About the job

Job summary

This is a fantastic opportunity for a talented individual to learn and develop a broad range of skills that will stand them in good stead for a whole range of career pathways within the Civil Service, from Intelligence Leadership to Operations Management strategy roles.

Job description

The Joint Intelligence Organisation (JIO) primarily supports the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), the National Security Council (NSC), the Prime Minister and other key decision-makers by providing authoritative, robust all-source intelligence assessment on a vast range of national security matters.

This team is at the heart of the JIO, setting strategic direction for and delivering on the business unit’s HR, Finance, Commercial, Security, STRAP, IT & Tech, Information Management, Estates and Crisis Management functions. The successful candidate in this role will be responsible for designing and implementing the strategic vision across these functions, as well as leading the team that runs the day-to-day business operations. 

You would provide financial and budgetary advice to the JIC Chair (Permanent Secretary), Directors and the JIO management board, managing a multi-million pound budget and working to secure the best outcomes in future spending review periods. You would conduct proactive and strategic workforce planning to ensure the JIO identifies and retains the best talent. And you would engage with specialists and experts in the fields of commercial, estates, IT, security, and HMG crisis functions to protect the JIO’s interests and identify opportunities for investment to build new innovative capabilities, and improve existing ones.

You will work at the heart of the UK’s national security community, building key relationships with colleagues and senior leaders from across the Cabinet Office, UK Intelligence community, and key international partners. This is an excellent opportunity for a talented individual to develop a broad range of skills that will stand them in good stead for a whole range of career pathways within the Civil Service.

You will be exposed to an intelligence environment working at the highest possible classifications within HMG, requiring you to play a leading role in ensuring the security of JIO staff, our intelligence, and our assets. Your organisational skills will help you manage how the JIO operates on a daily basis, ensuring efficient delivery of core services by your small, expert team. 

Your ability to manage multiple priorities effectively when under pressure enables you to respond to unpredictable requirements when they arise without losing focus or progression of longer-term goals. And your management skills will help you get the best out of your team, playing to their strengths and helping them develop weaker areas, whilst being a role model that echoes the behaviours and culture of the JIO.

You can read more about working for the JIO in the information pack attached at the bottom of this advert.

Role and Responsibilities:

If your application is successful, you will lead a team of 11 FTE involved in carrying out all the functions of the Business Operations remit, namely:

• HR and People: You will be responsible for the strategic workforce planning of the JIO, making sure we not only have the best talent in the right place at the right time, but also leading the JIO’s mission to maximise diversity and inclusion at all levels. The Business Operations team manages some of the JIO’s people processes locally (a somewhat unique situation in the Cabinet Office) to help protect our officers and the sensitive work they do; you will oversee those day-to-day functions, building and strengthening relationships with key partners in the Cabinet Office, CS HR, and wider Intelligence Assessment community.
• IT/Technology: You will lead the future IT strategy for the JIO (engaging with the wider Cabinet Office and National Security community / UKIC where appropriate), as well as ensuring adequate provision of current technological capabilities across high and low classification systems.
• Security: You will lead the JIO’s engagement with Cabinet Office Security, vetting and STRAP teams to ensure the security provisions for existing and new JIO staff are delivered and maintained appropriately. As well as ensuring our protocols and procedures for handling the most secret intelligence are in force and fit for purpose, you’ll also ensure the physical security of our working environment, meeting the needs of both the security accreditors and JIO as a whole.
• Finance and Commercial: You’ll take a strategic lead on the JIO’s financial and commercial requirements, providing advice and being accountable to the JIC Chair as our Principal Budget Holder. You’ll establish the budgetary profile for the JIO each year and work with your team to ensure related processes - such as forecasting and invoicing/processing - are carried out to required standards. Additionally, you’ll run the JIO’s commercial oversight, assisting your team and other JIO colleagues in procurement activities, contract management and ensuring sensitive procurement chains are protected.
• Business Continuity & Crisis Management: As Business Continuity & Crisis Manager for the JIO, you will be responsible for ensuring the JIO’s ability to adapt and respond in and to critical incidents is maintained, supported and agile. During a crisis event, you will lead on coordinating the JIO response, ensuring key personnel are able to conduct assessment work with the right accesses and facilities (such as attendance at COBR) outside of usual working hours.
• Information Management & Business Intelligence: The JIO has a well-established reputation for exceptional information management practices and you will be responsible for ensuring the JIO as a whole maintains this standard, making improvements where possible. You will also be responsible for ensuring the JIO’s corporate returns - such as the Cabinet Office’s QPR (risk registers) processes - are completed and returned on behalf of the JIC Chair.
• Estates and other Capabilities: You will be responsible for overseeing and managing the JIO working environment, helping to shape and develop it as the JIO grows in size and adapts to changes in the National Security community as a whole. You’ll also get involved in any other capability matters that affect the JIO, from communicating with international partners and making best use of the intelligence supplied to us, to reviewing our capability partnerships in other parts of the intelligence community and wider government.
• Managing JIO’s Out of Hours Capability: You will oversee a small team of out of hours Duty Intelligence Officers, who work during the night and over bank holidays to ensure the JIO’s ability to monitor and act on continual intelligence streams is maintained. Whilst you won’t be expected to work these off hours yourself, your skills as a leader will allow you to ensure they are fully linked in to the purpose, mission and changing shape of the JIO, maximising their ability to support our analysts and senior leaders and ensuring their role in Crisis Management is protected at all times.

