Background
The Northern Ireland Office supports the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in promoting the best interests of Northern Ireland. We make sure that Northern Ireland interests are represented within the UK Government and that UK government responsibilities are fully and effectively represented in Northern Ireland. We are the centre of expertise on Northern Ireland issues across Government.
The Northern Ireland Office employs around 150 staff, with offices in Belfast and London. As a small Department, we adopt a flexible project-based approach to ensure that we have the right people, with the right skills, in the right place to support the delivery of our key objectives.
Due to our structure and size, we are able to offer extensive exposure to Ministers and the opportunity to work on a far wider portfolio of policy and responsibilities than might be the case in a larger department. This creates an interesting and stimulating work environment.
Our key priorities are set out in our Operational Delivery plan and include:
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Supporting greater inclusion, tolerance and openness in Northern Ireland
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Contributing to a safer Northern Ireland, where terrorist and paramilitary groups are less able to cause harm to communities
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Ensuring that governance in Northern Ireland is responsive, transparent and able to deliver effective public service.
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Addressing the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland
For more information about what we do:
Visit:https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/northern-ireland-office https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice.
About the Role:
Keeping people safe is one of the UK Governments core strategic aims. Within the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), the Security & Protection Group (SPG) delivers on this vital mission through dedicated teams specialising in Policy, Strategy, Operational Delivery, Litigation and Disclosure, and Protection.
We pride ourselves on delivering high-quality, high-impact work at pace and under challenging circumstances. While every SPG colleague is anchored within a core team to build specialist expertise, we champion an agile and flexible culture. Regardless of your grade, you will have the opportunity to work across the Group and wider department, maximising your development and ensuring we remain responsive to departmental priorities.
We offer diverse, rewarding work at the very heart of public service, set within a supportive environment where individuals are encouraged to innovate, stretch their capabilities, and learn.
We are actively recruiting for an Operational Delivery / Policy Officer based in Belfast. In this role, you will focus on some of the UK Governments highest priorities: national security, civil contingencies and resilience.
You will gain a broad range of operational delivery and policy experience, and will hone your briefing skills within a supportive and focused team.
Owing to the NIO's unique, close-knit size, you will gain significantly more exposure to Government Ministers than in larger departments. You will work on a diverse portfolio that includes but is not limited to
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The Departments incident response and crisis management arrangements.
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Civil contingencies and policies relating to Northern Irelands resilience and protective security.
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National security related policy work including Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) in Northern Ireland and the National Security Risk Assessment
To thrive in this role, you will need to be a proactive, analytical, and highly organised professional. We are looking for candidates who possess:
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Exceptional Communication: Articulate, discreet, and thoughtful, with a strong "political antenna" and the ability to inspire confidence when briefing verbally or in writing.
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Relationship Management: A proven track ability to build productive, collaborative partnerships, even in challenging or complex contexts.
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Pace and Resilience: An eye for detail and the ability to prioritise competing tasks seamlessly while working under pressure.
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Agility: A fast learner who is quick to grasp complex new subjects and comfortable navigating ambiguity.
Note on Working Pattern: Due to the nature of national security and incident response, applicants must be prepared to participate in an on-call rota. Occasional out-of-hours work will be required, sometimes at short notice, for which a standard allowance will be paid.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Specific responsibilities of an Operational Delivery/Policy Officer may include:
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National Security & Resilience: Develop and deliver counter-terrorism, protective security, and civil contingencies policies.
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Crisis Management: Formulate robust incident response and crisis management processes.
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Incident Response: Manage information flows in the event of national security and civil contingency incidents alongside devolved partners, security partners and other government departments.
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Briefing & Advice: Provide high-quality briefings and strategic advice to Ministers and senior officials.
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On-Call Support: Participate in an out-of-hours on-call duty rota.
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Stakeholder Engagement: Represent the Department at key Whitehall and Northern Ireland security and civil contingencies forums.
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Cross-Government Collaboration: Build critical relationships with the Devolved Administration and wider Whitehall partners to safeguard strategic objectives.
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Leadership: Line-manage and develop Band C/HEO staff.
Essential Criteria:
The post holder will need to demonstrate the following in their application and at interview:
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Excellent written and oral communication skills, alongside a proven track record of briefing senior leaders on complex issues.
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The ability to self-organise, prioritise, and maintain close attention to detail in fast-moving environments.
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The ability to work effectively and collaboratively while under pressure.
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The ability to develop and maintain responsive, effective relationships with colleagues and external stakeholders, using strong interpersonal skills to achieve results.
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A strong, foundational understanding of the political and security environment in Northern Ireland (a deep, proven understanding is highly desirable).
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SC clearance is essential and must be achieved before commencing the full duties of the post, therefore applicants will need to be prepared to go through this process.
Desirable Criteria
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Prior experience working on national security or law enforcement policy within Whitehall or Northern Ireland.
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Direct experience briefing Ministers both orally and in writing.
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Operational Delivery experience.
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Existing SC clearance.
Behaviours:
We will assess you against the following Success Profiles behaviours for SEO level during the application sift and interview:
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Communicating and Influencing (Lead competence)
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Delivering at Pace
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Working Together
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Making Effective Decisions
Please note that in the event of a large number of applications being received we may run the initial sift on the lead Behaviour Communicating and Influencing". More information on behaviours and success profiles can be found here.
