Apply before
26/06/2026, 23:55
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Reference number
867
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Salary
£45,326
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London weighting allowance (Per Annum)
£4,218
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RRA - Recruitment and Retention Allowance (Per Annum)
£ 3,000
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Role grade
G4
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Contract type
Permanent
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Command
Intelligence
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Business Area
Collection
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Type of role
Operational Delivery
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Working pattern
Full time
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Number of roles available
1
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Senior Officer - CDU
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Location(s)
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London, Warrington
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About the Role
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Information about the Command
The role of Intelligence is to develop the right operations, which target and disrupt - by the most effective means - the offenders who seek to cause the highest harm to the UK.
A diverse directorate with a wide variety of unique functions and specialist skillsets in our ranks, some of which we deliver as the national provider for the wider Serious Organised Crime (SOC) system. From our niche technical capabilities, to our overseas network of International Liaison Officers (ILO) and our Tasking teams, there are many component parts which contribute to the efforts of the directorate and the National Crime Agency (NCA).
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Information about the Business Area
Intelligence Collection coordinates NCA collection capabilities against the NCA’s highest priorities. Intelligence Collection includes forensics, open source, covert human intelligence sources, undercover officers and technical collection capabilities. This includes responding to threats and exploiting opportunities relating to the use of electronic communications by Subjects of Interest using the various powers conferred within the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA). This is a dynamic and diverse arena with constant and rapid change, suiting those officers who thrive on near constant challenge.
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Role Summary
The Communications Data Unit (CDU) operates within the Intelligence command supporting the NCA in delivering its mission to cut serious and organised crime through the acquisition of Communications Data under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. As an accredited experienced Single Point of Contact (SPOC) you will be responsible for handling applications, prioritising workflows and demand and managing colleagues in direct support of the NCA’s operational delivery.
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Role Description
The Communications Data Units are located in Birmingham, London and Warrington. CDU SpoCs work with investigation teams to assist in achieving operational objectives using communications data. They manage and facilitate applications for data, within the legislative framework. Experienced Officers will also assist in the development and training of colleagues, as well as managing workflows and ensuring demand is met by allocation of resources, managing abstractions etc.
Communications Data (CD) underpins virtually every element of modern life. It is about who we communicate with, how those communications takes place, when they happened and where we were at the time.
The need for criminals to communicate means that the requirement for Comms Data and it’s subsequent analysis underpins all the NCA’s operational activity, and as technology advances and digital opportunities grow, the demand for data acqusition is growing exponentially. As the senior officer you will be responsible for managing CD acquisition for all NCA operational requirements.
You will manage/supervise a team of accredited CD SPOCs, ensuring processes are carried out thoroughly, professionally and expeditiously in accordance with Agency policy and legislative requirements. You will liaise with case officers and SIOs to ensure the CDU provide the necessary support to operations. You will manage the security and accuracy of intelligence, maintaining confidentiality, sensitivity and duty of care.
You will be responsible for the training and mentoring of new officers to the unit pre and post Home Office accreditation. You will establish, develop and maintain strong working relationships with Intelligence collection partners, operational teams and represent the CDU at strategy meetings.
You will be required to represent the NCA and its interests in respect of CD at National and Regional forums and working groups.
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Duties and Responsibilities
Act as a nationally accredited Single Point of Contact (SPoC) between the NCA and Telecommunications Operators.
Facilitate the acquisition and dissemination of Communications Data intelligence and evidence in accordance with legislation and Code of Practice
Act as a subject matter expert to provide guidance and advice to Senior Investigating Officers and case teams on the use of Communications Data
Identify, prioritise and manage risk.
Proactively identify and exploit communications data intelligence sources in collaboration with specialist teams.
Protect the NCA’s reputation by upholding the highest standards of integrity and accuracy.
Support colleagues with upskilling, mentoring and other relevant development.
Manage resources to ensure demand is addressed within availability.
Provide relevant Line Manager support to direct reports, and cover for colleagues
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Person Specification
- Experience of managing, leading or developing others in support of business objectives
- Evidence an in-depth knowledge of legislation pertaining to agency/UKLE activity, in particular the acquisition of communications data
- Interpretation of CD and knowledge of impact on operational requirements
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Essential Criteria
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You must meet the essential criteria and evidence this within your application to be considered for the role.
