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Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
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About the job
Job summary
Threat & Risk Assessment, Capability Exploration and Research (TRACER) plays a vital role in supporting the National Crime Agencys mission to protect the public from serious and organised crime. TRACER is a collaborative function that oversees the NCAs science and technology innovation activities, ensuring our capabilities remain up-to-date and relevant in the digital age. TRACER also provides threat and opportunity management for digital communications capabilities on behalf of the Home Offices Digital Communications Capabilities partnership.
This means we work with colleagues within the Agency, and across the law enforcement and national security communities to identify the threats posed by our adversaries and their use of emerging technologies to facilitate and enable their criminal activity, and use science and technology to counter them.
Job description
The Opportunity Threat Assessment Capability (OTAC), the assessment function within TRACER, is seeking a G4 Senior Researcher to join its horizon scanning function. This is a chance to join a team that proactively monitors changes in emerging digital technology, legislation and the operational law enforcement environment looking for future changes that will impact law enforcement’s ability to use its capabilities under the Investigatory Powers Act – be they opportunities or threats. This horizon scanning drives wider OTAC work and informs cross-Whitehall decision makers as well as the operational users of IP Act capabilities.
We are looking for an individual with a genuine interest in digital technology to perform a key function of our horizon scanning team. You will work in small horizon scanning team to conduct and supervise the research, information gathering, and production of briefing notes on emerging digital technologies that may affect how law enforcement uses its capabilities under the Investigatory Powers Act. You will present this research in a concise way in meetings and written products to a range of stakeholders, clearly communicating how the research might impact them.
To be considered, you will need to successfully complete SC Enhanced clearance before commencing the role and achieve DV STRAP clearance within the first 12 months in post.
Person specification
As a member of OTACs Horizon Scanning team you will:
- Collect, collate and evaluate information from a wide variety of sources;
- Maintain fluency in multiple areas of technological developments such as quantum (computing, key distribution etc.), generative AI and mobile communications.
- Identify changes and trends in these areas and more, to comment on the potential impact on law enforcement’s Investigatory Powers capabilities;
- Supervise the preparation and development of research summaries of OTAC’s horizon scanning. Deliver the results of the research to OTAC’s horizon scanning stakeholder engagement meetings;
- Produce and quality assure briefing notes to inform the law enforcement community of emerging opportunities and threats;
- Proactively identify new sources, and methods of both research and scanning, while maintaining awareness of other innovations in horizon scanning;
- Seek out, establish and develop relationships with other government horizon scanning functions and other key stakeholders to understand customer requirements for horizon scanning outputs;
- Have line manager responsibility for a G5 and G6 horizon scanning researcher;
- Adhere to all legal frameworks, key working principles, policies and guidance relevant to the role.
Behaviours
We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
Technical skills
We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Detailed understanding of technology and the changes in technology that could affect law enforcement’s use of Investigatory Powers capabilities.
- Ability to identify, read, understand and evaluate large volumes of information on emerging technologies to then present it in a concise way;
- Understanding of information management and data integrity issues;
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills in a variety of media and to different audiences
Benefits
£10,433 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.
Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
Whatever your role, we take your career and development seriously, and want to enable you to build a really successful career with the Agency and wider Civil Service.
If you are an active police pension member immediately prior to joining the NCA, you can continue your membership throughout your employment with us as if you were a serving police officer. If you do remain an active member and subsequently return to a police force, you should be able to continue your membership there too.
All officers in the NCA are members of the UK Civil Service. You will be eligible for:
- Civil Service pension scheme
- 26 days annual leave rising to 31 on completion of 5 years continuous service
- Training and development opportunities
- Cycle2work scheme
We take the welfare of NCA officers very seriously. All staff have access to Occupational Health services and there are a number of staff representative groups. We also have a range of sporting and other activities on offer.
We can provide flexible working arrangements if the role in question is suitable. These include flexi-time, job sharing and compressed hours (working contracted hours over a shorter period).
Things you need to know
Selection process details
If you wish to apply for this vacancy, you must submit your application by 23:55 on 14th August 2023.
You will be asked to complete a CV as part of the application process, Please see the candidate information pack for more information.
