NCSC Policy Advisor Ref 2437

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Mission Enablers
London, Manchester
£43,957 plus £5,500 London allowance (if applicable)

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.

Short Summary of role

GCHQ’s profile has never been higher, due largely to HMG’s cyber agenda, including the new National Cyber Strategy and the ongoing work of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the UK’s authority for cyber security advice and incident management. It is 5 years old and going from strength to strength. The Government has recognised Cyber as a Tier One threat to national security, whilst also stressing the huge benefits for growth and prosperity that a secure cyber space offers the nation. Through our people and technical capability, GCHQ and the NCSC are playing a key role – in helping Government and Industry to understand the threat, manage national cyber incidents and offering tailored support and advice to departments, regulators, industry as well as citizens.
We are advertising for several roles that will sit within the NCSC’s Cyber Policy Team – a team that works across GCHQ and Whitehall to understand, develop and communicate GCHQ’s position to influence and inform policy making and help shape future policy on cyber and wider national security risks.

The roles provide a genuinely exciting opportunity to develop your understanding of some of the big topics driving GCHQ, as well as our customers and partners, from a unique perspective. This job will allow you to lead and drive forward vital policy work for the wider business.

What will the successful candidate be doing?

We are looking for a creative and motivated individual who can support and help drive policy initiatives around topics including foreign direct investment, ransomware, international technology standards, telecoms, and future technology. You will be working closely with various teams in NCSC including our world class technical leaders to help use our expertise, skills, and knowledge to inform and shape the cyber security landscape both now and in the future. You will have the opportunity to work closely with numerous Whitehall partners, including the Home Office, Cabinet Office, DCMS and many more. You will need to develop partnerships with a range of stakeholders and organisations. The roles can be a busy and challenging at times, involving uncertainty at short notice, often dictated by the fast tempo of Whitehall. However, you will be working in a very supportive and understanding environment alongside very experienced members of staff, and your development and career prospects will be a key priority for the leadership team.

As part of the NCSC’s Comms and Policy Directorate, you will be an active member of the NCSC Cyber Policy, Parliamentary and International team (PPI), working with colleagues to build a sense of cohesion and resilience across all aspects of the team activities. PPI is a great place to work with a strong culture on equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). As part of your role, you will help to foster an inclusive culture in the team and the wider Directorate, being aware of and implementing strategies, sharing opportunities with wider GCHQ and NCSC communities on EDI issues.
 
We actively encourage those to apply who work part time, we want to think creatively about how we work post pandemic and are flexible with home working and in office work. If you’re unsure about applying because you don’t think you’ve got all the skills or experience, why not give it a go anyway? What have you got to lose!

The main responsibilities of the post holder will include:

We are looking for enthusiastic people from all types of backgrounds, who want to make a difference to UK national security, with experience of working with different types of people and organisations, to join a friendly and hard-working team, to contribute to various policy areas with the following responsibilities:

•    Providing co-ordination for NCSC’s input into lead government departmental work on a variety of policy issues. This will include, but is not limited to:

  • Building strong working relationships with counterparts and colleagues within both NCSC and wider GCHQ, as well as Whitehall departments.
  • Understanding how best to influence the strategic direction of work programmes across the NCSC and beyond into Whitehall departments to ensure that future activity is designed from a shared understanding of threat and vulnerabilities and aligned and complementary to ongoing work elsewhere across Whitehall.



Competency Requirements

•    Communication and Knowledge sharing - Higher
•    Corporate Vision and Efficiency - Intermediate
•    Change and Innovation - Intermediate
•    Analysis and Decision Making - Intermediate
•    Contribution to Delivery - Higher
•    Managing the Customer Relationship - Higher
•    Working with and Leading Others - Intermediate

You can familiarise yourself with the general competencies we use to assess the aptitude of candidates here - Recruitment Process

If you’re excited about working with us and think you have some of what we’re looking for but aren’t sure if you’re 100% there yet… Back yourself and give it a go


Benefits we offer

At NCSC and GCHQ, we are proud of our inclusive and supportive working environment that’s designed to encourage open minds and attitudes.  As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we are committed to helping you fulfil your potential.  With comprehensive training and development opportunities, tailored to your needs and the requirements of your work, we will enable you to flourish in your role and perform to the very best of your abilities.

•    Access to learning and development tailored to your role and support to gain professional qualifications and certifications.
•    An environment that supports a range of flexible working options (including a flexible working hour scheme).
•    A culture which encourages inclusion and diversity.
•    Support to gain professional qualifications and certifications
•    A civil service pension
•    25 days annual leave, rising to 30 days based on length of service.

Salary

Salary of £43,957, plus £5,500 London allowance (if applicable)

Location

Manchester or London


Selection Process

To apply for this position, you must meet our nationality and residency requirements. You’ll find more details here – www.gchq-careers.co.uk/recruitmentprocess

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 minimum criteria as specified for the role.

Be prepared to dedicate 60-90 minutes to completing your application. We’re 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.
 
Once we’ve established that you meet our eligibility criteria, the next steps of this selection process are:
 
•    Paper sift
•    Personal Interview
•    Drugs test


If you successfully complete these stages, you’ll receive a job offer, conditional upon you completing our developed vetting (DV) process which enables you to obtain the level of security clearance required to perform this vital role.

The closing date for this role is 4th February 2022.

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.