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 looking to recruit SEO/GC08 and HEO/GC09 Cyber Consultants to work within the Private Sector Critical National Infrastructure team (PS CNI). The PS CNI team reduces the risks from cyberattacks to the networks of the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) that are owned, and operated by the Private Sector by understanding what is important, improving the now, and securing the future.

The role will be aligned to one of the PSCNI sectors, including Finance, Communications, Energy, and Transport. This will include; provide consultancy support to one of these sectors, providing cybersecurity advice, and managing key relationships with the CNI to develop and improve its security and resilience.

Job Description

What will the successful candidate be doing?

The successful candidate will be working in the Finance sector to develop its security and resilience. The campaign may also look at suitable candidates for the other sectors of PS CNI where relevant in this recruitment.

This post is suitable for candidates with the passion to build knowledge of the Finance sector, but previous experience and knowledge will be advantageous. This includes understanding the services of the sector, the technologies and standards deployed, the threats it faces including the actors, their tactics, techniques, and procedures; and the potential cybersecurity risks that it may face and require defending from to develop its security and resilience.

The role will require the candidate to manage and develop key relationships within the Finance sector at working and senior level. This will include providing awareness to our key customers of our services to develop new opportunities to support the sector; developing this through understanding their short and long term needs and aims to develop working opportunities, and actively managing this. From this, we will be able to understand our key customers business and security drivers, that can then be applied to provide bespoke cybersecurity support.

The role will require the candidate to assess the cybersecurity and resilience of the Finance sector and its key systems. This will include understanding and applying the fundamentals of risk management and governance of security, risk assessment, and risk management. Where the candidate has experience of this would be advantageous, but we are willing to invest in the right candidate that has the passion to develop, and build their knowledge to be an asset to the organisation. The candidate will be expected to invest in developing their Information Assurance skills no matter the level, where we will provide working opportunities, and training to support this.

Following assessing the customer’s needs, and security required, the candidate will need to be able provide cybersecurity advice, which can be through security workshops, developing advice for the NCSC public website, developing Finance security projects in key areas and CNI cross-sector projects, and contributing to the development of the Finance sector strategy. This will entail making challenging security decisions, and providing security advice that balances user needs, cost, security, and other relevant factors.

Due to this, the candidate will need to able to effectively communicate to our customers. This can be in a multitude of ways, including writing reports, documents, plans, and emails, as well as being able to verbally explain and discuss key messages for stakeholders and risk owners at working and senior level to understand.

Person Specification

We have SEO/GC08 and HEO/GC09 roles available. Candidates will need a valid DV Clearance to apply.

The candidate will be required to travel to London, due to the sector largely being based in London. This can be combined with hybrid working arrangements, which may include office and homeworking. The candidate will need to be flexible to respond to the needs of the sector and PS CNI to ensure successful delivery to develop Finance security and resilience.

Its advantageous for candidate to have cybersecurity and/or information assurance experience and knowledge. For the right candidate that shows the potential and drive to develop in this fast paced environment, training and mentoring can be provided.

The candidate will need to be prepared to lead work, manage, and develop key relationships, and have the drive to not give up when the end result is uncertain. This is a demanding role that requires a range of skills across technology, cybersecurity, as well as strong interpersonal, and consultancy skills.

The candidate will need to be able to communicate and deliver their knowledge and key messages to key customers at both working and senior level.

The candidate will need to support GCHQ’s values of integrity, ingenuity, impact, and teamwork.

GCHQ Competency Requirements

GC08 Role

• Communication and Knowledge sharing – Intermediate
• Corporate Vision and Efficiency – Intermediate
• Change and Innovation – Intermediate
• Analysis and Decision Making – Higher
• Contribution to Delivery – Higher
• Managing the Customer Relationship – Higher
• Working with and Leading Others – Higher

GC09 Role

• Communication and Knowledge sharing – Intermediate
• Corporate Vision and Efficiency – Intermediate
• Change and Innovation – Intermediate
• Analysis and Decision Making – Intermediate
• Contribution to Delivery – Higher
• Managing the Customer Relationship – Intermediate
• Working with and Leading Others – Higher

You can familiarise yourself with the general competencies we use to assess the aptitude of candidates here – Recruitment Process

Benefits we offer

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.

GC08

You’ll receive a starting salary of £43,957 plus an annual National Security Payment of £2,428, subject to mandatory training.

GC09

You’ll receive a starting salary of £35,450 plus an annual National Security Payment of £2,189, subject to mandatory training.

Plus potential opportunity to qualify for a skills payment.

Other benefits:

• A London Allowance of £5,500 is applicable for London contracted employees.
• 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.
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to apply, you must be a British Citizen. If you hold dual nationality, of which one component is British, you will nonetheless be considered (for more infomation, please click here).

If successful, you will not normally be required to give up your non-British citizenship but, as a condition of your employment or secondment, MI5, SIS and GCHQ may impose restrictions on your postings, work travel and/or general use of that nationality. Candidates must normally have been resident in the UK for seven out of the last ten years. This is particularly important if you were born outside the UK. Each case will be carefully considered on its own facts. You can apply at the age of 17 years and 6 months, if successful you will not be offered a start date prior to your 18th birthday. Discretion is vital. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member. 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 of the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application. Further information on our eligibility criteria can be found on the Applying section.

The closing date for this role is: 23:55 on Wednesday 25th January 2022.

For further information and to apply under a specific role please follow the links under Job Description. You may apply for more than one role if applicable.