Person specification

Skills and Experience Required

Whilst we very much welcome candidates with experience and interest in the team’s responsibilities (e.g. Finance, HR, IT etc.), we do not expect the successful candidate to be fully versed in them all on appointment. Your strong team of generalists and specialists will ensure day to day tasks are handled, whilst you are upskilled in areas you are not so familiar with. However, we are looking for candidates who have a passion for learning areas such as these that they may not be familiar with.

It is critical that the successful candidate has a good level of IT literacy as the vast majority of the role’s functions involve engaging with a variety of different platforms and systems. As a minimum, we would expect you to be confident and fluent in MS Windows environments (including MS office or similar tools).

Your role as the JIO’s Business Continuity and Crisis Manager means you will be expected to work additional or extended hours with little notice during a crisis or critical incident, although this will be managed in line with your regular working hours and alongside others in the JIO drafted in to support such events.

We invest in up skilling our team members to enable them to thrive once they start working with us. As such, if you don’t quite match these desirable skills, don’t let it put you off applying as we will equip the successful candidate with them once you are in post.

Additional information

A minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. Although requirements to attend other locations for official business will also count towards this level of attendance.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £58,800, Cabinet Office contributes £15,876 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 and Experience.

Application Process

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV, 750 word personal statement as well as two 250 word behaviour statements. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form. 

Your Personal Statement must outline your experience relevant to the role, including where you can demonstrate meeting the criteria listed for this position (750 words).

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead behaviour, Managing a Quality Service. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

High-Side Evidence

Community colleagues wishing to submit evidence holding a higher classification are permitted to do so, although are requested to get in touch with the Recruitment Team on R28918 where they will be provided with appropriate instructions for doing so. The recruitment team must ensure that any supporting evidence submitted on alternative systems are redacted to remain compliant with name blind recruitment principles. Applications submitted directly to recruiting managers will not be considered.

Selection Process

Candidates successful at the application stage will be invited to a formal interview focused on the behaviours listed on the vacancy advert, this could either be face to face/online video interview. Further details will be shared to candidates if invited to proceed to this stage.

Expected timeline (subject to change)

Expected sift date – TBC
Expected interview date/s – TBC
Interview location - TBC

Sift, interview dates and interview location to be confirmed.

Further Information

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to Cabinet Office from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

Please note that this role requires DV clearance, which would normally need 10 years UK residency in the past 10 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading. 

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. 

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Existing Civil Servants and applicants from accredited NDPBs are eligible to apply, but will only be considered on loan basis (Civil Servants) or secondment (accredited NDPBs). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Reasonable adjustments

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, 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: 

• Contact Government Recruitment Service via cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. 
• 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.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'contact point for applicants' section.

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.