About the job

Job summary

GCHQ is an intelligence, cyber and security agency with a mission to keep the UK safe. We use cutting-edge technology, ingenuity and partnerships to identify, analyse and disrupt threats. Working with our intelligence partners MI5 and SIS, we protect the UK from terrorism, cyber-attacks and espionage. At GCHQ you’ll do varied and fascinating work in a supportive and inclusive environment that puts the emphasis on teamwork. 

Working in an admin role at GCHQ means playing a key role in the service behind the UK’s Intelligence Services. By providing mission-critical business support, you’ll have a hugely positive impact at the heart of what we do. It’s a chance to develop your skills, gain new experiences, and get plenty of support along the way. 

Job description

As an Admin Officer, you’ll be assigned to a specific department depending on business needs, where you’ll be expected to stay for a minimum of 18 months. Each business area offers diverse challenges and interesting insights. Day-to-day, you might be organising meetings, managing information and records, booking travel, or looking after visitors to our buildings.

Person specification

You might have just finished school, graduated, or already be working in an admin-related role and want to bring your skills somewhere new. You’ll need a minimum of two GCSEs (or equivalent) including maths and English at grade C/4 or above, or relevant experience. We’re after lots of initiative, collaboration and great organisational skills. You’ll also need to be comfortable talking to a range of people and able to pay close attention to detail. A good understanding of Microsoft Office is also important. 

There’s no ‘type’ of person we look for, and we’re committed to ensuring people from all backgrounds and with levels of experience feel confident and comfortable in our workplace. Different insights, perspectives are welcomed – whether you’ve worked in admin before or this is your first job, you’ll always be encouraged to share ideas and be yourself. 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £25,856, GCHQ contributes £6,981 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

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

• Eligibility questions – you’ll answer a number of questions based on the requirements for the role. 

• Initial form – you’ll create a personal account and complete our equal opportunities monitoring questions. If you do not feel comfortable completing equal opportunities monitoring, there is a ‘prefer not to say’ option for each question. 

• Application form – you'll be asked to complete an application which will cover relevant experience, your motivation for applying and 2 application questions aligned to being an Admin Officer, but which require no prior knowledge or experience of the role. 

• To process your application, it is essential that you provide all the information requested in the application form. Our recruitment team will complete an application sift and successful applicants will be invited to the next stage which is an online interview. 

• Online interview – this interview will take place online over a video conferencing system. You won’t be required to visit any of our premises. This interview will further explore that you have the potential skills and motivation to join West. 

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. 

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission. The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.