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Applications for this role are restricted to existing employees of the College of Policing, the Civil Service and officers or staff of a UK police force or UK policing organisation.

This role is designated for a detective as it requires investigative judgement to translate emerging threats capability into practical policing responses, testing, adoption, guidance and senior advice for investigations.

However, applicants who believe they can show evidence of working in equivalent environments should also apply.

Job description

The Criminal Threat Lead will play a critical role in ensuring police are equipped to respond to the growing threat from AI-generated and manipulated content. They will coordinate for PATH across policing and partners, ensuring all AI-enabled crime threats are understood, shared, and acted upon consistently.

You will build on and deliver Police AI’s plans for deepfake detection, setting direction in an emerging field and identifying opportunities to develop capability, share expertise and best practice across policing, and bring promising approaches into a policing context for testing and adoption.

This role is suited to someone comfortable working in an area of uncertainty, where you will shape the agenda and determine the way forward. You will translate emerging technology and research into practical collaborations that can be tested and utilised by policing, and use a system leadership approach to align and maximise benefits from a range of external initiatives.

The role is part of PATH, the Police AI Threat Hub. The post holder reports to the head of PATH and works closely with colleagues across Police AI to ensure deepfake detection approaches are tested, evaluated and best practice is shared effectively.

Person specification

Some of your responsibilities will include:

Help develop short- and long-term plans to improve police capability on deepfake detection, using external partners and resources and adapting to emerging findings and technology.
Lead Police AI’s engagement with key organisations across HMG, policing, academia, the private sector and internationally, building trusted relationships that strengthen delivery and access to opportunity.
Broker collaboration between Police AI, police forces and external partners to enable the adaptation, development, testing or evaluation of detection technologies and approaches that could support policing outcomes.
Maintain strong awareness of emerging trends, technologies, programmes and policy developments on deepfake generation and detection, with a focus on implications for policing.
Identify deepfake detection and media authentication expertise in policing, accelerate best practice and create methods for disseminating findings more widely, including through guidance and training.

Provide high-quality briefing, advice and strategic insight to the Deputy Director, Criminal Threats Lead and wider senior leadership team on deepfake detection.

Provide high-quality briefing, advice and strategic insight to the Deputy Director, Criminal Threats Lead and wider senior leadership team on deepfake detection.

Behaviours

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

Seeing the Big Picture
Leadership
Communicating and Influencing
Working Together

Technical skills

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

Deepfake detection and media authentication awareness
Digital project delivery, testing and evaluation
System leadership, partnership development and senior stakeholder engagement

Benefits

This role offers the opportunity to shape a nationally significant policing response to AI-generated and manipulated content. Benefits include:

Learning and development tailored to your role, including exposure to emerging AI, deepfake detection, media authentication and national capability development work.
An environment with flexible and hybrid working options.
A culture encouraging inclusion, diversity, collaboration and evidence-led innovation.

For more information about your benefits and staff networks, visit Guide to your employee benefits

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.

Vacancy reference: 7223

Anticipated interview dates: Week commencing 17th august 2026

This role is available for 2 years as an internal secondment / fixed-term contract and is available as a temporary promotion opportunity.

If you would like to discuss the role in more detail, please contact T/DCI Helen Pealing, helen.pealing@college.police.uk

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

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.

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.