Please note depending on the volume of applications a Longlist at sift may be conducted on following criteria:
- Detailed understanding of technology and the changes in technology that could affect law enforcement’s use of Investigatory Powers capabilities.
Candidates must pass this criteria for their application to be progressed.
A panel will then assess your application to select those demonstrating the best fit for the role by considering the evidence you have provided against the criteria set out in the Entry Criteria section.
Failure to address any or all of these may affect your application.
Sift results are expected to be released w/c 28th August 2023.
Interviews will take place throughout September and October 2023 – locations to be confirmed. Please be advised that the type of interview (eg. virtual/face-to-face) may be subject to change and successful candidates will be notified of this prior to attending. However the interview is conducted, the interview criteria will remain as shown on page 15 of the candidate information pack.
The above sift and interview dates are an indicative timeline.
Should you be successful at sift but cannot attend on the interview date(s) listed the recruitment team cannot guarantee an alternative date. Please contact the recruitment team.
You will then be asked to attend an interview in order to have a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence.
Full details of the assessment process will be made available to shortlisted candidates.
Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. Any instances of plagiarism including copying of examples/answers from internet sources will result in a withdrawal of your application. Further action, including disciplinary action, may be considered in such cases involving internal candidates. Providing false or misleading information would be contrary to the core values of honesty and integrity expected of all Civil Servants.
Multi-Location
Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be appointed in merit order for each location. You will be asked to state your location preference on your application.
Please be aware that you can be posted to any location that you put in your preferences. If you would only like to be posted to one location, please confirm one location only. If you are posted to a location that you have requested and you do not accept that location, you may not be offered another role.
Please note, only advertised location can be offered. Notes populated in a free text box will not be taken into consideration.
Near Miss
Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in the NCA which may be at a lower grade, but have a potential skills match.
Hybrid Working
Here at the NCA we have a hybrid working arrangement in place enabling officers to work a proportion of their role remotely. Eligibility and the degree of home working will vary depending on the requirements of the role. Further details can be discussed at offer stage.
Reasonable Adjustment
We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to all. As part of our application process you will be prompted to provide details of any reasonable adjustment to our recruitment process that you may need. If you have a disability or long-term condition (a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long term effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities protected under the Equality Act 2010) and need us to make any adjustments or do anything differently during the recruitment process, please let us know by emailing ncarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk, 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:
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 youre deaf, a Language Service Professional.
Please contact us by emailing ncarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk or calling 0117 372 0000 as soon as possible before the closing date if you wish to discuss any reasonable adjustments before applying.
Inclusion and Accessibility
The NCA embraces and values diversity in all forms. Being truly reflective of the communities we serve and building a culture where everyone can perform at their best is critical to leading the UKs fight against serious and organised crime something which affects us all. We want to recruit and retain the very best and broadest diversity of officers so the NCA welcomes applications from individuals from all backgrounds.
We are proud to be an inclusive, equal opportunities employer. As a Disability Confident Leader we are committed to ensuring that all candidates are treated fairly throughout the recruitment process.
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact ncarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
VETTING REQUIREMENTS SC
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 for at least 3 of the last 5 years.
Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.
If you require SC clearance you will need to provide evidence of the below requirements.
Checks will be made against:
- Departmental or company records (personnel files, staff reports, sick leave reports and security records)
- UK criminal records covering both spent and unspent criminal records.
- Your credit and financial history with a credit reference agency
- Security Services records
VETTING REQUIREMENTS – DV
All security clearances require you to provide evidence of your UK footprint where you have been physically present in the UK.
The requirement for DV is to have been present in the UK for at least 7 of the last 10 years.
Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.
If you require DV clearance you will need to provide evidence of the below requirements.
Checks will be made against:
- successful completion of the BPSS
- UK criminal record and identity checks
- credit reference checks
- relevant personnel and medical checks (if required)
We encourage all candidates to thoroughly review the candidate pack which explains the role further before submitting an application.
If you have any specific queries about the role that are not covered by the candidate pack, please contact:
ncarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
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Working for the Civil Service
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).
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Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : NCA Recruitment Team – GRS
- Email : ncarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : ncarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Further information
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/recruitment-complaints/
