Discover life-changing connections

Where most people just see facts, you’ll see connections. Where most people just see numbers, you’ll spot leads that help us protect the UK.

MI5 is responsible for helping to safeguard the UK from threats to our nation’s security such as terrorism, espionage and cyber attack. You’ll be the person that translates data into the information we need to do it.

As an Intelligence Analyst, you’ll work alongside Intelligence Officers, providing them with the essential information that directs their work. Using the very latest technology and methods, you’ll analyse a vast array of complex and ever changing data – ensuring colleagues across the organisation understand your findings and recognise their significance.

You’ll be at the heart of MI5. It’s a fast moving and exciting role, with plenty of opportunities for development and progression. You’ll need a minimum of a 2.1 degree in any discipline, or relevant work experience. A numerate background may be useful but is not vital – the key point is that you need to demonstrate your ability to work with large and complex sets of data. Our analysts routinely work with data sets containing dozens of variables and millions of rows in order to produce evidence- based conclusions and recommendations.

It is not vital for you to have prior experience of working with data of this complexity. However, you will need to demonstrate your potential to do so through evidence of working with data containing a number of variables and by utilising methods of analysis which do not rely solely on manually processing data. Evidence of working with incomplete and/or ambiguous data would be advantageous.

We need proactive and creative thinkers who have excellent analytical skills and a talent for handling data. You’ll have the ability to adapt to unexpected situations and to spot the connections that others often miss.

Show us all this, and we’ll give you the chance to use your expertise to build a career that’s very special.

Recruitment Process

The first thing we will ask you to do is to complete our pre-screening questions to find out if you meet our initial criteria. If you do meet these criteria we will then ask you to begin an application. The first step will require you to create a login. You can do this by providing your full name, email address and a memorable password. Once you have successfully created a personal account, you will be required to complete a basic application form and equal opportunities monitoring information.

After submitting this form you will be sent an e-mail asking you to take an online verbal reasoning test, which forms part of the formal assessment process. On receipt of this invitation e-mail, you will have up to one week to take the test. If you do not complete the test within this timeframe we will assume that you no longer wish to proceed with your application.

This test is designed to assess the key skill of reasoning with verbal information, which is essential for the role of an Intelligence Analyst in the Security Service. You will be given 25 minutes to complete the test and you will need to do this in one sitting.

If you pass the test, we will invite you to complete and submit our full application form. Our recruitment team will then complete an application sift. Successful applicants will be invited to participate in a telephone interview to check they have the skills and motivation to work for the Security Service.

Assuming you pass this interview, you will be invited to attend an assessment centre in London. This will be followed by a final selection interview and a security interview with a vetting officer.

The recruitment and vetting process can take around nine months to complete. If you are in the final year of your studies we advise you to apply now. During the recruitment process our recruitment team will give you further information about when you would be able to join.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to apply, you must meet our residency criteria. You must be a born or naturalised British citizen and one of your parents must be a British citizen or have substantial ties to the UK.

Candidates must normally have been resident in the UK for nine out of the last 10 years. This is particularly important if you were born outside the UK. You will nonetheless be considered if you have, for example, served overseas with HM Forces or in some other official capacity as a representative of Her Majesty's Government, studied abroad, or lived overseas with your parents.

Due to vetting requirements you will need to be 18 years old, or above, to apply.

Discretion is vital. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.

The Security Service is committed to reflecting both equal opportunities and the society we protect.