Some posts may require regular attendance at partner sites, with an expectation of working from these locations for at least 50% of the working week.

Person specification

We’re looking for enthusiastic, proactive and organised team players who enjoy working with people and building strong relationships. You’ll be comfortable engaging with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, working collaboratively across government, industry and the wider cyber community to build effective partnerships and deliver shared outcomes.

Experience of contributing to fast-paced, high-profile work with real-world consequences is desirable, alongside sound judgement, adaptability and the ability to navigate ambiguity. The ability to support the development of creative and practical solutions to new and evolving challenges will also be valuable.

A willingness to represent the NCSC externally, including stakeholder engagement, meetings and briefing activities, would be advantageous.

Knowledge of cyber security and/or AI and their application is strongly preferred. Relevant qualifications, certifications, or professional experience would be advantageous. Regardless of your starting point, we will support you to develop the knowledge and skills needed to succeed and continue building your expertise throughout your career. Subject to achieving the required skills, postholders may also become eligible for specialist pay.

GCHQ Competencies

As part of the selection process, the NCSC will assess you using competencies aligned with those used across the UK Intelligence Community. These are closely based on the Civil Service Behaviours, so if you’re familiar with them, you’re already on the right track.

At Level 3, we’ll be looking at how you demonstrate the following:

• Seeing the Big Picture (Civil Service Behaviour Equivalent: Seeing the Big Picture)
• Communicating and Influencing (Civil Service Behaviour Equivalent: Communicating and Influencing)
• Working Collaboratively (Civil Service Behaviour Equivalent: Working Together)
• Making Effective Decisions (Civil Service Behaviour Equivalent: Making Effective Decisions)
• Delivering Outcomes (Civil Service Behaviour Equivalent: Delivering at Pace)

Salary and Benefits

You’ll receive a starting salary of £45,841, which includes a concessionary payment of £2,758.

Candidates with technical skills in information assurance or related fields may qualify for specialist skills payments ranging from £5,460 to £25,116+ per annum. Skills will be assessed at interview.

For roles based in London, you’ll receive an additional £6,250 London Allowance.

Other Benefits Include:

• 25 days’ annual leave, automatically rising to 30 days after five years' service, plus an additional 10.5 days of public and privilege holidays
• Opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme
• An interest-free season ticket loan
• A cycle-to-work scheme
• Facilities such as a subsidised gym, restaurant and on-site coffee bars (at some locations)
• Paid parental and adoption leave
• Excellent pension scheme - Civil Service pension

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Equal opportunities

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, ages, 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 such as women, people from ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.

Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our website:

Disability Confident

GCHQ is proud to have achieved Leader status within the Department for Work and Pensions’ 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. As a Disability Confident Leader, we aim to ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants who best meet the essential minimum criteria for this position are offered an interview, where it is practical for us to do so. This is known as Offer of an Interview.

Role

To secure an interview for this role, you must meet the following minimum criteria, which will be assessed at the CV sift stage:

• You'll be required to reach the minimum pass mark for the online Situational Judgement Test (SJT), which assesses criteria important for all roles in our organisation.
• Demonstrate evidence of supporting relationship management both internally to their organisation and externally across government and with industry.
• Demonstrate evidence of supporting fast paced, high-stakes projects with real-world consequences. Previous experience handling ambiguity and supporting creative solutions to new problems.

There is a wide range of extra support available throughout the recruitment process to enable you to do your best. Please see our website for information on reasonable adjustments we can offer.

What To Expect

Our recruitment process is fair, transparent and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:

• Initial online application.
• Online Situational Judgement Test (SJT) in which you rate the appropriateness of responses to a series of short scenarios.
• Application sift.
• Online Interview.
• If successful, you’ll receive a conditional offer of employment.

Please note you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 to 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you to continue in your current employment until you have received your final job offer.

Before you apply

To work at NCSC, you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. You can read our full eligibility criteria here.

This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. You can find out more about the vetting process here.

Please note we have a strict drugs policy, so once