Details

Reference number

390601

Salary

£20,200

Job grade

Other

Contract type

Fixed term

Length of employment

2 Years

Type of role

Other

Working pattern

Annualised hours

Number of jobs available

Contents

Location

About the job

Things you need to know

Apply and further information

Location

London

About the job

Job summary

Shaping the future of MI5

MI5 keeps the country safe from serious threats like terrorism and attempts by states to harm the UK, its people and way of life. We carry out investigations by obtaining, analysing and assessing intelligence, and then work with a range of partners, including MI6 and GCHQ to disrupt these threats. Through our protective security arm, we provide advice and guidance to government, businesses and other organisations about how to keep themselves safe. A role in MI5 means you’ll do unique and challenging work in a supportive and encouraging environment, making a real difference to UK national security.

A role as a Non-Executive Director at MI5 will give you unique insight into the world of national security, and a chance to help shape the success and future of the UK’s domestic intelligence service.

Job description

The role

We’re seeking an experienced senior leader with board-level experience and a passion for making a difference to the lives of people in the UK to join our Management Board. The time commitment for these roles is approximately 20-24 days each year. Before you apply, please ensure there are no conflicts of interest, including other roles in your portfolio, or national security conflicts.

The successful applicant will step into this role at a time of significant change and transformation. You will join MI5 as it works to meet rising challenges presented by those who mean the UK harm – and as it makes major shifts to seize the opportunities and manage the risks of the digital age; including an increasing need to engage with the private sector, both to build future capabilities and to protect it.

Working with our executive and non-executive directors in a dynamic and demanding environment, you will help to shape, scale and promote the long-term sustainable success of MI5. You will act as a critical friend to the Director General, and provide a valuable external perspective to the organisation.

As a Board member you will contribute your knowledge and expertise to the Management Board’s debate and collective decision making. You will help us achieve cultural change and our EDI ambition. In addition, you will support and challenge the executive team to achieve its plans and optimise performance, while jointly advising on effective governance, strategy, opportunities, risk, innovation, and transformation.

Person specification

Key responsibilities are:

to actively participate in Management Board Committees and sub-committees

to provide an internal and independent view on the running of the business, including executive performance, ensuring high levels of appropriate accountability and governance best practice

to provide independent counsel to the Director General, acting as a trusted sounding board

to provide valued input and contribution to Board meetings, constructive independent challenge to the thinking and decision-making of the Management Board

to ensure the effective implementation of Board and Committee decisions by the Director General and leadership team

to advise and support other members of the department on defined topics, and support, mentor, and coach directors where requested

to regularly update own skills, knowledge, and familiarity with the business, risks to the business, and regulatory environment

Person Specification

Essential Criteria

We are seeking direct and recent experience of:

effective governance in global/complex organisations in the private, public or voluntary sectors, with main board-level experience as an executive or non-executive

developing and using strong communications skills, including an ability to offer challenge in a constructive, straightforward and open manner

assessing and managing risk, including high risk and high value

understanding of the wider environment in which MI5 operates, including its current strategic and organisational challenges, as well as the wider challenges faced by the public sector

utilising an engaging and collaborative working style which is challenging and constructive, inspire confidence with a wide range of stakeholders

supporting, mentoring and coaching senior leaders and the delivery of organisational culture change

Desirable experience:

operating as a Non-Executive in a large and complex organisation

operating in a political environment with complex operational challenges and multiple collaborative dependencies

working directly with central government and in a large-scale regulatory environment

experience leading and embedding system wide technological change across the whole of a global/complex organisation

Skills and Qualities

The successful applicant will:

demonstrate the breadth of vision and communications skills to both absorb complex issues quickly and offer clear and insightful contributions to strategic discussions

bring a truly independent perspective and original input to board meetings, with demonstrable experience of holding executive teams to account and offering constructive challenge to strategy, process and practice at a high level

be motivated to act in the public interest to make a meaningful contribution to the governance of an organisation of critical national importance

be a calm and considered listener, with an open approach, good emotional intelligence, and the ability to develop effective relationships

be enthusiastic, inquisitive and robust, committed to pursuing and exploring all issues relevant to the business and governance of the organisation

You will be expected to:

attend, in person, the MI5 Management Board and occasional offsite meetings. This will include preparation/ reading time, and on occasion, pre-briefs, to ensure the necessary background and knowledge for full participation in Board activities

allocate sufficient time to discharging the key responsibilities of the role

complete all mandatory training

regularly update and refresh your skills, knowledge, and familiarity with MI5’s business, the risks it runs, and the legal framework and ethics with which it must comply

have a high degree of integrity and impartiality, avoiding conflicts of interest and be able to hold Developed Vetting

adhere to, and promote, MI5 values and behaviours

undertake duties in accordance with the Cabinet Office Code of Conduct for Board Members

Key terms

Time commitment: approximately 20-24 days a year, with attendance and preparation for 8 board meetings and two conferences a year. Each meeting will require a commitment to preparation time usual reading time expectation is a few hours per meeting.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Equal Opportunities

At MI5 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, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, 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 such as women, those from an ethnic minority background, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.

Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our website:

https://www.mi5.gov.uk/careers/diversity

We’re Disability Confident

MI5 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 offer a person-to-person interview to any candidate who self-identifies as disabled and meets the essential criteria for the role. This is our ‘Offer of Interview’ (OOI). To secure an interview for this vacancy, the essential criteria (in order of application process) are:

Meeting the eligibility criteria

Meeting the qualification criteria

Demonstrating the skills referenced for the role at the CV and covering letter sift

There is a wide range of extra support available throughout the recruitment process to enable you to do your best, see our website for information on reasonable adjustmentsherewe can offer.

What to Expect

Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:

Application sift, looking at your motivation for the role and the organisation

If successful, you will receive an invitation to attend an interview

If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment

Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process 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.

Before You Apply

To work at MI5, you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. You can read our full eligibility criteriahere.

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.

Before you apply, we advise you to consider setting up a separate email address for your contact with us, to ensure your personal and application correspondence remain separate. Try to avoid having identifying features in your email address, such as your first and/or surname and date of birth. This is good practice and will help you to manage your application with us more securely.

The role is based in London, so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application.

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.

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.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

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

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

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 (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

Name :

senior-hires-recruitment@mi5.gov.uk

Email :

senior-hires-recruitment@mi5.gov.uk

Recruitment team

Email :

senior-hires-recruitment@mi5.gov.uk

MI5 - The Security Service jobs

Non-Executive Director