Careers at MI5, MI6 and GCHQ
Occupational Health Advisor
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Department
Specialist Roles
Location(s)
London
Salary
£54,752
Job description
Flexible working: Although this role requires a regular on-site presence and cannot be undertaken from home, we recognise the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance. That’s why we offer a range of flexible working options, including part-time and compressed hours, together with flexibility around working patterns and start and finish times where operationally possible.
About us
MI5 keeps the country safe from serious threats like terrorism and attempts by states to harm the UK, its people, and its way of life. We carry out investigations by obtaining, analysing, and assessing intelligence, and then work with a range of partners, including MI6 and GCHQ to disrupt these threats. Through our protective security arm, we provide advice and guidance to government, businesses, and other organisations on how to keep themselves safe. A role in MI5 means you’ll do unique and challenging work in a supportive and encouraging environment, making a real difference to UK security.
The role
As our on-site occupational health advisor, you’ll play a crucial part in protecting and promoting the health and wellbeing of colleagues. With opportunities for career development and plenty of unique challenges, you can expect lots of variety and autonomy as you support employees’ wellbeing, enabling them to carry out their mission-critical work safely.
Day to day, you’ll manage casework, support employees with existing health conditions and help teams to build a culture that prioritises physical and mental health. Other duties include providing travel clearances, risk assessments, health surveillance, and fitness-for-work medicals. You’ll use your expertise to deliver practical, timely recommendations that support both employee wellbeing and organisational needs.
Working as part of a multidisciplinary team, you’ll collaborate with colleagues from Wellbeing, Safety and Psychology, as well as other healthcare professionals. Opportunities to shadow different teams across the organisation will help you build a deeper understanding of how the business operates and how best to support colleagues, while working closely with partners such as HR and other key stakeholders.
Occasional UK travel may be required, and there may be opportunities for international travel, depending on business needs.
About you
As a nurse registered on NMC Part 1, you’ll have experience working in occupational health and a good understanding of occupational health practice and employment legislation. Experience managing varied and complex caseloads is essential, including physical and mental health surveillance, risk assessments and fitness-for-work medicals. A qualification in occupational health and registration on NMC Part 3 would be advantageous, and there may be opportunities to work towards further occupational health qualifications once in post.
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Sound decision-making skills are essential, alongside the ability to provide evidence-based and practical solutions. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, combined with a keen eye for detail, will enable you to build effective relationships with employees, partners and management.
Training and development
From day one, you’ll receive an organisational induction and be paired with a buddy to help you settle in. We’re proud to offer an inclusive and supportive working environment and, as an organisation that values and nurtures colleagues both professionally and personally, we’re dedicated to helping you fulfil your potential.
From a wide range of courses through our internal training academy to opportunities to develop professionally and work towards qualifications in occupational health, we’re committed to helping you make the most of your skills.
Rewards and benefits
You’ll receive a starting salary of £54,752, plus other benefits, including:
- 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
- an excellent pension scheme
- 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
What to expect
Our recruitment process is fair, transparent and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:
- An initial online application form including pre-screening questions to ensure you meet our eligibility criteria.
- Online Situational Judgement Test (SJT) in which you rate the appropriateness of responses to a series of short scenarios.
- Interview - including technical and competency-based questions.
If successful, you’ll receive a conditional offer of employment and progress to the vetting stage of the process.
Please note that you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 to 9 months to complete, including vetting, so we advise you to continue in your current employment until you have received your final job offer.
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Before you apply
To work at MI5, you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. Read about our eligibility criteria.
This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. Find out more about the vetting process.
Please note we have a strict drugs policy. Once you start your application, you must not take any recreational drugs, and you’ll need to declare any previous drug use at the relevant stage.
Before you apply, we advise you to consider setting up a separate email address for your contact with us to ensure that your personal and application correspondence remain separate. Try to avoid including identifying information in your email address, such as your first name, surname and/or date of birth. This is good practice and will help you manage your application with us more securely.
The role is based in London, so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application. An interest-free loan is available to assist with relocation to privately rented accommodation when taking up an offer of employment.
We offer reasonable reimbursement of travel costs for candidates attending in-person appointments during the recruitment and vetting process. Full details will be provided with your interview or assessment invitation.
Reimbursement is discretionary and will only be made in line with the Candidate Expenses Policy, as amended from time to time. Candidates must book their own travel, using the most economical option, and provide original hard copy receipts for reimbursement.
Please note that you should only submit your application while in the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK before starting your application. Applying from outside the UK will affect our ability to progress your application. You should not discuss your application with anyone other than your partner or a close family member.
Right to withdraw statement:
Please be aware that we reserve the right to bring forward the closing date for this role once a certain number of applications have been received. We therefore encourage you to submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.
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