The Insolvency Service
Criminal Investigator
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Edinburgh
Job Summary
The Insolvency Service is a leading government agency which plays a crucial role in providing essential services to the public and to business. The work we do is important to the proper functioning of markets, the economy in general and support for thousands of people each year who are in financial difficulty.
Investigation and Enforcement Services (IES) Directorate aims to deliver and promote a range of investigation and enforcement activities, both civil and criminal in nature, to support fair and open markets. We do this by effectively enforcing the statutory company and insolvency regimes, maintaining public confidence in those regimes, and reducing the harm caused to victims of fraudulent activity and to the business community.
Inclusive and diverse teams are important to us. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups underrepresented in our workforce. The Insolvency Service strives to ensure that the agency is a safe, inclusive, and welcoming place for everybody to bring their true self to work and to help the agency to achieve its diversity objectives. We have 9 active employee network groups available to join or become an ally, these include, Carers Network, Disability network group, Employee Assistance, Representatives, FACES Network Group, LGBT+, Mind Matters, Part Time Workers, The Shed - Men’s Network Group and Women’s Network Group.
We offer full-time, part-time, job share and flexible ways of working. We value capability, technical skills and experience and we place great emphasis on lifetime development to support our people. We encourage our employees to become more involved in areas they feel strongly about, whether it be for the benefit of the agency, through our Engagement network or in their own local communities via volunteering opportunities.
The Insolvency Service is a great place to work, learn and grow your career!
Job Description
The Criminal Investigation Team is responsible for conducting criminal investigations concerning insolvency and corporate related criminal offences, which support the agency’s objective to tackle financial wrongdoing. The team works closely with civil investigation teams, the Crown and Procurator Fiscal Service, our Legal Services Directorate internally, and other Law Enforcement partner organisations, to ensure that we fulfil our role in delivering Governmental strategies. We strive to target offences under the Companies House Reform Legislation, along with others, including misuse of government backed Covid recovery funds.
We are recruiting experienced criminal investigators for our criminal investigation teams in Scotland working from our Edinburgh office. You will play a key role of investigating offences under the Insolvency Act 1986, Companies Act 2006, Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, Fraud Act 2006, Theft Act 1968 and Economic Crime and Transparency Act 2023, Common Law Fraud, and Embezzlement offences.
You will report to the investigation manager and the chief investigator, based at our Manchester office.
Some travel to obtain witness statements and interview suspects will be required, in addition to attending meetings with stakeholders and other regulators. Occasional overnight stays may be required.
The job holder must be flexible regarding the length and timing of the working day to meet the demands of the business.
Occasional evening/weekend work may be necessary – to be worked in compliance with the European Working Time Directive.
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Responsibilities
As a Criminal Investigator, you will:
- investigate a range of criminal offences including complex fraud, bankruptcy, insolvency and covid related offences
- obtain statements from witnesses in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014
- interview persons suspected of offences under the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 (Solicitor Rights)
- prepare case files with detailed evidence - based reports on the findings of investigations, in accordance with the relevant procedures contained within the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, Criminal Justice & Licencing (Scotland) Act 2010
- work closely with line management to effectively manage your caseload, reviewing the progress of cases, maintaining quality and meeting legislative demands
- ensure quality in the preparation of cases, leading to criminal proceedings or disclosure to other regulators
- work closely with the Crown and Procurator Fiscal Office
- take the lead and drive follow up actions arising from criminal cases
- contribute to discussion with lawyers and counsel, being a witness in appropriate cases and attending court as a witness/disclosure officer
- work closely with other investigation/prosecution/enforcement disciplinary agencies and stakeholders to ensure enforcement action is progressed appropriately and promptly, ensuring value for money
- contribute to the performance of the team and the achievement of the team targets by embedding continuous improvement activity, as well as maintaining investigation standards
Person specification
A Successful Candidate Will Have
- significant and demonstrable criminal/fraud investigation background, desirably gained within a Government Department Agency, Police Service, or similar organisation
- excellent analytical skills
- membership of or willingness to join the Government Counter Fraud Programme
- the ability to plan operations and initiatives, whilst prioritising cases against competing procedures and deadlines
- a calm, authoritative and adaptable approach, with keen problem-solving skills
Essential Criteria
The essential criteria for this role are as follows:
- a full UK driving licence (own vehicle is desirable)
- excellent communication skills, used to working in partnership with fellow law enforcement professionals and colleagues including witnesses, victims, legal representatives, cross government and enforcement agencies.
- comprehensive, in practice, experience that demonstrates how you have led cases to successful outcomes, through applying the rules of criminal evidence, using:
- Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995
- Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016
- Criminal Justice & Licencing (Scotland) 2010
- Victim and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014
- UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018: Rights of data subjects
Desirable Criteria
The Desirable Criteria For This Role Are As Follows
- knowledge of legislation affecting bankruptcy and companies
- knowledge and experience of applying for confiscation of the proceeds of crime under POCA 2002 legislation
Further Information
The role requires the successful candidate to have, or to attain, National Security Vetting, at SC clearance level; current holders of SC (or above) can transfer their clearance across. The Insolvency Service will commence SC for those who require it as part of the onboarding process.
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From 1st October 2026, applicants will be required to meet nationality and residency requirements so that National Security Vetting (NSV) checks can be conducted. If you want to learn more, visit NSV national requirements (opens in a new window).
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Demonstrate how you manage material in line with Criminal Justice & Licencing (Scotland) Act 2010.
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £39,259, Insolvency Service contributes £11,373 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).
We want you to have a good work-life balance and want to support you in all that you do, so we offer a great benefits package including:
- flexible working arrangements and flexi-time
- full time new entrants to the Civil Service and those Civil Servants on modernised terms and conditions will be entitled to 25 days leave increasing on a sliding scale to 30 days after 5 years’ service
- in addition to this you are entitled to 8 public/bank holidays plus an additional day of privilege leave
- competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave
- 5 days paid leave for learning and development
- 5 days paid for volunteering
- a Cycle to work scheme
- staff have access to an employee assistance programme, Workplace Wellness, for confidential, independent support and advice during difficult times in either their professional or personal life
Your pension is a valuable part of your total reward package where the employer makes a significant contribution to the cost of your pension. Your contributions come out of your salary before any tax is taken. This means, if you pay tax, your take-home pay will not be reduced by the full amount of your contribution; and your pension will continue to provide valuable benefits for you and your family if you are too ill to continue to work or die before you retire. For more information, visit www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.
As part of the sift process, you will be asked to complete:
- CV
- Personal Statement
- Technical Skills
Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the CV, assessing candidates against the essential criteria. Only those who meet the essential criteria at this stage will proceed to a full assessment of their application. If a candidate does not meet the minimum requirements during the initial sift, the remainder of their application will not be reviewed. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to interview.
Where high volumes of strong applications are expected or received, we may raise the ‘benchmark’ minimum score required at the sift stage. If a high volume of candidates meet the benchmark score, we may further raise the score required for interview selection. Scores will be applied fairly and consistently. Applicants eligible under a recruitment scheme may, where appropriate, continue to be considered against the agreed ‘benchmark’ score
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