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Qualifications, Membership and Licences
Currently hold or previously held Home Office Accredited Communications Data Investigator Single Point of Contact [SPoC]
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Any applications from candidates not meeting this eligibility criteria will not progress.
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Salary
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Allowances are reviewed annually and may be increased, decreased or removed.
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All salary offers will be made in line with Remuneration Policy.
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Roles based in London will receive an additional London Weighting (Per Annum) of £4,218
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This position attracts a Recruitment and Retention Allowance (RRA) of £3,000 (Per Annum) available as an addition to the advertised salary.
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Benefits
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All NCA employees are members of the UK Civil Service and eligible for the Civil Service pension scheme, alongside your salary the NCA contributes £13099. Further information on the benefits of the scheme is available on the Civil Service Pension Website.
New entrants to the NCA receive 26 days annual leave, rising to 31 on completion of 5 years continuous service, plus 8 bank holidays.
If qualifying criteria is met new joiners from UK Police Forces or the UK Intelligence Community (UKIC) will have service with those employers taken into account for continuous service purposes for annual leave entitlement only, this will be up to a maximum of 31 days leave (including 1 privilege day).
Other benefits include:
Flexible working, including flexi-time, compressed hours and job sharing (in line with business requirements)
Family friendly policies, notably above the statutory minimum
Learning and Development opportunities
Interest free loans and advances, including season tickets, childcare and rental deposits
Housing schemes - Key Worker status
Discounts and Savings with a wide variety of services including Cycle to Work, Smart Tech schemes, dental insurance, gym discounts and savings on everyday spending, available through the Reward Gateway | Edenred and Blue Light Card schemes.
Staff support groups/networks
Sports and social activities, including membership to the Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC)
Further information is available on the NCA Website.
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Selection Process Details
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This vacancy is using the Success Profiles framework and will assess using the following criteria: Behaviours, Experience
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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.
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How we will assess you
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Your application will be assessed against the following:
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Experience - This will be assessed:
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Experience Criteria - will be assessed by 500 word examples on:
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An awareness of changing legislation and / or emerging technology or capabilities, in particular those impacting the acquisition and interpretation of communications data to support operational requirements.
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Experience of managing, leading or developing others in support of business objectives.
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Experience of managing and prioritising competing demands in line with department and agency requirements.
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A panel will assess how well your application demonstrates the requirements outlined above.
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Longlist
In the event of a high number of applications, we may operate a longlist. Applicants will need to meet the minimum pass mark for the lead criteria.
- An awareness of changing legislation and / or emerging technology or capabilities, in particular those impacting the acquisition and interpretation of communications data to support operational requirements. .
Candidates who do not meet the minimum pass mark for the lead criteria will not progress to having their other criteria assessed. Applications must meet the minimum criteria to be progressed to the assessment stage.
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You will receive an acknowledgement once your application is submitted.
We aim to have sift completed and scores released within 10 working days of the closing date of the advert. For high volume campaigns this timeframe may be extended.
Scores will be provided but further feedback will not be available at this stage.
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For guidance on the application process, visit:
NCA Applying and Onboarding
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Assessment 1
The format of this assessment will be Interview which will be tested on the criteria listed in the Success Profiles at Assessment section.
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Success Profiles at Assessment
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Behaviours
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Leadership
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Working Together
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Managing a Quality Service
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Experience
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An awareness of changing legislation and / or emerging technology or capabilities, in particular those impacting the acquisition and interpretation of communications data to support operational requirements.
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Experience of managing, leading or developing others in support of business objectives.
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Experience of managing and prioritising competing demands in line with department and agency requirements.
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Assessment Outcome
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Outcomes will be communicated via the NCA recruitment portal.
If successful but no role is immediately available, you may be placed on a reserve list for 12 months.
Reserve lists can be used to fill similar role types across the Agency where the assessment criteria is considered a match by the recruitment team and the business area.
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In the event of a tie at the assessment stage, available roles will be offered in merit order using the following order:
Lead criteria (behaviours/technical/experience)
If still tied, desirable criteria will be assessed (if advertised)
If still tied, application sift scores will be used
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Feedback is provided only to those who attend an assessment.
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You will be subject to vetting and pre-employment checks before appointment.
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Once the vacancy closes, the advert will no longer be accessible. Please save a copy for your records.
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We encourage all candidates to visit the NCA Careers Page for more information.
