to keep food safe, ensure that it is what it says it is, and that it’s increasingly healthy and more sustainable. The National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) plays an important role in our work, disrupting and deterring food crime across the country.

We are looking for a Sensitive Intelligence Officer to join our team and help us obtain, assess and manage information provided by members of the public, whistleblowers and Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS). You will ensure that all sources are handled lawfully, ethically and professionally, and that their safety, confidentiality and welfare are appropriately protected.

Job description

You’ll work closely with whistleblowers and CHIS, ensuring that our engagement is compliant with relevant legislation and policy, that the information received is accurate, reliable and capable of supporting operational activity, and that individuals are safeguarded from any risk or harm arising from their disclosure.

From documenting engagements correctly to evaluating and assessing intelligence received, your work will be vital to delivering high-quality, usable intelligence that helps us disrupt and prevent food crime across the country.

You’ll use your experience within the field of Covert Human Intelligence Sources, alongside an understanding of whistleblowing frameworks and protections, to deliver a high-quality service that ensures the receipt, development and dissemination of actionable intelligence. You will also build strong working relationships across the NFCU, wider FSA and relevant external stakeholders, sharing knowledge and offering specialist advice where required.

Please read before applying

As this is an investigatory / intelligence role we need to be aware if any of our employees have any of the following: any misconduct or gross misconduct findings or where proceedings are not complete. You will be asked to complete a declaration form covering the above if offered a role with the FSA.

You must declare to the best of your knowledge:

• Any disciplinary finding of guilt / failure to meet the appropriate standard of conduct relating to your employment you have ever had

• Any charge of a disciplinary offence / notification of a failure to meet the appropriate standards you have ever had where the case has not yet been concluded

The disclosure of this information will not automatically disbar you from this role but we need to be aware of any event or issue which could impinge on your credibility if questioned in court.

Person specification

Please read the attached Candidate Pack to discover further details about the role, our organisation, who we are looking for and the criteria we will assess against during the selection process.

We look forward to receiving your application and wish you every success.

Qualifications

Has attended and successfully completed the College of Policing or an equivalent accredited CHIS Handlers Course.

(proof will need to be provided during pre-employment checks if offered the role).

Behaviours

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

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Changing and Improving
• Making Effective Decisions

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £34,955, Food Standards Agency contributes £10,126 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.Our candidate pack details the benefits that the FSA has to offer. Please also refer to the attached Terms and Conditions statement.

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 and Experience.

Full details of the selection process are detailed in the attached candidate pack.

Application and shortlisting

You will be asked to provide personal details (not seen by the Panel) and to confirm your eligibility to apply for the role.

Essential criteria

Technical (Lead criteria 1): You will be asked a question to confirm that you meet the Technical requirements of the role.

• Has attended and successfully completed the College of Policing or an equivalent accredited CHIS Handlers Course.

If you cannot answer yes to this question – you will not be able to proceed further with your application.

You will then be asked to complete an application which will be used to assess you against the following essential criteria.

Experience

• Lead criteria 2: Experience of working in the criminal justice sector and sensitive intelligence community involving working as a Handler for CHIS post CHIS Criminal Conduct Act 2021.

• Experience and knowledge of Law Enforcement investigation including completion of RIPA applications.

• Ability to communicate clearly and confidently with senior managers and subject matter specialists in other areas of the business.

• Experience of multi-agency engagement and relationship building across law enforcement, local or national government, industry or non-governmental bodies.

• Demonstrable ability to risk assess and translate complex or ambiguous information into concise written intelligence and adapt according to the audience.

Lead Criteria

An initial sift will take place on Lead criteria 1. If successful, your application will then be assessed against Lead criteria 2.

In the event that we receive a large number of applications, the minimum pass mark for the Lead criteria may be raised at shortlisting stage. Candidates who apply under the DCS, GPTW or RIS schemes and meet the minimum requirements will be unaffected by the pass mark raise.

Interview

If successful at shortlisting stage, you will be invited to a final interview in which we will assess you against the following Experience requirements of the role and Civil Service Behaviours.

Behaviours

• Seeing the Big Picture

• Changing and Improving

• Making Effective Decisions

Full details of the positive indicators being assessed for each Behaviour can be found in the Candidate Pack.

Experience

• Demonstrable ability to risk assess and translate complex or ambiguous information into concise written intelligence and adapt according to the audience.

• Experience of working in the criminal justice sector and sensitive intelligence community involving working as a Handler for CHIS post CHIS Criminal Conduct Act 2021.will be asked to provide personal details (not seen by the Panel) and to confirm your eligibility to apply for the role.

Expected Timeline

Advert closes: 22 March 2026 (23:55)

Sift: Expected to take place during week commencing 23 March 2026

Final panel interview: Expected to take place during week commencing 13 April 2026

Interviews will be held remotely via MS Teams. (If you do not have the Microsoft Teams application installed on your computer, you can join on the web without installing the application).

Please note that indicated dates may be subject to change.

United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) Requirements (SC)

Appointment will be subject to the candidate having, or being able to achieve, National Security Vetting at Security Check (SC) level.

All security clearances require you to provide evidence of your UK footprint where you have been physically present in the UK.

The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK at least 3 of the last 5 years, 2 of which must have been the immediately preceding years from the point of application (although there are some exceptions e.g. if you have been serving abroad with HM Armed Forces).

Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.

Checks will be made against:

• a departmental/company records check which will include, for example personal files, staff reports, sick leave returns and security records

• a check of both spent and unspent criminal records

• a check of credit and financial history with a credit reference agency

• a check of Security Service (MI5) records

• exceptionally, if there are any unresolved security concerns about the individual, or if recommended by the Security Service, the individual may also be interviewed

• in the event of any unresolved financial concerns, the individual may also be required to complete a separate financial questionnaire so that a full review of personal finances can be carried out

• checks may extend to third parties included on the security questionnaire.

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to the Food Standards Agency 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.

Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

Reserve List

A reserve list will be held for a period of up to 12 months from which further appointment may be made.

Candidates that do not pass the interview but have demonstrated an acceptable standard may be considered for similar roles at a lower grade.

Visa Sponsorship

Please note that the FSA does not offer visa sponsorship and cannot provide advice on visa applications

Making a complaint

The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.

If you feel your application has not been treated fairly in accordance with the principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should email the FSA’s Director of People at jo.bushnell@food.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response, you can contact the Civil Service Commission.

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.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 : Sara Titmarsh
• Email : sara.titmarsh@food.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : hr.recruitment.campaigns@food.gov.uk

Further information

If you wish to raise a complaint then please email hr.recruitment.campaigns@food.gov.uk in the first instance.

Attachments

Candidate Pack - Sensitive Intelligence Officer (HEO) Opens in new window (pdf, 999kB)Terms and Conditions as at April 2020 Opens in new window (pdf, 42kB)