Equal opportunities
At MI5, 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: people 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 underrepresented in our workforce, such as women, people from ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities, and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.
Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our website.
Were Disability Confident
MI5 is proud to have achieved Leader status within the DWPs 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 fair and proportionate number of person-to-person interviews 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:
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Youll be required to reach the minimum pass mark for the online Situational Judgement Test (SJT), which assesses criteria important for all roles in our organisation
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The following criteria will be assessed at application sift:
a. Proven delivery of complex projects end-to-end: demonstrable experience leading large, multi-disciplinary projects (planning, governance, risk management and budget control), delivering outcomes on time, within scope, and to quality standards
b. Effective stakeholder leadership and communication: the ability to build relationships across technical and non-technical stakeholders, influence without authority, manage conflict, and provide clear, effective reporting
c. Robust project governance and methodology expertise: capability in structuring delivery, managing dependencies and risks, and applying appropriate methodologies in technology-driven environments
There is a wide range of extra support available throughout the recruitment process to enable you to perform at your best. Please visit our application page for information on the reasonable adjustments we can offer.
What to expect
Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:
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Online Situational Judgement Test (SJT) in which you rate the appropriateness of responses to a series of short scenarios
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Application sift, assessing your motivation for the role and the organisation
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Face-to- face interview, including HR competency and technical assessment
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If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment
Please note that you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 to 9 months to process, including vetting, so we advise you to continue any current employment until you receive your final job offer.
Before you apply
To work at MI5, 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). Its 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. Once you start your application, you must not take any recreational drugs, and youll 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 remains separate. Try to avoid including 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 manage your application with us more securely.
The role is based in Central London, so youll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application. A loan is available to support people relocating to London.
We offer reasonable reimbursement of travel costs for candidates attending in person interviews or assessments during the recruitment and vetting process. Full details will be provided with your interview or assessment invitation.
Reimbursement is discretionary and will only be made in line with the Candidate Expenses Policy, as amended from time to time. Candidates must book their own travel using the most economical option and provide original hard copy receipts for reimbursement.
Please note that applications must be submitted from within the UK. If you are currently based overseas, wait until you are in the UK before applying, as submissions made outside the UK cannot be progressed. For security reasons, you should not discuss your application with anyone other than your partner or close family member.
Right to withdraw statement:
Please be aware that we reserve the right to bring forward the closing date for this role once a certain number of applications have been received. To avoid disappointment, please submit your application at your earliest convenience.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
