NCSC Cyber Security Expert
GCHQ
Apply before 11:55 pm on Monday 4th November 2024
Details
Reference number
Salary
For roles based in London, you’ll receive an additional £6,250 London Allowance.
These roles attract a skills payment for which you will be evaluated during the interview. The criteria for the skills assessment will be provided when you are invited to the interview. If you are assessed to qualify for a skills payment, these payments start at £8,840 per annum.
Job grade
Senior Executive Officer
Contract type
Type of role
Information Technology
Intelligence
Security
Working pattern
Number of jobs available
Contents
Location
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 MI6, 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.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of GCHQ, is the UK Government’s lead authority on cyber security. The organisation is at the heart of the Government’s cyber security strategy and has the aim of making the UK the safest place to live and work online.
We are currently looking for a Lead and a Senior Cyber Security Expert to join us. Our NCSC Technical experts investigate the core security attributes of critical systems and technologies in the UK. Our goal is to identify vulnerabilities and develop sustainable solutions. We collaborate with partners in the defence and intelligence community to comprehend the intentions and capabilities of our most significant threat actors
Flexible Working Hours: we understand the importance of work-life balance and offer flexible working options to suit your needs. While homeworking is limited and not guaranteed due to the nature of the role, we support full-time, part-time (minimum 3 days) and compressed hours working patterns.
Job description
The Lead Cyber Security Expert role has a starting salary is £41,935. This role reports to the Senior Cyber Security Expert. You will collaborate with others as well as work independently, utilising your specific skills or specialism to offer advice on particular projects.
You will be an experienced security professional with at least 5 years of practical experience in cyber security, a Cyber Security role in Industry, Academia or external Government department. You should be able to demonstrate successful project delivery and be interested in cyber security opportunities in Research, Engineering, Consultancy or Architecture.
The Senior Cyber Security Expert role starting salary is £50,937. You will need to demonstrate the experience required for the Lead role and in addition you will be responsible for leading the Department.
Leveraging your expertise in team leadership and collaboration with senior leaders and technical specialists, you will offer advice and guidance to those in senior grades. Your ability to quickly grasp relevant issues will be essential.
Both roles will attract a skills payment. The assessed skill level will determine eligibility for specialist pay, starting from £8,840.
The roles are practical, technical roles that may involve software development, system configuration and testing, or software and hardware security analysis. You will engage with partners and user groups externally to gain insights and collaborate on developing solutions.
Technical disciplines are many and varied, but these roles in particular could focus on one or more of:
- System security architectures for Information or Operational Technology systems.
- Device security architectures (including chipset security features such as confidential computing and secure boot)
- Hardware security (analysis of security attributes of semiconductor-based devices, requiring knowledge of physical device properties and experience of the specialist technology and equipment used to investigate them).
- Software security, including vulnerability research and secure software development practices.
- Commodity IT platforms, including end user devices, operating systems, virtualisation, commodity networking appliances, and cloud services.
- Cryptographic technologies, architectures and protocols.
- Networking and telecommunications technologies and protocols, including RF and wireless.
Person specification
The successful applicant will need to have:
- Demonstrated expertise in leveraging extensive knowledge and scientific precision to tackle diverse technical challenges.
- Understanding the practical implications of changes on both individuals and organisations when creating solutions to minimize harm, when using their technical expertise and extensive experience.
Soft skills
- Excellent communication skills are essential. At NCSC, collaborative partnerships are crucial. You’ll be engaging with and enhancing our relationships with leaders and experts from industry, academia, the UK government, and various international partners.
- Teamwork: As a member of a multi-disciplinary technical community, it’s crucial to not only share your own expertise and experience but also to collaborate effectively with specialists from various fields.
GCHQ Competencies
The NCSC will assess you against competencies used by the UK Intelligence Community. These competencies are based closely on the Civil Service Behaviours. The Level 3 competencies for both the Senior Cyber Security Expert role and the Lead Cyber Security Expert role you’ll be assessed against are:
- Driving Innovation and Change (Civil Service Behaviour Equivalent: Changing and Improving)
- Communicating and Influencing (Civil Service Behaviour Equivalent: Communicating and Influencing)
- Working Collaboratively (Civil Service Behaviour Equivalent: Working Together)
- Delivering Outcomes (Civil Service Behaviour Equivalent: Delivering at Pace)
Further information on Civil Service Behaviours
Benefits
At NCSC and GCHQ, we are proud of our inclusive and supportive working environment that’s designed to encourage open minds and attitudes. As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we are committed to helping you fulfil your potential. With comprehensive training and development opportunities, tailored to your needs and the requirements of your work, we will enable you to flourish in your role and perform to the very best of your abilities.
You’ll receive a starting salary of £50,937 for the Senior Cyber Security Expert role and a starting salary of £41,935 for the Lead Cyber Security Expert role.
For roles based in London, you’ll receive an additional £6,250 London Allowance.
These roles attract a skills payment for which you will be evaluated during the interview. The criteria for the skills assessment will be provided when you are invited to the interview. If you are assessed to qualify for a skills payment, these payments start at £8,840 per annum.
Other benefits:
- 25 Days Annual Leave automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, and an additional 10.5 days public and privilege holidays
- An environment with flexible working options
- Opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme.
- Interest-free season ticket loan
- Cycle to work scheme
- Facilities such as a gym, restaurant and on-site coffee bars (at some locations)
- Paid parental and adoption leave.
- Excellent pension scheme - Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Equal Opportunities
At GCHQ diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce such as women, those from an ethnic minority background, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.
Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our website:
Disability Confident
GCHQ are proud to have achieved Leader status within the DWP’s Disability Confident scheme. This is aimed at encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people. Being Disability Confident, we aim to offer a person-to-person interview to any candidate who self-identifies as disabled and meets the essential criteria for the role. This is our ‘Offer of Interview’ (OOI). To secure an interview for this vacancy, the essential criteria (in order of application process) are:
- 5 years of practical experience working in cyber security, a Cyber Security role in Industry, Academia or external Government department.
Selection Process
What to Expect
Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:
- Online Application
- Application sift, looking at your motivation for the role and the organisation.
- Interview to include a skill assessment
- If successful, you’ll receive a conditional offer of employment.
Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 - 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you to continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer.
Before You Apply
To work at GCHQ, you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. You can read our full eligibility criteria here.
This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. You can find out more about the vetting process here.
Please note we have a strict drugs policy, so once you start your application, you can’t take any recreational drugs and you’ll need to declare your previous drug usage 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 your personal and application correspondence remain separate. Try to avoid having identifying features in your email address, such as your first and/or surname and date of birth. This is good practice and will help you to manage your application with us more discretely.
The roles are based in London, Cheltenham or Manchester, so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application, as we do not offer relocation costs.
Please note, you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from outside the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.
The closing date for this role is: 4th November 2024 at 2355hrs
Right to Withdraw Statement:
Please be aware that we withhold the right to bring forward the closing date for this role from the original closing date once a certain number of applications have been received. Please be mindful of this and submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Medical
Nationality requirements
Working for the Civil Service
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).
Diversity and Inclusion
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Marianne
- Email : marianne.m@ncsc.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : ncscrecruitment@ncsc.gov.uk
