About the job

Job summary

This is a Technical Apprenticeship like no other. As well as acquiring electronic and engineering skills you will be at the heart of the UL's fight against serious and organised crime. Working in the NCA's Technical Operations Dept. you will be helping pursue and bring to justice those criminals who present the highest risk to this country. This exciting programme starts in September 2023 and offers a mix of classroom learning and practical experience, including a variety of research, development and project work. You'll be taking on real world business challenges that will stretch and develop your expertise in areas such as electrical, electronic and mechanical engineering.

Job description

You will be working towards becoming a G5 Technical Officer on succesful completion of the apprenticeship, if you are offered a permanent post. This role is - To deliver technical solutions, in high risk environments, employing modern technology and sensitive tactics, in order to develop intelligence and aquire evidence which contributes to cutting serious and organised crime affecting the UK. Support the operational lead in deploying technical capabilitieson behalf of the NCA to the highest standards. To develop, modify and adapt innovative technological solutions which enable the delivery of covert investigative activity against agreed strategic objectives. Provide information and advice on new technologies / equipment to ensure the organisation utilises the latest covert technical capabilities. Comply with H&S legislation, including risk assessements in line with operational procedures. Develop and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders in order to foster productive working relationships and collaborative working. represent Technical Operations at a local level, technical conferences and other specialist law enforcement forums.

***To be considered, you will need to successfully complete SC Enhanced clearance before commencing the role.***

Person specification

During the 4 years of your apprenticeship you will be working towards gaining a L3 qualification on a Technical SupportTechnician course and Engineering BTEC L4. Your 1st year will be almost full time at our chosen training providers location. For the remaining 3 years you will have one day a week, day release with the remaining time learning skills of our trade. You will meet and engage with other members of the community, suppliers and practitioners with numerous days and nights away.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £22,950, National Crime Agency contributes £6,196 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

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

If you wish to apply for this vacancy, you must submit your application by 23:55 on Sunday 7th January 2024.

During the application process  you will be asked to complete a personal statement assessing the below criteria.

• Information technology skills including proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and other web-based platforms.
• Good analytical and technical problem-solving skills e.g. fault finding and rectification. and their CV to be assessed at sift.

Once submitted your application will be acknowledged by the Government Recruitment Service.

After submission of the first stage of your application, you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Numerical Test.

If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application. Candidates that have a current banked Verbal Reasoning / Numerical Reasoning test score will not be invited to retake the test. Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended).

The closing date for the tests is 23:55 on 7th January 2024. If you fail to complete the online test before the deadline your application will be withdrawn.

Do not leave completing the tests until the last minute in case you experience any access or technical issues. There may not be technical support available after business hours and after 3pm on the closing date of 5th January 2024.

While the tests should work on most operating systems and modern browsers with a good internet connection, we cannot guarantee that every combination will work. At the beginning, the test will check which browser you are using, and alert you if it is likely to be incompatible.

It is highly recommended that you complete the online tests on a desktop computer, not a mobile phone or tablet.

Please note that online tests associated with this vacancy are not subject to time limits.

Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the Civil Service Jobs website.

You will be asked to complete a CV as part of the application process,  Please see the candidate information pack for more information.

Once submitted your application will be acknowledged by the Government Recruitment Service.

Candidates must pass this criteria for their application to be progressed.

A panel will then assess your application to select those demonstrating the best fit for the role by considering the evidence you have provided against the criteria set out in the Entry Criteria section.

Failure to address any or all of these may affect your application.

Sift results are expected to be released w/c 26th January 2024.

Interviews will take place throughout February 2024 - locations to be confirmed. Please be advised that the type of interview (eg. virtual/face-to-face) may be subject to change and successful candidates will be notified of this prior to attending. However the interview is conducted, the interview criteria will remain as shown on page 17 of the candidate pack.

The above sift and interview dates are an indicative timeline.

Should you be successful at sift but cannot attend on the interview date(s) listed the recruitment team cannot guarantee an alternative date. Please contact the recruitment team.

You will then be asked to attend an interview in order to have a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence. <> The interview process will include a presentation.

Full details of the assessment process will be made available to shortlisted candidates.

Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. Any instances of plagiarism including copying of examples/answers from internet sources will result in a withdrawal of your application. Further action, including disciplinary action, may be considered in such cases involving internal candidates. Providing false or misleading information would be contrary to the core values of honesty and integrity expected of all Civil Servants.

Multi-Location

Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be appointed in merit order for each location. You will be asked to state your location preference on your application.

Please be aware that you can be posted to any location that you put in your preferences. If you would only like to be posted to one location, please confirm one location only. If you are posted to a location that you have requested and you do not accept that location, you may not be offered another role.

Please note, only advertised location can be offered. Notes populated in a free text box will not be taken into consideration.

Near Miss

Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in the NCA which may be at a lower grade, but have a potential skills match.

Hybrid Working

Here at the NCA we have a hybrid working arrangement in place enabling officers to work a proportion of their role remotely. Eligibility and the degree of home working will vary depending on the requirements of the role. Further details can be discussed at offer stage.

Reasonable Adjustment

We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to all. As part of our application process you will be prompted to provide details of any reasonable adjustment to our recruitment process that you may need. If you have a disability or long-term condition (a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long term effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities protected under the Equality Act 2010) and need us to make any adjustments or do anything differently during the recruitment process, please let us know by emailing ncarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Please contact us by emailing ncarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk or calling 0117 372 0000 as soon as possible before the closing date if you wish to discuss any reasonable adjustments before applying.

Inclusion and Accessibility

The NCA embraces and values diversity in all forms. Being truly reflective of the communities we serve and building a culture where everyone can perform at their best is critical to leading the UK’s fight against serious and organised crime – something which affects us all. We want to recruit and retain the very best and broadest diversity of officers so the NCA welcomes applications from individuals from all backgrounds.

We are proud to be an inclusive, equal opportunities employer. As a Disability Confident Leader we are committed to ensuring that all candidates are treated fairly throughout the recruitment process.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact ncarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

VETTING REQUIREMENTS SC

All security clearances require you to provide evidence of your UK footprint where you have been physically present in the UK.

The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years.

Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.

If you require SC clearance you will need to provide evidence of the below requirements.

Checks will be made against:

•   Departmental or company records (personnel files, staff reports, sick leave reports and security records)
•   UK criminal records covering both spent and unspent criminal records.
•   Your credit and financial history with a credit reference agency
•   Security Services records

We encourage all candidates to thoroughly review the candidate pack which explains the role further before submitting an application.

If you have any specific queries about the role that are not covered by the candidate pack, please contact:

ncarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

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

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (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

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). 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. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.