Behavioural Scientist Ref. 2284

Mind Achieving Impact AwardSocial Mobility Foundation AwardThe Times Top 100Disability confident leaderThe Prince's Responsible Business

Specialist Roles
Cheltenham
Depending on experience £37,639 - £51,710 (made up of basic salary + £2,189 concessionary payment)

ABOUT US

As one of Britain’s intelligence agencies, we unlock the complex world of communications to make a real difference to the safety of the nation. We work closely with our partners in the intelligence community to safeguard Britain’s people, interests, and businesses from various threats. Think serious organised crime, such as people and drugs trafficking, or terrorism and cyber-attacks. It’s challenging and varied work that you won’t find anywhere else.

At GCHQ, 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, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodiverse conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce.

BENEFITS PACKAGE

We have an excellent benefits package which includes 25 days holiday as standard (pro rata) increasing to 30 days after five years, various flexible working patterns and part time working options available, generous pension contributions and parental leave, and three days volunteering leave.

THE ROLE

We work against unique, complex threats. We use behavioural science expertise to inform how we address these threats and bring to bear scientific-state-of-the-art from across the range of behavioural science disciplines. You will be working in an expert and supportive team conducting ground-breaking research and innovation that cannot be conducted anywhere else. You will be applying best practice and evidence to develop practical solutions, for example, helping our law enforcement partners to discover and disrupt criminal activity - working as a behavioural scientist in GCHQ provides unique opportunities to apply your substantial expertise in novel and innovative ways.  

We’re looking for people who are passionate about science and recognise the importance of high-quality evidence to inform decisions. Our values embed ethical working, scientific excellence, continuous professional development, professional standards and collaboration. We are committed to establishing a diverse and inclusive culture, recognising the tangible benefits this brings consistent with the priorities of our organisation. This role will involve working closely with international and domestic colleagues and stakeholders from across academia, industry and other government departments to deliver and translate cutting-edge behavioural science.

Key responsibilities include - but are not limited to:

•    Maintenance of Developed Vetting clearance
•    Working with multidisciplinary teams to deliver services and continuous service improvement
•    Engagement with Head of Behavioural Science and wider team to identify issues arising of relevance
•    Ongoing engagement and partnerships with customers and stakeholders. Collaborative working across organisations including internal, government and academia
•    Providing evaluations and advice - translating research into practical recommendations
•    The development, review and evaluation of training
•    Translating evidence from research to continually improve the service
•    Providing technical expertise to commissioned research and undertaking research projects (including research design, analysis and reporting) to inform and develop best practice; build a robust evidence base; provide recommendations to relevant stakeholders
•    Engagement with the wider behavioural science cadre to ensure cross-fertilisation of ideas and skills
•    Active engagement in regular peer supervision and ethical practice
•    Active engagement in CPD
•    Participation in UK and International conferences including presentation/facilitation roles.

REQUIREMENTS

The minimum criteria for this role are: relevant undergraduate degree in a behavioural science discipline PLUS a relevant post-graduate qualification e.g. a PhD. If you do not have a PhD, equivalent experience is also acceptable. An example of experience equivalent to a PhD could be a relevant Masters qualification followed by a number of years’ post-graduate experience working in a behavioural science team. We recognise there are a number of potential pathways to a behavioural science career so welcome applications from people who might have developed their expertise from a variety of routes.

In addition to a significant knowledge of behavioural science theories, ethical working and research methods (quantitative and qualitative methods), your academic background must also include a strong scientific component and quantitative methods including statistical analysis. Experience of analysing large datasets is also beneficial. Experience in translation of research and the delivery of behavioural science would be beneficial. For more senior posts, more technical and leadership experience is required.

We have a number of roles to fill and we’re looking for people with diverse backgrounds with demonstrated experience and expertise including a strong scientific background. Areas that are relevant include , but not limited to: social psychology, sociology, health psychology, cyber psychology, social science, behaviour change.

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 visit our website). If you hold dual nationality, of which one component is British, you will nonetheless be considered. (for more info visit our website). 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 and 6 months, 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.

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

At GCHQ, we’re proud to offer an inclusive and supportive working environment that encourages open minds and attitudes. As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we are committed to helping you fulfil your potential.

SALARY

Total package of £37,639 - £51,710 (this is made up of basic salary + £2,189 Concessionary Payment)

LOCATION

Cheltenham

SELECTION PROCESS

Be prepared to dedicate 60-90 minutes towards completing your application. We are conscious this might be more time than you expected, so our system will allow you to save your application at any time and come back to it later. But remember to submit your full application before the closing date.

If you meet the minimum eligibility and application sift criteria, the next steps of this selection process are:
•    Cv Sift
•    Panel interview/Assessment

The closing date for this role is the 21st June

Interviews will likely be held in August Further details of interview and assessment centre arrangements will be provided to those who successfully reach these stages.

OFFER OF INTERVIEW

As a Disability Confident employer, we will ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for this position will be offered an interview. This is known as the Offer of Interview (OOI). To secure an interview for this role, candidates applying under this scheme must meet the following minimum criteria; outlined above.


•    Hold a relevant undergraduate degree in a behavioural science discipline PLUS a relevant post-graduate qualification e.g. a PhD. If you do not have a PhD, equivalent experience is also acceptable.
•    Significant knowledge of behavioural science theories, ethical working and research methods (quantitative and qualitative methods), your academic background must also include a strong scientific component and quantitative methods including statistical analysis.
•    Experience in translation of research and the delivery of behavioural science.
•    There will be an application sift; where you will be asked a series of questions relating to this vacancy where you will be required to meet the minimum set pass mark.
•    On successful completion of the application form sift you will be invited to an Interview/Assessment.

If you successfully complete the required stages, and are successful at interview, you will receive a job offer conditional on you completing our developed vetting (DV) process, which enables you to obtain the level of security clearance required to undertake this role.

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.


This Program / Vacancy is closed to applications.