About the job

Job summary

An exciting opportunity exists to join the Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) team within Defence Intelligence (DI); posts are currently available at RAF Wyton, Cambridgeshire, and in Whitehall in central London.  We are seeking proactive, inquisitive and motivated individuals, willing to help drive forward the team to ensure that it is best positioned to address the UK’s key intelligence requirements.

DI CNI currently has multiple all-source analyst positions available, within a team that plays a unique role within the UK intelligence community looking at the oil, gas, electric power, water, transportation, and communications sectors of countries of interest around the world. 

DI is part of the Ministry of Defence and provides intelligence analysis, specialist outputs and advice which supports decision-making across all levels of Defence and government. DI is the MoD’s central provider of strategic level intelligence. Serving a diverse customer base across the department and Whitehall, DI is responsible for providing timely intelligence products and assessments, giving perspective to the diverse and complex challenges that Defence faces in a constantly evolving world. DI is also a key element of the UK’s national intelligence community, working closely with partners across Defence, the Security Services and other intelligence assessment bodies (such as the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) and Joint Intelligence Organisation (JIO)). Most recently DI has been leading on the provision of intelligence assessments to support the Russia / Ukraine crisis.

DI’s all-source analysts are part of a dynamic new cross-Government Intelligence Assessment profession, supporting analysts in pursuing rewarding careers in intelligence assessment.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Strategic Command is going through a significant transformation programme which aims to improve the way the Command conducts its business and delivers for Defence and the nation. As a consequence of this, all posts within Strategic Command Headquarters and in time the wider organisation, are/will be subject to review and potential changes as we continuously improve across the period of the transformation programme. These changes may be minor or could be more substantive and will generate new opportunities.  Throughout, the Command’s transformation programme is committed to following the MOD’s framework on managing and supporting people through the change process and places an emphasis on early and open consultation and engagement with the Command’s personnel and Trade Unions.

Job description

You will work within the Critical National Infrastructure team, a multi-discipline, joint civilian-military, cross-site team split across MoD Main Building in London and RAF Wyton in Cambridgeshire. This specialist and unique team comprises of all-source, imagery and geospatial analysts (part of NCGI) supported by embedded infrastructure and engineering experts.

The team plays a unique role within the UK intelligence community, focusing on the analysis of civilian, military and dual use critical national infrastructure, including utilities, transport and communications of foreign countries in support of UK operational requirements including humanitarian relief and non-combatant evacuation operations.  Most recently the team have been providing specialist insights into the unfolding events in Ukraine, many of which have reached the top decision-makers within UK Government and wider Defence.

The team also plays a critical and unique role in providing assessments to support other analytical teams covering economic, political and security issues, as well as decision makers in the MoD and across Whitehall.

All source analyst roles within the CNI team cover a wider variety of topics from electric power, water and oil & gas, to understanding multi-nodal transportation networks within regions of concern.  The roles will undertake in-depth and specialist analysis to understand the implications and impacts of new energy technologies, decarbonisation and climate change on infrastructure.

You will work closely with other DI teams, wider UK government (including the JIO (Joint Intelligence Organisation), Department for Transport, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and FCDO (Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office), and international partners, sharing understanding and assessment in a variety of collaborative environments by providing written assessments and verbal presentations.

Responsibilities

You must model the DI values and behaviours in daily work and interactions and support the DI diversity and inclusion strategy. Adhere to all security policy and procedures.

As an all-source analyst you must also:

1. Deliver and communicate high quality, impactful intelligence assessments (verbal and written) that adhere to the Professional Head of Intelligence Assessment’s Analytic Standards and DI guidance.
2. Critically evaluate information and intelligence. Apply a range of critical and creative approaches and techniques to process information and answer customer intelligence requirements. Maintain and develop analytic skills. Promote good tradecraft and give and accept constructive challenge.
3. Build subject matter expertise for your specialism within infrastructure and maintain a high level of situational awareness, using all resources available to you. Act as an expert across the intelligence community.
4. Ensure intelligence gaps are identified; actively seek to fill gaps through conducting research and tasking collection following the relevant guidance, process and legislation. Engage with efforts to innovate data exploitation.
5. Organise information systematically in accordance with best practice and relevant IKM policies on all IT systems. Maintain robust audit trails for intelligence product.
6. Build and maintain positive working relationships with key customers and ensure intelligence output is aligned to their requirements, decision-making processes and timelines.
7. Participate fully in relevant national and international intelligence community collaboration processes and activities.

Person specification

The post holder, must have the following skills:

• Critical thinking
• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Strong organisational skills.
• Strong IT skills, including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
• Ability to prioritise, work under pressure and to meet strict deadlines.

You do not need to be a technical infrastructure expert or have past intelligence analysis experience, but these are an advantage.  Good numeracy skills, and being comfortable dealing with, and conveying, scale will also be advantageous.

Successful candidates should hold or be prepared to undertake functional intelligence training including the Defence Intelligence IT Course and Defence Intelligence Analysis Module courses and pass the subsequent City and Guilds exam in intelligence assessment.  Additional specialist training regarding infrastructure related topics will also be available to successful candidates.

In DI, our people solve problems, further understanding and give perspective to the diverse and complex Defence threats and challenges in a rapidly changing world. Together our civilians and military personnel inform decision making in Defence, manage complex finance programmes and develop new innovative technologies.

In DI, we believe your unique experiences, views and understanding of the world could provide a vital perspective and contribution to our work. We recognise that great minds do not think alike and are striving to increase our diversity representation at all levels. As an equal opportunity employer, we hire, train and promote people based on merit and aspire to create an inclusive workplace free of discrimination. We also offer flexible working arrangements such as flexi-time, job share and compressed hours.

All job adverts in DI are subject to fair and open competition.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £35,290, Ministry of Defence contributes £9,528 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.

Candidates should apply through Civil Service Jobs, using Civil Service Success Profiles. We are looking for evidence of skills, knowledge and experience relevant to the job.

Reference - Success Profiles - Civil Service Behaviours (publishing.service.gov.uk)

When choosing your Behaviour examples, please make sure you use real life scenarios that relate to your own experiences. Whilst technology may help to enhance your written submission, presenting the ideas of others or those generated by technology, could result in your application being rejected.

Candidates should provide a CV (to provide CV details to include job history and qualification details) and a personal statement explaining your interest in the role and the relevant experience you bring in no more than 250 words.  Please also state if you have a preference on work location (Cambridgeshire vs Central London).

In the event of a large number of applicants, the applications will be sifted on Working Together, personal statement and CV only. 

At Sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profiles Behaviours:

• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing

At Interview, you will be assessed against the following Success Profiles Behaviours and Technical Skills:

Behaviours

• Leadership
• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical Skills

• PHIA – Written and Visual communication of Intelligence Assessment (PHIA-proficient)

The sift is expected to take place during August 2024 (the interviews will take place at least ten days after the sift). These timings are subject to change and the recruiting line manager will be in touch to sort out interview dates and locations after the sift is held for those invited to interview.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is enhanced developed vetting, further to the DV as listed below. Any appointment will be provisional until this is complete. 

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact: DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk .

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical.

The role currently being advertised has not been assessed as business critical and is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points based system. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

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

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.