MI5 safeguards the UK against threats such as terrorism, espionage, cyber and sabotage. We investigate suspect individuals and organisations in the UK to obtain, collate, analyse and assess secret intelligence relating to these threats. Alongside our British Intelligence partners MI6 and GCHQ, we provide the UK government with the information they need to protect national security. At MI5 you’ll enjoy varied and rewarding work in a supportive and encouraging environment that puts the emphasis on teamwork.

The Role

This is a unique opportunity to improve your technical and analytical skills on an 11-week paid summer internship; you will be working on live projects which will help keep the UK safe.

Technology is at the heart of everything we do at MI5. Joining a team of other interns, you’ll be working with – and learning from – experienced and pioneering technical teams, often on projects you won’t find anywhere else. By the end of your internship, you’ll have had a direct and rewarding impact on how we use technology to protect the UK from serious security threats. You’ll be based in one of five technical areas:

• Software Engineering
• Covert Technical Opportunities Specailists (CTOS)
• Business Analysts
• Data Architecture
• User Experience (UX) Design (website design team)

About You

Combining problem-solving skills with an aptitude for working with technology, you’ll be a good communicator, with the ability to explain technical concepts clearly to different audiences. In some areas you’ll need basic coding skills, while in others your logical approach, interest in data flows, or knowledge of computer security or computer forensics will be more important. With basic computer skills, you’ll be comfortable working at a computer for long periods and handling a range of written, numerical, image-based and audio data.

You must be expecting to receive at least a 2:2 degree or equivalent in a technology or wider STEM-related subject by autumn 2024. You should also be available to start permanent employment in autumn 2024 if you wish to progress to our Technology Graduate Development Programme.  Unfortunately, we would not be able to offer either an earlier start date or deferment.
For the duration of the internship, you must be able to live in or commute to central London.

Training and Development

When it comes to training and development opportunities, we offer a taster that provides insights into the skills and knowledge of your chosen profession. These include joint cross-profession tasks that’ll encourage you to use the things you’ve learnt, along with opportunities to experience working in a multi-profession team. You’ll also receive a bespoke induction tailored to your needs, support from your line manager and an assigned buddy, and on successful completion, the opportunity to join the following year’s Graduate Development scheme.

Benefits

The internship will run from late June 2023 for 11 weeks. You’ll benefit from a competitive salary and five days annual leave. In addition, you’ll be free to enjoy organisation-wide events where you can learn and network with people from across the business.   

Culture and Working Environment   
  
As part of our team, you’ll discover an inclusive workplace that’s welcoming, supportive and encouraging. You’ll be part of an organisation where people want to support one another and make a difference. Aside from fostering an open culture, we have a range of affinity groups. For example:    

•    Ethnic Minority and gender equality networks  
•    Groups supporting wellbeing, mental health, neurodiversity and disability   
•    Faith/No Faith communities for staff to come together   
•    LGBTQ+ support networks  
  
You’ll also find a variety of sports, activity, interest and social groups to help you settle in and connect with people with similar interests.   

Before You Apply  
  
To work at MI5, you need to be a British citizen. We do 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.  
  
Honesty and integrity are really important if you want to work at MI5. Take some time to read about the vetting process and make sure you meet the criteria in the vetting pages of the ‘How to Apply’ section. 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.  
   
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.  

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

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 ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this position will be offered an interview where practicable; this is known as ‘Offer of an Interview’. 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 relating to the role and working for this organisation. If you meet the criteria, you will be directed to the initial application form.
•    Initial Application Competency Based Questions – You will be required to reach the pass mark set for our competency-based questions.
•    Online Tests (applicable to Software Engineering and CTOS roles) – You will be required to reach the pass mark set.
•    On successful completion of the above, you will be invited to interview (this could be either a telephone, video or face to face interview).

This is our Offer of an Interview.

 Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to apply, you must be a British Citizen. One of your parents must be a British Citizen or must have the nationality or citizenship from our approved list of countries (for more info link to website / JD). If you hold dual nationality, of which one component is British, you will nonetheless be considered. (for more info link to website / JD). Candidates must normally have been resident in the UK for seven out of the last ten years. This is particularly important if you were born outside the UK. You can apply at the age of 17 years, 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 of the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application. Further information on our eligibility criteria can be found on the Applying section.  

Recruitment Process

Please ensure you follow all our guidance, read about our vetting process and check you meet our eligibility criteria before you apply. If you omit, conceal or offer misleading information during the recruitment process, we’ll view it very seriously.

If you meet our initial criteria after completing our pre-screening questions, you’ll begin your application by creating a personal account. You’ll set up a login with your full name, email address and a memorable password. Then you’ll complete an initial registration form, including contact details and equal opportunities monitoring information.

You’ll then complete the online application form. If you’re successful, you may also be asked to take an online Codility test, dependant on the role you’ve applied for. If you pass this, we’ll invite you to an interview, which will involve both competency and technical interviews. Succeed at the interview stage and we’ll invite you to a security interview with a vetting officer. Please note applicants will be required to come to London to attend a security interview with our vetting officers. 

Discretion is vital. You should only discuss your application with either 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.