Persian Foreign Language Analysts Ref. 1073

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

Languages
London
£28,335
The Role


Your knowledge of a foreign language could open up a fascinating career in intelligence. By joining MI5 you can play a key role in protecting the UK.

MI5 is looking for expert linguists whose roles go well beyond translation and transcription.

You will use your language skills to provide intelligence insights to deliver clear analysis which will assist your colleagues in driving forward investigations. The challenge is to seek out vital clues in foreign language material to make it accessible and understandable to others. It's interesting work which will test your judgement and people skills as well as your linguistic ability.

There are currently openings for Sylheti, Persian and Sorani linguists at MI5.


Who we are


MI5 is responsible for the domestic security of the UK. The work of linguists helps to identify and counter threats to the UK from terrorism, espionage, cyber threats and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.


Grow and develop


You'll be working alongside people from a variety of backgrounds. In an environment with a strong focus on learning and development, you'll be supported to enhance your skills further. For example, there may be opportunities for language maintenance classes. You'll also receive training on non-language aspects of the role.

Your language skills could have come from growing up in a multilingual family or you may have studied the language to a high level. You don't need to have previously worked with language but you certainly need a passion for the language and an ability to translate its nuances into clear, well-drafted English.

Your linguistic skills must be complemented by a good knowledge of cultural affairs, history, politics and ideology. You will need to combine an analytical, enquiring mind with powers of judgement and good people skills.


How to apply


We will ask you to complete our pre-screening questions to see if you meet our initial eligibility criteria. We will ask you to begin an application for which you will need to create an online logon. You will need to provide your full name, email address and a memorable password. Once you have created a personal account, you are ready to complete the online application form. You will be asked to provide background about your education and employment history. You will also be asked to provide details of your language skills and any other language(s) you have learned and your motivation for using your language in a role in intelligence.

Our recruitment team will complete an application sift to assess how far you meet the job specification. Successful applicants will be invited to attend a language test in London where we will assess your language ability across a range of tasks including listening, reading comprehension and translation. If you are successful, you will be asked to attend an assessment centre in London. This will include a face-to-face interview and other exercises.


Guaranteed Interview Scheme


As part of our commitment to the “Disability Confident” scheme we offer an interview to all candidates with a disability who meet our minimum criteria for the job vacancy that they are applying for. This is known as the Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS).

Along with standard eligibility requirements for this post, your application will be assessed on how far you meet the job specification based on your application and your language ability. On successful completion of this stage, you will be invited to the language test, which is our guaranteed interview.

Please note that if you are not successful at the language testing stage of your application, you will not be eligible to re-apply for the language vacancy within a 12 month period.


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 of the last ten years prior to application. 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 aboard, or lived with your parents.
Due to vetting requirements you will need to be 18 years old, or above, to apply. Your application may take around six months to process.
Discretion is vital. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member, providing that they are British. You should also make them aware of the importance of discretion. You should not post on social media sites about your application or discuss it with anyone else at this stage. You will receive further guidance during the recruitment process.

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.

MI5 is committed to reflecting both equal opportunities and the society we protect. Work-life balance is important to us at MI5 and we offer flexible working where operational commitments allow.

If you are interested in applying for this role, please click here

This Program / Vacancy is closed to applications.