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The Investment Security Unit (ISU) within the National Security Secretariat (NSS) is looking for three enthusiastic, curious and high-calibre individuals to join the friendly and high-performing Risk Assessment team as Senior Investment Security Advisers. You will be working at the cutting edge of the government’s economic security agenda, in an exciting role that uniquely combines policy and operational delivery, cross-government negotiation, exposure to senior Ministers, and opportunities for business and diplomatic engagement.

The NSS keeps the UK safe, secure and prosperous by bringing together the UK’s national security community, providing high-quality support to the Prime Minister and the National Security Council and maintaining centre-to-centre relationships internationally. Working within the wider Cabinet Secretariat and led by the Prime Minister’s National Security Adviser (NSA), we assist the Prime Minister and the Cabinet in the development, coordination and implementation of its highest priority objectives.

Our overarching strategy is set out in the National Security Strategy, which serves as the UK’s primary roadmap amidst an era of uncertainty and intensifying global threats.

The NSS values professional and personal development for all of our staff and recognises that a continued focus on learning and development (L&D) will enable us to grow our capability. We are also committed to fostering a culture that welcomes new ideas and fresh perspectives and supporting diversity and inclusion, including through flexible patterns and ways of working.

We offer stretching and engaging work to enhance career development and gain highly transferable skills. We expect our staff to rise to new challenges, demonstrating the agility required to respond to urgent and changing events, and to work collaboratively to achieve results both within NSS and across government. A role with the NSS is a real opportunity to impact the lives of our citizens and make a difference every day.

Job description

The ISU leads the Government's screening of foreign investments into UK companies under the National Security and Investment Act (NSIA); assessing the risks that mergers and acquisitions, investments or the transfer of assets could present to the UK's national security. The NSIA, which commenced at the start of January 2022, protects the nation from potential security risks resulting from foreign investment. It bolsters the UK’s status as an attractive place to invest by providing more efficient scrutiny of relevant acquisitions and more certainty and clarity for investors and businesses.

The ISU's Risk Assessment team is responsible for leading the cross-government and intelligence community risk assessment of cases. These assessments cover the national security, economic and diplomatic implications of individual investments, identifying remedies to address risks and supporting ministerial decision-making. This role is at the heart of the operational response to changes in the global economy and balance of power, as ISU coordinates cross-government responses to protect our capabilities and critical national infrastructure. ISU, embedded within NSS, is an exciting and diverse place to work, with teams delivering a range of operational, policy, analytical and international activities. This role is an excellent opportunity to strengthen core behaviours and skills at this level and above, offering wide exposure to other government departments within and beyond the national security space, and a range of private sector industries. Economic security is a top government priority and there is huge interest in this policy area from senior ministers.

Your responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

Coordinating expertise and stakeholder management

You will drive cross-government and multi-agency collaboration. You will do this by chairing discussions and collaborating with key partners to synthesise the expertise required to make a judgement on the level of risk that a foreign investment into a UK entity may pose. You will apply legislative frameworks by partnering with policy and legal advisors to determine how the NSIA can be applied to effectively mitigate national security threats. You will manage high-level external relations with C-suite executives, law firm partners and parliamentarians. You will skilfully balance investor relationships and commercial sensitivities without prejudicing the NSI process or compromising UK national security.

Critical Analysis and Risk Assessment

You will synthesise multi-source intelligence by conducting rigorous analysis of cross-government assessments while formulating your own independent, evidence-based risk judgements. You will be able to comfortably navigate complexity and apply critical thinking to weigh competing viewpoints and ambiguous information to determine the definitive level of risk posed by specific investments. You will also need to consider how individual investment scenarios interact with and impact broader HMG economic and national security strategies.

Briefing and advising

You will service senior ministerial decisions by producing and delivering high-quality, impactful written and oral advice to support senior officials and Ministers in making critical decisions under the NSIA. You will act as a reliable conduit for crucial information, ensuring leadership is kept sighted on fast-moving developments, often at short notice.

Driving Operational Excellence

You will elevate the ISU's capabilities by supporting the day-to-day operations of the ISU, ensuring we deliver an outstanding service to both Ministers and the businesses we interact with. You will champion continuous improvement by leading initiatives to refine the NSI process and leveraging your operational experience to inform and shape cross-Whitehall economic security policy - cementing the ISU as a true centre of excellence for investment and economic security. You will play a pivotal role in fostering an inclusive environment. This includes coaching colleagues, driving wellbeing initiatives, delivering tailored L&D, and championing inclusivity.

