Administrative Officers Ref. 1852

Stonewall Top Employer AwardSocial Mobility Foundation AwardThe Times Top 100Disability confident leader

Admin
London
£24,470 rising after 12 months to £26,454 pro rata

At MI5, we protect the UK from a range of threats, including terrorism and espionage. It’s fascinating work with real purpose. That’s why most people assume we’re only looking for people with lots of experience or a degree. But we’re not.  So, whether you’ve just finished school or you’re returning to work, join us as an admin officer and be at the heart of what we do.

When you join us, you’ll play a vital role in helping to keep the country safe. With a real eye for detail and a lot of initiative, you’ll work across a variety of departments. Each one offers a direct insight into our fascinating work – everything from tackling cyber threats to countering terrorism. Using your excellent organisational skills, you could be setting up meetings, managing information, booking travel and looking after visitors. Whatever the task, you’ll provide vital support to our officers.

 
Who we’re looking for

This is an ideal role for school leavers, people returning to work after a career break or those looking for a change. You’ll have strong communication skills, along with the ability to work independently and as part of a team. Plus, you’ll quickly adapt to changing situations. You’ll also need to have IT skills, including the ability to use email, the internet, MS Word and Excel.

To join, you’ll need five GCSEs (or equivalent) at grades A*-C/9-4 or relevant office-based experience. This is the perfect chance for someone who wants to build a rewarding career in admin.  

Due to the sensitive nature of our work, you’ll also need to be very discreet.


Rewards and benefits

In return, you’ll receive a range of benefits, plus the chance to work to a flexible working pattern. Importantly, you’ll also know you’re playing a vital role to help protect the UK.

If you’re looking for part-time working opportunities, you’ll need to work a minimum of 3 days (totalling 21.6 hours) between Monday and Friday.


Before you apply

The role is based in London. You’ll need to live within a commutable distance, and you should consider the financial implications and practicalities of working in central London before submitting an application. Please note that we don’t cover relocation costs.

Honesty and integrity are crucial if you want to work at MI5. You should read about the vetting process and ensure you meet the criteria outlined in the vetting pages of the ‘How to Apply’ section prior to submitting an application. The process can take some time, but this is just because it’s thorough.

Giving misleading information and omitting or concealing information during the recruitment and vetting process is viewed very seriously. You should ensure that you follow our guidance from when you apply and read our drugs policy. If you have taken recreational drugs after you’ve applied, your application won’t be accepted.


Recruitment process

The recruitment process for this role is outlined below (in order):

Eligibility questions – you will answer a number of questions based on the requirements for the role.

Initial form – you will create a personal account and complete our equal opportunities monitoring questions.

Application form – you will be asked to complete an application which will cover relevant experience, your motivation for applying and some situational judgement questions aligned to being an admin officer but which require no prior knowledge or experience of the role. To process your application, it is essential that you provide all the information requested in the application form. Our recruitment team will complete an application sift and successful applicants will be invited to the next stage which is a telephone interview.

Telephone interview – this interview should last approximately 45 minutes and will check that you have the potential skills and motivation to work for MI5.

Face-to-face interview – this interview will take place at our offices in central London. This interview will further explore that you have the potential skills and motivation to join MI5.

Security interview – this interview will take place in Central London. This is an important part of the selection process. It’s an interview to explore your life and experiences, and it’s not a competency or capability-based interview.

Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process in order to progress to the next and your application may take around 6 - 9 months to process.


Key Dates

Application close - 9th September 2019

Telephone Interviews start - September 2019

Face to face interviews start - October 2019


Guaranteed Interview Scheme

As part of our commitment to being a ‘Disability Confident Leader’ we offer an interview to all candidates with a disability who meet our minimum criteria for the role that they are applying for. This is known as the Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS). To secure an interview for this vacancy, the minimum criteria (in order of application process) are:

Eligibility questions – you will be asked a series of questions related to this vacancy. If you meet the criteria here you will be directed to the initial application form.

Initial form – complete your personal details and our equal opportunities monitoring questions.

Application form – along with the standard eligibility requirements for this post, your application will be assessed on how far you meet the motivational fit section and situational judgement test you answer. Your application must score the minimum amount of points set.

On successful completion of these stages, you will be invited to interview. This will normally be a telephone interview and is our guaranteed interview.


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 a resident in the UK for nine out of the last 10 years. This is particularly important if you were born outside of 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 with your parents. You can apply from the age of 17 years and 6 months, if successful you will not be offered a start date prior to your 18th birthday.
 
Discretion is vital. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member. Please note you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from outside the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application.

Further information on our eligibility criteria can be found on the How to Apply section.



 





This Program / Vacancy is closed to applications.