Careers in British Intelligence

You’ve heard about MI5 and MI6. But what about GCHQ, the third axis of Britain’s intelligence service?

A Civil Service organisation, GCHQ - Government Communications Headquarters - is one of the UK’s three intelligence services. Together, we support the Government and law enforcement agencies in combatting terrorism and crime. While our work is complex, fascinating and crucially important, it’s also open to everyone. You might be surprised to know there’s a potential career for you too.

GCHQ has two functions. The first is to gather intelligence from electronic and digital signals (for example, computer to computer or from mobile ‘phones). The second is to make sure the Government’s IT infrastructure is kept safe from prying eyes. Most of our work is carried out at our award-winning offices in Cheltenham, where the vast majority of our c. 5,000 employees are based.

Though IT is an important area of recruitment for us, we have plenty of other opportunities. Some of these are directly related to intelligence gathering – such as Linguists, Mathematicians, Librarians and Intelligence Analysts. Others are more general, just as you’d find in any large organisation: for example, Accountants, Purchasing professionals, Pay-roll, Clerical and Administration.

Just because our work’s secret, doesn’t mean you’ll work alone. An established ‘Investor in People’ and ‘Times Top 100 graduate employer’, we’ve been recommended for our teamwork and support, and we’re strong on flexible working and the work/life balance.

We’ll keep your skills up to date with an individually tailored Continuous Personal Development plan, and once you’re in, you can – within reason – switch careers and can expect full training and support to do so. On top of this, we offer competitive salaries and highly attractive benefits.

Diversity

Our work helps protect all British citizens, regardless of age, beliefs, colour or sexual preferences, and reflecting this diversity in our workforce is extremely important to us. Saying this isn’t always enough, and so we’ve developed policies and practices designed to put our thinking into practice. You can find out more detail on our recruitment website, but these include a prayer/quiet room for different religious needs, specific initiatives for women, excellent disabled access and practical help and assistance to staff with different thinking styles (including dyslexia and dyspraxia). The important thing to know is that you’ll be on an equal footing with all other applicants.

The nature of our work means we can only consider people who are British citizens.

www.careersinbritishintelligence.co.uk