How to Apply
The vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your Behaviours and Strengths for SEO level. You will be asked to submit:
A 250 word statement on each of the following behaviours:
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Communicating and Influencing
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Delivering at Pace
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Working Together
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Making Effective Decisions
A statement of suitability no longer than 500 words to assess the essential and desirable criteria. Your statement needs to set out evidence of how your experience meets the requirements set out above. Your layout is entirely your preference; you may choose narrative, bullets, etc. One narrative example may cover the requirements needed. You dont have to explain the whole process, just what you have done and the skills and experience you have used. Share with us what makes you suited to this role and why. What you can do, the skills you have that are transferable and the life experience or passion you have that are linked to this role.
A CV outlining your work history. This will not be formally assessed so please put the main evidence of your skills into your personal statement. Work history will be used to add context to your personal statement.
Strengths
It is difficult to prepare for strength type questions. However, you can think through your answers, focus on your achievements and aspects you enjoy and decide how these can be applied in the organisation and role. While strengths questions are shorter and we do not expect a full STAR response, the panel is interested in your first reaction to the question and information or reasoning to support this.
If you do not have work-based examples then please give examples from school/college, clubs, volunteering or other activities you have been involved in.
More information on behaviours and success profiles can be found here.
Please note that in the event of a large number of applications being received we may run the initial sift on the lead Behaviour Communicating and Influencing.
Interview
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an interview In-Person. Candidates will be assessed against the same Behaviours and Strengths at the interview stage and will be asked to provide examples of how you have demonstrated these.
It may help to use one or more examples of a piece of work you have completed or a situation you have been in and use the WHO or STAR model to explain:
- WHO: What it was? How you approached the work/situation? What the Outcomes were, what did you achieve? or
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STAR: What was the Situation? What were the Tasks? What Action did you take? What were the Results of your actions?
All applications for employment are considered strictly on the basis of merit. This job description should not be taken as constituting conditions of employment.
Offer
Once all interviews have been completed, you will be notified of the outcome by email. Offers will be made in strict merit order to the highest scoring candidate first. The successful candidate will be notified of a start date following successful security checks. Additional information received after the closing date will not be considered. Failure to provide sufficient information in support of an application prior to the closing date will not be considered as grounds for an appeal if an applicant is not shortlisted for interview.
Security Clearance:
This role requires National Security Vetting of SC clearance given the access to sensitive information afforded by the job role. You can find more information by reviewing the information held in the following links:
United Kingdom Security Vetting: Applicant - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The vetting charter - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Neither Detached Duty terms nor relocation costs will apply to this post.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.
Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Further Information:
Further information about the post may be obtained from Nicholle Dunlop via email to [email protected] .
Please note that due to the high interest in NIO opportunities, feedback cannot be given if you are unsuccessful at the sift stage. Feedback is available on request if unsuccessful following the interview.
Complaints:
The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commissions Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles.
Please contact SSCL ([email protected]) in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages:
http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitment/complaints/
https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/code/
Reserve Lists:
In the event that the advertised post following interview, identifies more appointable applicants than available posts, we may hold applicant details on a merit/reserve list for a period of 12 months from which further future appointments can be made. Candidates placed on a reserve list will be informed of this. Those candidates who do not wish to remain on the reserve list should contact [email protected] to be removed from the reserve list.
Additional Information
Working Arrangements & Further Information
The NIO offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non-contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different NIO sites and / or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). All employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office, subject to local estate capacity.
Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyones circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review.
Eligibility:
Please note that eligibility for this vacancy is determined by the employing organisation and campaign type. As the NIO is a UK Civil Service department, Northern Ireland Civil Service employees are not eligible to apply. However, NICS staff are eligible to apply for vacancies advertised externally, subject to the advertised eligibility criteria.
Flexible working hours
The NIO offers a flexible working system in many offices. Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week. NIO welcomes part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns, where they meet the demands of the role and business needs. All applications for part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns will be considered in accordance with the NIOs Flexible Working policy.
Benefits:
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Access to learning and development
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A working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balance
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A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity
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A Civil Service pension
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25 days annual leave, increasing to 30 days after five years service
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Public Holidays
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Season Ticket Advance
Networks
The opportunity to join employee-run networks that have been established to provide advice and support and to enable the views of employees from minority groups to be expressed direct to senior management. There are currently networks for employees of minority ethnic origin, employees with disabilities, employees with caring responsibilities, women employees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.
Support
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A range of Family Friendly policies such as opportunities to work reduced hours or job share.
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Access to flexible benefits such as voluntary benefits, retail vouchers and discounts on a range of goods and services.
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For moves to or from another employer or moves across the Civil Service this can have implications on your eligibility to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for alternative government childcare support schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. More information can be found on GOV.UK or Childcare Choices. You can determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
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Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave.
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Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code 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. Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order
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To Shared Service Connected Ltd (0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail [email protected]);
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To Ministry of Justice Resourcing team ([email protected]);
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To the Civil Service Commission (details available here)
As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. We are able to offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns.
For more information on applying for a role as a candidate with a disability or long-term condition, please see our Disability Confident Scheme Frequently Asked Questions webpage.
You will be able to request reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process within the application form. If you need additional help completing the application form, please contact the SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team.
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.
Diversity & Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.
Interview dates
TBC
Closing Date:
24 August 2026, 23:55
Contact information
If you require any assistance please call 0345 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or email [email protected]
