Counter Terrorism Sanctions Officer

We are looking for a person who has the right set of skills for the role, who demonstrates the values of our organisation, who is motivated to come and work with us, and who can demonstrate an ability to quickly develop an understanding of a complex and sensitive area.

Overall, this role is an excellent opportunity for an ambitious individual to take ownership of high profile, and high risk internationally focussed work, and to develop a large network of stakeholders inside and outside of government.

If not already held, the successful candidate must be willing to undergo the Developed Vetting process for this role however, they are able to start in post with Security Check whilst DV is in progress.

If candidates require reasonable adjustments during the application process, or online test process, please allow sufficient time (at least 5 working days prior to the job closing date) to request support, to allow us to support candidates as best as possible. Please note that there is no candidate support from Friday 5pm until Monday 9am.

If you would like to speak to the hiring manager informally prior to the closing date for applications to find out more about the job, please email counterterrorism@hmtreasury.gov.uk.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.

Responsibilities

The CT Sanctions Team is responsible for the administration of terrorist asset freezes in the UK. The key CT sanctions regimes implemented in the UK are The ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida (United Nations Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, The Counter-Terrorism (International Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 and The Counter-Terrorism (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. In the CT Team the successful candidates could find themselves undertaking a range of tasks and responsibilities including:

• Assist with the management of CT sanctions designations under the Counter-Terrorism (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 developing an in-depth knowledge of the regime and reviewing designation proposals from partners. The post holder will have input on cases under other CT sanctions regimes. This includes providing concise, accurate and timely advice to support Ministers and senior officials in making sensitive decisions which often carry significant legal risk.
• Keeping senior officials and ministers adequately informed of developments within regimes and keeping a broad watching brief on relevant sanctioned persons and countries.
• Managing and assisting with relevant licensing requests from receipt through to issue where appropriate, working closely with Treasury Legal Advisers on the licensing application process and in assessing the legal risk of granting or refusing licences.
• Leading and assisting with investigative casework in relation to suspected sanctions breaches and decide the most appropriate compliance outcomes, working with the Police where appropriate.
• Providing support to the Head of Litigation when decisions under CT sanctions are legally challenged. This includes working with counsel, Treasury Legal Advisers, the Government Legal Department, and other departments.
• Work closely with HM Treasury & FCDO policy teams on policy and operational implications of proposed new CT sanctions measures, developing and maintaining productive relationships across Whitehall on regime implementation.
• Develop a thorough understanding of the CT Sanctions regimes legal framework and apply this in ad hoc advice to Ministers, members of the public, and external stakeholder groups.

Across the team, strong communication will be a really important part of your role. Every day you will be communicating with different people, internally and externally. You will need to distil complex detail into clear recommendations and be able to explain and defend those recommendations in writing and verbally. This could be as part of casework decisions or in operational policy work. You will be expected to work closely with colleagues in other branches to provide casework input to cross-branch work.

Successful candidates will have the ability to develop and analyse information, think creatively and independently to arrive at supportable conclusions when sometimes data is incomplete. Previous experience of financial sanctions and/or counter-terrorism is desired, but not essential for these roles. Most important is the ability to quickly gain an understanding of a range of competing complex issues and the ability to make evidenced-based recommendations and astute judgements under pressure, deploying evidence and information across a range of sources.

We are looking for a person who has the right set of skills for the role, who demonstrates the values of our organisation, who is motivated to come and work with us, and who can demonstrate an ability to quickly develop an understanding of a complex and sensitive area.

Overall, this role is an excellent opportunity for an ambitious individual to take ownership of high profile, and high risk internationally focussed work, and to develop a large network of stakeholders inside and outside of government.

If not already held, the successful candidate must be willing to undergo the Developed Vetting process for this role however, they are able to start in post with Security Check whilst DV is in progress.

If candidates require reasonable adjustments during the application process, or online test process, please allow sufficient time (at least 5 working days prior to the job closing date) to request support, to allow us to support candidates as best as possible. Please note that there is no candidate support from Friday 5pm until Monday 9am.

If you would like to speak to the hiring manager informally prior to the closing date for applications to find out more about the job, please email counterterrorism@hmtreasury.gov.uk.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.

Person specification

Pre-Application Online Test

Prior to submitting your application, you will be invited to complete Civil Service online test relevant to the role. Once you start your application, you will receive an email invitation with details on how to proceed and will only be able to submit your full application if you meet the pass mark.

For this post, you will be asked to complete;

• Civil Service Judgement Test (Judgement Test)

For more information on Civil Service tests, and for guidance on how to practice and prepare for them, please visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/civil-service-online-tests

Application Stage

Application Form

Applications should consist of a CV including your employment history, and a 250-word statement demonstrating evidence of each of the below shortlisting criteria. Your CV and employment