About Us
MI5, MI6 and GCHQ are the UK’s Intelligence Services. We work together to safeguard Britain’s people, interests and businesses from various threats at home, overseas and online, including cyber-attacks, espionage, terrorism, and organised crime. Working across our vital missions, you’ll deliver impact at the heart of national security, all within a supportive and inclusive environment that allows everyone to thrive.
The Role
As a Pensions Specialist, you will oversee the end-to-end pension process ensuring activities are completed accurately and with the correct accountabilities in place. You will improve quality control measures, ensuring the accuracy of the pension payroll and the ongoing development and tasking of the pensions team. We will look to you to identify and implement process improvement initiatives and manage the internal and external audit requirements and stakeholder relationships.
You will be part of a friendly team who like to work collaboratively across the Intelligence Agencies. There will also be an opportunity for you to rotate around various roles within our pension’s team once you have settled to increase your exposure around our processes.
No previous pensions experience is required as full training will be provided, and we will help you design a development pathway that will build your skills, enabling you to do your best in this role and throughout your career with us.
While there are no line management responsibilities for this role, we actively encourage peer to peer learning and knowledge sharing to maximise our collective skills. We recognise that a good work-life balance is important to the wellbeing of our team, and offer flexible working hours totalling 36 hours per week. Due to the nature of the role, we do not offer home working as you will need to access our in-office systems.
About You
We are looking for people with an interest in pensions and with experience of working in a delivery environment on customer service. You will be comfortable interpreting data and producing relevant and meaningful MI (management information) as well as using these skills to solve complex and demanding issues. Your ability to prioritise and plan your workload along with your written and verbal communication will enable you to deal confidently with stakeholders and customers at all levels.
We look for naturally inquisitive people who enjoy working as part of a team. At MI5, you’ll need to be a problem solver who enjoys working collaboratively. Plus, you’ll have an appetite for learning and developing. MI6 are internationally focused, so you’ll have an interest in the world, different cultures, and want to know how people tick. At GCHQ, you’ll enjoy being part of a close-knit team, keen to use data and work collaboratively to have a tangible impact on keeping the country safe. We are looking for people who share our values – integrity, respect, creativity, and the desire to have a positive impact on the UK.
Training and Development
No matter your experience or background, you’ll get lots of dedicated support when you join. With an induction and your own development partner, you’ll quickly get to grips with the role and have access to help and guidance whenever you need it. So, you won’t be on your own – you’ll be a part of a community dedicated to your development
Benefits
Upon joining you will be assigned a dedicated mentor to aid with your transition into the team, you will receive a training plan and have the opportunity to attend our internal training. You will gain access to our learning and development resources and have the opportunity to Professionalise through CIPD external qualifications.
Rewards and Benefits
You’ll receive a starting salary of £39,454 plus other benefits including:
- 25 Days Annual Leave automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, and an additional 10.5 days public and privilege holidays
- Opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme
- Interest-free season ticket loan
- Excellent pension scheme
- Cycle to work scheme
- Facilities such as a gym, restaurant and on-site coffee bars (at some locations)
- Paid parental and adoption leave.
Culture and Working Environment
As part of our team, you’ll discover an inclusive workplace that’s welcoming, supportive and encouraging. You’ll be part of an organisation where people want to support one another and make a difference. Aside from fostering an open culture, we have a range of affinity groups. For example:
- Ethnic Minority and gender equality networks
- Groups supporting wellbeing, mental health, neurodiversity and disability
- Faith/No Faith communities for staff to come together
- LGBTQ+ support networks
You’ll also find a variety of sports, activity, interest and social groups to help you settle in and connect with people with similar interests.
Before You Apply
To work at MI5, MI6 & GCHQ, 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). It’s 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, so once you start your application, you can’t take any recreational drugs and you’ll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage.
The roles are based in London, so you’ll 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.
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 the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.
Equal Opportunities
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: those with different backgrounds, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ages, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce.
We’re Disability Confident
MI5, MI6 and GCHQ are proud to have achieved Leader status within the DWP’s 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 ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this position will be offered an interview where practicable; this is known as ‘Offer of an Interview’. To secure an interview for this vacancy, you will need to meet the minimum eligibility and CV requirement.
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 info please click here. 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. You can apply at the age of 17 years, 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.
What to Expect
Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:
The first thing we will ask you to do is complete our pre-screening questions to find out if you meet our initial criteria. If you do meet these criteria, we will then ask you to fill out a full application form where you will need to create a log in and provide your full name, email address and a memorable password.
Our recruitment team will conduct a sift of your application and successful you will be invited to an interview where you will have the opportunity to demonstrate key behaviours relevant to the role.
If you pass, we will then start the vetting process, which includes a Security Interview. This interview is an important part of the selection process. It’s an interview to explore your life and experiences, and it’s not a competency or capability-based interview.
Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process in order to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 - 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer.
Our Vetting
To work in this role, you will need the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community has to go through and it can take some time. As part of the DV process you will be asked to fill in a detailed questionnaire and attend an interview with a vetting officer. In your interview the vetting officer will have a thorough, compassionate and honest discussion with you about you as a person and your life experiences, to ensure holding a DV clearance is right for you. You don’t need to do any preparation for your vetting interview, just be honest and be yourself. All applicants for DV are treated impartially and consistently, irrespective of gender, race, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation and other protected characteristics.
Right to Withdraw Statement:
Please be aware that we withhold the right to bring forward the closing date for this role from the original closing date once a certain number of applications have been received. Please be mindful of this and submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.