Person specification

We are looking for candidates who can lead efficiently in a dynamic operational environment, while also possessing the analytical skills and aptitude to cope with novel policy challenges that can have impacts beyond your area of work. You will need an eye for detail and look for ways to improve current systems and processes. We are looking for someone who knows how to present clear arguments, often from incomplete information, to help senior Ministers make decisions.

You should be capable of building knowledge from experience and able to anticipate issues and identify trends that impact your work area. We are looking for individuals who are comfortable working as a team, with a track record of delivering high-quality results to tight deadlines. If you are someone who cares about keeping the UK safe and prosperous, someone who seeks a rewarding, challenging and exciting role, then we want to hear from you.

We welcome applications from a diverse range of candidates, including those from underrepresented groups.

Essential criteria:

Ability to confidently analyse a wide variety of sources of (sometimes) ambiguous information to arrive at a well-reasoned decision;
Ability to deliver high-quality work at pace;
High-quality drafting skills;
Experience engaging with internal and external stakeholders at a range of levels;
Experience in working with cross-government groups and agreeing a way forward on issues where there are competing priorities;
Excellent communication skills, able to communicate persuasively

Desirable criteria:

Experience working on national security or economic security policy;
Knowledge of, or an interest in, mergers and acquisitions or investment transactions;
Experience tackling new or novel policy problems independently;
Experience of working in a legislative casework function;
Experience of working with the UK Intelligence Community, utilising intelligence assessments and on matters pertaining to UK national security

Cabinet Office policy is that a minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. For some roles, due to their nature and the business need, this may be up to 100%. Requirements to attend other locations for official business will also count towards this level of attendance.

We are supportive of flexible working, but these roles require candidates to work from the London office for the majority of the working week. Some degree of home working should be possible, subject to business need, but applicants should note that it is unlikely that specific working from home days will be agreed on a permanent basis.

Flexible working arrangements would need to be agreed after appointment in line with business need and could be subject to change.

Additional information:

Behaviours

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

Making Effective Decisions
Seeing the Big Picture
Communicating and Influencing
Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

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

Presentation

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £47,670, Cabinet Office contributes £13,809 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).

Learning and development tailored to your role.
An environment with flexible working options.
A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and employer contributions of 28.97%.
A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by one day per year up to a maximum of 30.

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.

The selection process will consist of an application sift followed by an interview.

Application process

CV
Statement of suitability, referencing the essential criteria. (500 words)
Making Effective Decisions (Lead Behaviour) (250 words)
Delivering at Pace (250 words)
Seeing the Big Picture (250 words)
Communicating & Influencing (250 words)

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be undertaken using the lead Behaviour, Making Effective Decisions.

Selection Process

Interview

Candidates invited to interview will be assessed against the following Civil Service Behaviours:

Making Effective Decisions
Delivering at Pace
Seeing the Big Picture
Communicating & Influencing

Candidates will also be assessed against the required Technical Skills in the form of a 5-minute presentation, along with a 5-minute Q&A, at the interview stage to test the applicant’s practical application of the NSI Act, how they would utilise and balance competing information sources, and how they would go about coordinating expertise. Details will be provided to candidates who progress to the interview stage.

Expected timeline (subject to change)

Expected sift date – w/c 03/08/2026

Expected interview date/s – w/c 10/08/2026

Your interview will either be conducted face to face or by video. You will be notified of the location if you are selected for interview.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put 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 cabinetofficerecruitment.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 an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Further information

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'contact point for applicants' section.

Please note that this role requires DV clearance, which would normally need 10 years’ UK residency in the past 10 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

Due to the exceptionally sensitive nature of this role, Developed Vetting clearance is a non-negotiable requirement.

To apply for this position, you must:

Currently hold active Developed Vetting clearance; OR
Explicitly meet all UK Government eligibility and residency criteria to undergo the Developed Vetting process and be fully willing to undertake it.

Please Note: If you do not meet the strict criteria for Developed Vetting clearance, we will be unable to progress your application. We strongly advise all candidates to review the standard UK Government DV eligibility requirements before applying.

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

Any move to Cabinet Office 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; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

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.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

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

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.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).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 : Sasha Velody
Email : sct@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

Email : cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and wish to make a complaint, then in the first instance you should contact Government Recruitment Service by email at : cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission at info@csc.gov.uk. For further information on the Recruitment Principles and bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission, please visit their website at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/.

Attachments

Cabinet Office Employee Offer Opens in new window (pdf, 302kB)Cabinet Office Terms and Conditions - External 2025-02-20 Opens in new window (docx, 83kB)

Salary range

£47,670 - £51,690 per year