Finance Roles Ref. 2531

Stonewall Top Employer AwardSocial Mobility Foundation AwardThe Times Top 100Disability confident leader

Finance, Audit and Procurement
Cheltenham, Central London
Various depending on role and location
About Us

MI5, SIS and GCHQ are the UK’s  Intelligence  Agencies. We protect the UK from threats to national security, such as terrorism, cyber-crime  and the spread of weapons. Through the ingenuity of our  people, we  gather  secret  intelligence. We work closely with our partners  in the UK and overseas to  detect threats and work out ways to stop them. 
 
Finance forms an integral part of our key mission: helping to keep the country safe. We now have a number of opportunities at varying skill levels where you’ll make a real impact in a vital business function.


The Roles

We currently have a range of opportunities available. We are recruiting for the following roles:

Please select each link below to find out more.

Finance Manager

Financial Accountant

Financial Analyst/Officer


We have vacancies across a range of our finance functions. Please find details within each role description and indicate your preferences on your application form.


Training and Development

No matter the stage of your career, you’ll have a positive impact and a key role. We strongly believe in investing in our people and defining clear and aspirational career pathways. As part of this, you’ll have access to internal communities, support networks and mentors.

From day one, you’ll be assigned a dedicated buddy and have guidance from your line manager. And throughout your career we’ll offer you the support to gain professional accountancy qualifications such as AAT, ACCA or CIMA.


Rewards and Benefits

You’ll receive a starting salary of £31,051 - £53,211 (depending on location) 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
- Opportunities to work flexibly, subject to business needs
- Interest-free season ticket loan
- Excellent pension scheme
- Cycle to work scheme
- Facilities such as a subsidised gym and restaurant, and on-site coffee bars
- Paid parental and adoption leave


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’ve got a range of growing 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, SIS or GCHQ, 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, SIS or GCHQ. 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.

The roles are based in London and Cheltenham, so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance pf whichever location you apply for. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application.
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, SIS and 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 neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce.


We’re Disability Confident

MI5, SIS and GCHQ 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:
• Passing the eligibility stage
• Meeting essential criteria for the role at the application form stage*
*Please see the link to the specific role description to see essential criteria


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 one of the nationalities or citizenships from one of the following: British Overseas Territory, British Subject, British National (Overseas), British Overseas Citizen, British Protected Person, citizenship of a country in the Commonwealth, citizenship of a country in the European Economic Area (EEA), or citizenship of the United States of America (USA). If deceased, they should have had such citizenship or nationality before death. If you hold dual nationality, of which one component is British, you will nonetheless be considered. If successful, you will not normally be required to give up your non-British citizenship but, as a condition of your employment or secondment, MI5, SIS and GCHQ may impose restrictions on your postings, work travel and/or general use of that nationality. 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. Each case will be carefully considered on its own facts. 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.


What to Expect

Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:
• Initially, we will ask you to complete our pre-screening questions to find out if you meet our initial criteria. If you meet these criteria we will then ask you to begin an application.  
• You will need to create a login and provide your full name, email address and memorable password. Once you have successfully created a personal account, you will be required to complete a registration form, providing contact details and equal opportunities mentoring information.  
• You will then be invited to upload your C.V and complete an online application form. 
• If you pass the sift, you may be required to attend a telephone interview which should last approximately 40 minutes and will check that you have the potential skills and motivation to work for us. 
• Successful applicants may then be invited to a final interview, which will include competency based questions and further exploration of your motivation to work for the security agencies. 
Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process in order 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.


Our Vetting

To work in this role you will need the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community has to go through and it can take some time. As part of the DV process you will be asked to fill in a detailed questionnaire and attend an interview with a vetting officer. In your interview the vetting officer will have a thorough, compassionate and honest discussion with you about you as a person and your life experiences, to ensure holding a DV clearance is right for you. You don’t need to do any preparation for your vetting interview, just be honest and be yourself. All applicants for DV are treated impartially and consistently, irrespective of gender, race, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation and other protected characteristics.


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.

This Program / Vacancy is closed to applications.