Operational Response Officer - Ref 1054

Whatever your role at MI5, you’ll be contributing to protecting the UK from threats to national security including terrorism and espionage. We currently need Operational Response Officers to work within our Information Technology group.


The Role

We are offering an exciting opportunity to work within the Operational Response Team, where you will provide a rapid response to urgent business needs and respond to issues affecting live operations within our IT systems. This will include configuring systems, under warrant, that enable audio from telephony lines and eavesdropping devices. You will be trained as a multi-skilled member of staff with a good understanding of the business areas we support and have a broad range of experience across the various technologies within MI5.

As an Operational Response Officer, you will be required to work normal business hours (core) and be able to provide out-of-hours cover all year round, on a rota basis, once fully trained.


Key Responsibilities

• Perform intercept quality assurance activities, under warrant.
• Undertake the building and support of vital custom built high-end specialist workstations.
• Provide out of hours on-call cover for operational requests.
• Liaise with numerous MI5 support teams and third party suppliers.
• Engage with customers to ensure their support needs are responded to quickly.

 


The Person

• We are seeking enthusiastic and motivated individuals who are strong communicators and, due to the unique nature of the role, be willing to learn new skills.
• They must be able to demonstrate a flexible and proactive approach in managing operational priorities and agile delivery requests, whilst maintaining and supporting our systems and services.
• It is essential to have working knowledge of Windows Operating Systems, Windows Server, Active Directory, desktop hardware and have demonstrable troubleshooting abilities.
• It is desirable to have an ITIL Foundation certificate, although not essential, as you will be given the opportunity to complete this course.

Recruitment Process

The first thing we will ask you to do is 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.

You will need to create a log in and provide your full name, email address and a memorable password. Once you have successfully created a personal account, you will be required to complete an initial registration form, providing contact details and equal opportunities monitoring information.

You will then be invited to upload your CV and complete an online application form. Our recruitment team will conduct a sift of your application. Successful applicants will be invited to a telephone interview, which will include some competency based questions and will explore your motivation to work for MI5.

Assuming you pass the telephone interview, you will be invited to attend a competency based face to face interview to further explore your skills. If you are successful, you will be required to attend an additional face to face interview at MI5. This will be followed by a security interview with a vetting officer. You should read about the vetting process and satisfy yourself that you meet the criteria outlined in the vetting pages of the How to Apply section prior to submitting an application.

Giving misleading information or 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.



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 the standard eligibility requirements for this post, your application will be assessed on how far you meet the job requirements. Your application must score the minimum amount of points set. On successful completion of this stage, 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 resident in the UK for nine out of the last ten years. This is particularly important if you were born outside the UK. However, we will still consider you if you’ve 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. Your application may take around six months to process.

Owing to the sensitivity of our work, we do not publicly disclose the identities of our staff. 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.