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Eligibility, Pre-Employment Check and Vetting
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Please see the NCA T&Cs and Privacy Policy (pdf) for details on how your data is handled.
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If you are an internal candidate who has passed interview but is undergoing an internal investigation or have a written warning in place preventing a post move you may not be able to be posted until this investigation is concluded or restriction lifted.
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Nationality Requirements
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This role is broadly open to the following groups:
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- UK nationals or dual nationals, where one component is British
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- Nationals of the Republic of Ireland
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- Nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
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- Nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
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- Nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre- settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
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- Individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
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- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
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Further information on nationality requirements
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You will be required to participate in digital right to work and address checks as part of the recruitment process.
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Security and Vetting
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People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard checks.
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Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is SC Enhanced. All security clearances will be managed by the NCA.
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For more information on security vetting please visit: UK Security Vetting guidance for applicants and Demystifying Vetting and see our vetting charter at: The Vetting Charter.
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Vetting requirements - SC Enhanced
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Prior to commencing the role, you will need to successfully complete SC Enhanced clearance and then achieve both DV Enhanced and DV STRAP clearance within the first 12 months in post.
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The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years.
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The requirement for DV Enhanced clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 7 of the last 10 years.
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To obtain DV STRAP you must be willing to undergo STRAP induction and must hold full UK nationality or dual nationality, where one component is British. Applications will be considered on a case by case basis.
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Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.
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If you fail to obtain the increased clearance within 12 months of starting, your contract of employment is at risk of termination.
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For further information on National Security Vetting checks please visit the following page Demystifying Vetting
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Individuals will be required to undertake and pass a substance misuse test as part of pre-employment checks.
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Occupational Health
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Successful candidates will be expected to undertake an occupational health assessment. Depending on the role an in-person medical may be required in either London or Warrington. Unfortunately, travel costs will not be reimbursed.
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Things you need to know
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Multi Location
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Where multiple locations are advertised, appointments will be made in merit order for each location.
Please indicate up to three location preferences clearly. Only your first three preferences will be considered. You may be allocated to any of the locations you select. If you decline an offer for a location you have selected as a preference, a further offer may not be made.
If you choose to reject an offer and no alternative preferred location can be offered, you will not be able to return to the process or be placed on a reserve list.
Only the advertised locations are available; any additional notes added to the application will not be taken into account.
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Near Miss
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If you meet the criteria for a lower grade, you may be offered that role if not appointable at the advertised grade.
Conversely, if found appointable at a higher grade but no posts are available, you may be offered a lower-grade role.
All offers are made based on merit.
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Hybrid Working
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The NCA supports hybrid working. The extent of remote working will depend on the role and can be discussed at the offer stage.
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Reasonable Adjustments
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We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Leader and an inclusive, equal opportunities employer.
We’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone can be their authentic self. If you’re neurodiverse, have a disability, or live with a long-term health condition, we encourage you to let us know about any reasonable adjustments you may need during the recruitment process.
If you experience accessibility issues with the advert or require reasonable adjustments, please contact our Recruitment Team at
[email protected] before the advert closing date.
Please ensure you complete the ‘Equal opportunities’ and 'Reasonable Adjustments' sections in the application form to inform us on what support you may need in the recruitment process.
For more on our Disability Confident commitment, visit Disability Confident Scheme | Civil Service Careers.
Visit NCA Benefits and Support for more details.
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Inclusion
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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
In order to monitor the effectiveness of the National Crime Agency's Diversity & Inclusion strategy, we require certain personal details about you on submission of your application for statistical and monitoring purposes only. Please note that this will be treated in confidence and will not impact your application.
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This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.
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Working for the Civil Service
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The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit on merit through fair and open competition, in line with the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles.
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.
If you believe your application has not been treated fairly, email:
[email protected] (quoting the vacancy reference).
If unresolved, you may escalate your complaint to the Civil Service Commission.
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Working for the NCA
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The National Crime Agency is a 24/7 organisation, and working patterns must support business requirements. Some roles may require you to respond at short notice or outside of core hours.
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If preferable, alternative contract types may be available. Please review the green bar of this advert to view all available contract types for this role. Where Loan or Secondment options are available, these would be for existing Civil Servants (Loan) and applicants from accredited Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) or any other employer (Secondment). 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.
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If you have any specific queries about the role that are not covered by the advert, please contact:
Name : Central Recruitment Team
Email : [email protected]
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