About Us

MI5 keeps the country safe from serious threats like terrorism and attempts by states to harm the UK, its people and way of life. We carry out investigations by obtaining, analysing and assessing intelligence, and then work with a range of partners, including MI6 and GCHQ to disrupt these threats. Through our protective security arm, we provide advice and guidance to government, businesses and other organisations about how to keep themselves safe. A role in MI5 means you’ll do unique and challenging work in a supportive and encouraging environment, making a real difference to UK national security.   

The Role

As a Senior Admin Officer, you’ll keep things running smoothly, providing vital administrative support across a range of business areas. You could work in various departments such as HR, Finance, Records Management or Information Management.  

There are a range of tasks and responsibilities you could be involved in including;

•    Collating information 
•    Managing databases 
•    Research and project work 
•    Report writing
•    Arranging and managing meetings
•    Diary management
•    Arranging travel

You’ll also have the freedom to work autonomously, manage a small team of administrators, and have greater responsibility for your work.

You’ll need to be proficient in administration, organisation, prioritisation, have strong written and oral communication and thrive in a team. You’ll also need strong attention to detail when collating information, good judgement, and be able to manage others, sharing your experience and fostering an inclusive working environment. You’ll have a flexible, self-motivated approach to your work, be able to adapt to shifting priorities and look for opportunities to improve our processes.  

You’ll gain breadth of experience and build on your skills as wells as gaining new ones, such as how to use some of our bespoke IT systems. Whichever team you join, we’ll provide in-depth training to ensure you’re equipped with all the skills you need to assist us to the best of your abilities now, and throughout your future career.

Whether you’re at the beginning of your career, returning to work after a break, or looking for a new challenge, this could be the beginning of a career with the UK’s Intelligence Services, where you’ll play a key role in one of our most crucial processes.

About You

All you need to join us are two GCSEs (or equivalent) in Maths and English Language at grades A*-C/9-4, or experience in an office environment working in an administrative role. 

You’ll also be keen to learn – this role includes an initial training period where you’ll learn about our research and analysis techniques. With a proactive approach to your work, you’ll be comfortable using your initiative and talking to a range of people to get thing done. Your attention to detail will be invaluable, as will your organisational skills, even when working to tight deadlines.

We’re interested in what makes you, you. There’s no one ‘type’ of person that we’re after. Whether you choose to work full-time or part-time, you’ll feel part of a large, welcoming team where there’s plenty of support and training on offer. 

Training and Development

We’re committed to helping our people develop their skills and career by ensuring everyone gets the training and support they need to succeed. 

Alongside coaching and peer support networks, you’ll also get opportunities to attend a wide range of personal development and job-specific courses. Whether through courses run by our own academy, or through knowledge sharing, you’ll never stop learning. 

Rewards and Benefits 

You’ll receive a starting salary of £32,659 plus other benefits including: 

-    25 days’ annual leave automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, and an additional 10.5 days’ public and privilege holidays
-    Opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme
-    Personal learning budget 
-    Interest-free season ticket loan
-    Excellent pension scheme
-    Cycle to work scheme
-    Facilities such as a gym, restaurant and on-site coffee bars (at some locations)
-    Paid parental and adoption leave

Equal Opportunities

At MI5 diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce such as women, those from an ethnic minority background, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.
Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our website: https://www.mi5.gov.uk/careers/diversity 

We’re Disability Confident

MI5 are proud to have achieved Leader status within the DWP’s Disability Confident scheme.  This is aimed at encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain, and develop disabled people. Being Disability Confident, we aim to offer a person-to-person interview to any candidate who self-identifies as disabled and meets the essential criteria for the role. This is our ‘Offer of Interview’. To secure an interview for this vacancy, the essential criteria (in order of application process) are: 

•    Two GCSEs (or equivalent) in Maths and English Language at grades A*-C/9-4, or experience in an office environment working in an administrative role
•    Successfully passing a question about your motivation for applying for the role

On completion of the application form, and successfully passing the full application form sift, you will be invited to interview. This is your Offer of Interview. (If you need any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.)

What to Expect

Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:

•    Eligibility questions – you’ll answer several questions based on the requirements for the role.

•    Initial form – you’ll create a personal account and complete our equal opportunities monitoring questions. If you do not feel comfortable completing equal opportunities monitoring, there is a ‘prefer not to say’ option for each question.

•    Application form – you’ll be asked to complete an application which will cover relevant experience, your motivation for applying and some situational judgement questions aligned to being a Senior 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.

•    Application sift – our recruitment team will complete an application sift and successful applicants will be invited to the next stage.

•    First online interview which will take place over a video conferencing system with a member of our recruitment team.  You won’t be required to visit any of our premises.  In this short interview we will cover your motivation for applying for the role and look at one of the competency areas which we consider to be important for the role.

•    Second online interview – this will be a longer interview (around 1 hour) and will further explore that you have the potential skills and motivation to join MI5.

Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 - 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer.  

Before You Apply

To work at MI5, you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. You can read our full eligibility criteria here.

This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. You can find out more about the vetting process here. 

Please note we have a strict drugs policy, so once you start your application, you can’t take any recreational drugs and you’ll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage.

Before you apply, we advise you to consider setting up a separate email address for your contact with us, to ensure your personal and application correspondence remain separate. Try to avoid having identifying features in your email address, such as your first and/or surname and date of birth. This is good practice and will help you to manage your application with us more discretely.

The roles are based in London, so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance of the location. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application. A loan is available to support people relocating to London.

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

Right to Withdraw Statement: 

Please be aware that we withhold the right to bring forward the closing date for this role from the original closing date once a certain number of applications have been received. Please be mindful of this and submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.