Finance Student Scheme 2020

MI5, MI6 and GCHQ (the UK’s intelligence community) work collaboratively to deliver a range of vital financial services to help us protect the nation threats to our national security.

We are looking for undergraduates to enrol onto either our 11-week summer programme or 12-month work placement schemes. These schemes are aimed at students studying Finance and Accountancy and/or Business Studies.  The 11-week placement opportunities are based in GCHQ’s headquarters in Cheltenham whilst the 12-month placements could be in either GCHQ or MI5’s headquarters in London.

On these schemes, you will gain exposure to a busy finance team that play a vital role in supporting the intelligence community’s mission. During either the 11-week programme or 12-month placement, you will be a valued member of the team, learning how the business works and how you can apply your skills and knowledge.

If you join either the 11-week summer or 12-month placement scheme, you will contribute to finance-related projects that will have a direct impact on our work, while broadening your own development. The nature of the projects you will be working on will be relevant to your academic studies and you could use your placement experience as an example, or a form of evidence of work in your final year at university. There will also be learning opportunities which will help you to understand finance processes and the wider business management in our organisation.

We expect both the 11-week summer programme and the 12-month placement to be an exciting experience where you can really get involved with some of the innermost workings of our finance departments.


Key Aims:
•    Applying your learning to-date within a working environment
•    Learning new skills/knowledge to aid your future studies
•    Working as part of a team
•    Hands-on work experience in an enjoyable and supportive environment

Responsibilities:

On this scheme, you could be involved in some or all the following activities:
•    Transaction services – including processing payments to Suppliers and timely processing of employees’ claims
•    Management accounting – responsible for monthly accounts preparation
•    Attending tailored financial and soft skills learning & development
•    Learning more about the UK intelligence agencies and our wider mission
•    Working with people from other teams across the Department

The Reward Package:       

Salaries:

11-week scheme
Central London: £24,717 per annum (pro-rata)
Cheltenham: £21,380 per annum (pro-rata)

12-month scheme
Central London: £24,717 per annum
Cheltenham: £21,380 per annum

Job Opportunities:
Students may be considered for permanent employment at one of our UK intelligence agencies upon successful completion of the scheme and achieving a minimum of a 2:2 university degree.
                                                                                                                      

Requirements/Qualifications:

We are looking for motivated people who are happy to work in a constantly changing finance environment, who have enthusiasm, drive, and initiative and are prepared to question processes and express their ideas.

Students will need to be either:

•    Graduating in 2020/2021 and available to attend an 11-week summer programme from 6th July – 18 September 2020
or
•    Graduating in 2021/2022 and available to attend a 12-month placement commencing 7th September 2020


Application Process:

You will be initially sent a link to complete our pre-screening questions to find out if you meet our initial criteria. If you do meet the criteria, we will ask you to begin an on-line application.

All interested parties need to submit:
•    CV, which must include details of what degree they are studying and when they are due to graduate

•    a 300-word statement that states:
           o     Which scheme you wish to apply for (11-week summer programme OR 12- month placement)
           o    Your working location preference (Cheltenham OR London)
           o    Why you wish to apply for a placement with us
           o    What you will bring to a placement with us.

Successful applicants will be invited to interview which will be taking place on 9th – 13th December 2019.

Successful candidates will be notified by 20th December 2019.

Confirmation of any appointment onto either the 11-week summer programme or the 12-month placement will be subject to the student successfully passing through the Developed Vetting process. The vetting process is estimated to take between 16-18 weeks.


Discretion

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 on our website.

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. You can apply at the age of 17 years and 6 months, if successful you will not be offered a start date prior to your 18th birthday.

Equal Opportunities

The UK Intelligence Agencies / MI5 / MI6 / GCHQ are Equal Opportunities employers, committed to reflecting the society we protect.  Our recruitment process is fair, transparent and based on merit. We particularly welcome applications from diverse and under-represented groups.

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 they are applying for. This is known as the Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS).

To apply for this role please click here and then click "Apply"