NCSC Cyber Security Consultant
GCHQ
Apply before 11:55 pm on Monday 14th October 2024
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Salary
For roles based in London, you’ll receive an additional £6,250 London Allowance.
Job grade
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Type of role
Risk Management
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Number of jobs available
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About the job
Job summary
About Us
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.
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 and compressed hours working patterns.
Job description
The Role
Join the NCSC Government team as a driven and proficient Cyber Security Consultant and play a pivotal role in safeguarding the nation’s critical systems and infrastructure. In this role, you’ll forge strong partnerships with key stakeholders to bolster security measures and champion robust risk management strategies. And provide tailored guidance and promote effective risk management practices. You’ll collaborate extensively with UK government, local authorities, emergency services, healthcare sectors, and ministers throughout the four nations to drive forward our cybersecurity agenda.
Take on a crucial role in securing critical systems and infrastructure within the public sector. Developing and implementing high-quality strategies and plans to enhance the cyber resilience of critical systems within the UK government and the wider public sector will be key. By building strong relationships within the customer organisations, you’ll understand the key objectives and direction, and demonstrate how NCSC can make a difference.
The successful candidate will unite internal and external stakeholders to address significant cyber challenges, acting as the NCSC external representative, engaging with relevant associations, participating in speaking engagements, and attending various events.
You’ll help create an inclusive environment that supports high performance, ensuring all team members feel fully supported and engaged at work. In this role, you’ll have the opportunity to translate complex technical advice into accessible language for non-experts, ensuring that everyone can understand and act on your insights.
Your experience will be invaluable in delivering positive impact across diverse customer contexts. You’ll tailor your approaches and briefings to meet the unique needs of various stakeholders, including ministers and senior officials. By applying a solid understanding of cyber security principles and risk management practices, you’ll adeptly mitigate risks while aligning with business objectives, making a significant difference in the security landscape.
Person specification
About You
We’re seeking a passionate and skilled professional to join our team. Previous experience in cybersecurity, consultancy, or policy, is required, or you must be able to demonstrate how you’ll develop these skills and explain why you want to work as a Cyber Consultant in the Government Team.
You should have experience in briefing ministers and senior officials, both orally and in writing, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, pressured environment. Experience working with organisations from a diverse range of sectors is essential, along with a proven track record in risk and project management and delivery.
Most importantly, you should have a genuine passion for working with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and His Majesty’s Government (HMG) to enhance the security and resilience of the UK’s public sector. If you meet these criteria and are eager to contribute your expertise to our mission, we would love to hear from you!
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 5 competencies you’ll assessed against are:
- Seeing the Big Picture (Civil Service Behaviour Equivalent: Seeing the Big Picture)
- 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)
- Providing Customer Value (Civil Service Behaviour Equivalent: Managing a Quality Service)
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.
The role offers a starting specialist pay of £5,200, attainable through evidence-based assessment approximately after 12 months in the role.
For roles based in London, you’ll receive an additional £6,250 London Allowance.
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%
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:
- Proficient in briefing ministers and senior officials (oral/written), assessed at CV sift
- Capable of working under pressure, assessed at CV sift
- Experienced in collaborating and working with organisations from a diverse range of sectors, assessed at CV sift
- Skilled in risk management and project oversight, assessed at CV sift
Things you need to know
Selection process details
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
- Interview
- 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.
One post is available to work from Cheltenham, London or Manchester, and the other post from Cheltenham or London 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: 14th October 2024
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.
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Nationality requirements
Working for the Civil Service
Diversity and Inclusion
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : NCSC Recruitment
- Email : ncscrecruitment@ncsc.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : ncscrecruitment@ncsc.gov.uk
