Senior Technical Officer - Technical Support Unit

Officers in the Technical Support Unit will assist both colleagues in Investigations and in Technical Operations with deployments of covert technical surveillance kit. They could be working around the country, deployed within the operational teams or working from their office base. The role requires flexibility, an adaptive nature, ability to work at pace and to tight deadlines and think proactively.

There will be a requirement to work flexible and alter working hours; there may be a requirement to be on call.

Would you like to learn more about the role?

If you would like to find out more about the role and the application process, we will be holding virtual open evenings via MS Teams on Tuesday 28th May 18:00 - 19:00., Operational Capability and Development (OCaD) is responsible for:

• The development and delivery of strategic and tactical engineering solutions to operational challenges and emerging technological threats focused on serious and organised crime impacting the UK.


• Deployment of hi-end capabilities in support of live operations, providing NCA with capabilities for 21st century law enforcement.


• OCaD leads on specifying, designing, developing, delivering and supporting new technical operational capabilities across the agency., Assist the lead on developing technical engineering solutions to operational challenges at pace.


• Provide information and advice on new technologies/equipment to ensure the organisation utilised the latest covert technical capability


• Manage change activity and communicate proposed changes with staff and stakeholders.


• Assist the Technical Operations - OCaD Managers in scoping, developing, implementing maintaining and delivering effective solutions to enable Intelligence Collection and law enforcement partners to collect technical intelligence throughout the UK and overseas.


• Provide advice on legislation, policy, tactical options and evidential opportunities to assist the planning of investigations and operations.


• Promote professional standards and provide advice on handling public complaints, criminal and misconduct allegations that impact on organisational delivery or the Agency's reputation (as appropriate).


• Manage/coach and develop staff where appropriate.


• Build effective internal and external partner relations and work collaboratively with stakeholders and external agencies.


• Oversee Health and Safety and ensure risk assessments are effectively implemented in line with Agency policy and safety legislation., You will be asked to complete a CV as part of the application process. Your CV should set out your career history including training and qualifications, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure that each entry of your career history also has a few sentences outlining a description and the key elements of that role, and that you provide reasons for any gaps within the last two years. Please ensure the dates of any accreditations you are relying on are entered onto the CV. Experience criteria can also be assessed from CV.


• CV - CV to be used for information purposes only and will not be scored


• 4 x Technical / Experience skills as outlined in the Person Specification above, via a 250 Statement of Suitability per criteria.


For further application guidance please visit https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/careers/applying-and-onboarding

Once submitted your application will be acknowledged by the Government Recruitment Service.

Please note depending on the volume of applications a Longlist at sift may be conducted on following criteria:

• Technical skill set covering video, audio, tracking, IT and subsequent transmission of acquired product.


Candidates must pass this criteria for their application to be progressed.

A panel will then assess your application to select those demonstrating the best fit for the role by considering the evidence you have provided against the criteria set out in the Entry Criteria section.

Failure to address any or all of these may affect your application.

Sift results are expected to be released w/c Monday 24th June 2024.

Interview and Assessment Details

You will then be asked to attend an assessment centre in order to have a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence.

The assessment centre will consist of a practical assessment assessing the technical skills, following by an informal interview to assess behaviours. You will also be required to take part in a substance misuse test which will form part of your pre-employment checks should you be successful. Further details will be provided to the successful shortlisted candidates.

Please note - Assessment centres will take place face to face in Warrington - In line with our policy unfortunately cost incurred will not be reimbursed.

Interviews will take place throughout July 2024 - locations to be confirmed. Please be advised that the type of interview (eg. virtual/face-to-face) may be subject to change and successful candidates will be notified of this prior to attending. However the interview is conducted, the interview criteria will remain as detailed within this advert.

The above sift and interview dates are an indicative timeline.

Should you be successful at sift but cannot attend on the interview date(s) listed the recruitment team cannot guarantee an alternative date. Please contact the recruitment team.

Full details of the assessment process will be made available to shortlisted candidates.

Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. Any instances of plagiarism including copying of examples/answers from internet sources will result in a withdrawal of your application. Further action, including disciplinary action, may be considered in such cases involving internal candidates. Providing false or misleading information would be contrary to the core values of honesty and integrity expected of all Civil Servants.

Interview Outcome

Candidates will be alerted of the outcome of their interview via their CS Jobs Portal. We will be retaining a candidate pool of successful applicants to draw from as vacancies arise for up to 12 months.

If your application is successful and we are unable to offer you a post immediately, you will be invited to join our reserve list. If over the next 12 months we are able to offer you a position, we will contact you as soon as possible.

Once we make you an offer you will then go through our vetting and pre-employment checks processes., We are proud to be an inclusive, equal opportunities employer. As a Disability Confident Leader we are committed to ensuring that all candidates are treated fairly throughout the recruitment process. For details of the available group please visit https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/careers/benefits-and-support,
• The NCA 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.


• Individuals will be required to undertake and pass a substance misuse test as part of pre-employment checks.


• Successful candidates may be required to undertake a medical. If required, the medical will take place in either London or Warrington. Unfortunately, travel costs will not be reimbursed.


• 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. You will remain on the reserve list for a max of 12 months.


• This role is being advertised on a permanent basis. If preferable, Loan or Secondment options will also be available for existing Civil Servants (Loan) and applicants from accredited 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.


VETTING REQUIREMENTS SC

All security clearances require you to provide evidence of your UK footprint where you have been physically present in the UK.

The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years.

Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.

If you require SC clearance you will need to provide evidence of the below requirements.

Checks will be made against:

• Departmental or company records (personnel files, staff reports, sick leave reports and security records)


• UK criminal records covering both spent and unspent criminal records


• Your credit and financial history with a credit reference agency


• Security Services records


VETTING REQUIREMENTS - DV

All security clearances require you to provide evidence of your UK footprint where you have been physically present in the UK.

The requirement for DV is to have been present in the UK for at least 7 of the last 10 years.

Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.

If you require DV clearance you will need to provide evidence of the below requirements.

Checks will be made against:

• successful completion of the BPSS


• UK criminal record and identity checks


• credit reference checks


• relevant personnel and medical checks (if required), UK nationals


• nationals of the Republic of Ireland


• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK


• 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) (opens in a new window)


• 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)


• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020


• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service, If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint in relation to any stage of the recruitment and selection process please email Central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk. please ensure that you refer to the campaign reference number. If you remain dissatisfied following the outcome of your complaint you have the right to contact the Civil Service Commission to pursue it further.

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/recruitment-complaints

The following qualifications/skills are essential to the role and proof will be required at interview:

Degree or HND/HNC in Computer Science, Mathematics, Electronics or Engineering or equivalent Level 4 technical qualification or substantial relevant experience., We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Delivering at Pace


• Managing a Quality Service


Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Technical skill set covering video, audio, tracking, IT and subsequent transmission of acquired product.


• Detailed knowledge of operational technical planning, associated legislation and risk assessment.


• Experience in deploying or fixing Technical Surveillance equipment on authorised Intrusive Surveillance operations.


• Experience of working with the following disciplines: Electronics, telecommunications systems, IP network management, Radio Frequency principles, satellite positioning technology, audio and visual capture and rebroadcast., This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills., We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to all. As part of our application process you will be prompted to provide details of any reasonable adjustment to our recruitment process that you may need. If you have a disability or long-term condition (a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long term effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.
  
  £41,347 - £50,089

Roles based in Gillingham will receive an additional London Weighting of £3,847. Recruitment and Retention Allowance: This is currently set at £3,000 for this post. The RRA is an enhancement to the role and is reviewed annually.
A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%, Alongside your salary of £41,347, National Crime Agency contributes £11,163 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

All officers in the NCA are members of the UK Civil Service. You will be eligible for:

• Civil Service pension scheme



• 26 days annual leave rising to 31 on completion of 5 years continuous service



• If qualifying criteria is met new joiners to the NCA from UK Police Forces or 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).



• Training and development opportunities



• Special leave



• Flexible working and family friendly policies



• Cycle to work scheme



• Blue Light scheme