Administrative Officers Ref. 3784

Flexible working

we support full time, part time, compressed and flexible hours, subject to business need. Due to the nature of this role, remote or homeworking is not possible.

About us

GCHQ is an intelligence, cyber and security agency with a mission to keep the UK safe. We use cutting edge technology, ingenuity and partnerships to identify, analyse and disrupt threats. Working with our intelligence partners MI5 and MI6, we protect the UK from terrorism, cyber attacks and espionage. At GCHQ you'll do varied and fascinating work in a supportive and inclusive environment that puts the emphasis on teamwork.

The role

Working in an admin role at GCHQ means playing a key role in the service behind the UK's Intelligence Services. By providing mission critical business support, you'll have a hugely positive impact at the heart of what we do. It's a chance to develop your skills, gain new experiences, and get plenty of support along the way.

As an Administrative Officer, you'll be assigned to a specific team depending on business needs, where you'll be expected to stay for a minimum of 18 months. You could be posted to a wide range of teams/departments including IT, Strategy and Technology teams. Each business area offers diverse challenges and interesting insights. Day to day, you might be organising meetings, managing information and records, booking travel, or looking after visitors to our buildings.

And after a minimum of 18 months, you'll be able to shape your career the way you want, either applying for promotion within an admin role or taking everything you've learned with you as you explore new opportunities within our organisation - or maybe with one of our partner agencies.

This is a great role for someone starting their career, or looking to change careers - to do work that's influential, appreciated - and vital. You'll work as part of a community of Administrative Officers who'll encourage your contributions, alongside colleagues across GCHQ. Plus, with dedicated training and development opportunities available to you in addition to on the job learning, you'll grow your skills and shape a truly rewarding career.

Please note, occasional travel across the UK will be part of the role, giving you the opportunity to support different sites and work with a wide range of colleagues.

About you

There's no one 'type' of person who can become an Admin Officer. You might be an experienced administrator looking to apply your skills in an organisation with national impact. You might want to focus on doing excellent work and being recognised for it, without necessarily pursuing constant progression. Or you may be starting out or changing direction, looking to build a strong foundation for your future. Whatever your path, this is a role where conscientious, high quality work is valued.

To apply, you'll need a minimum of two GCSEs in Maths and English Language at grade C/4 or above, or equivalent. We're looking for people with lots of initiative, good collaboration and organisational skills, alongside a desire to deliver great customer service. You'll be comfortable working in a team but also able to take the initiative and proactively manage your workload. You'll also need to be comfortable talking to a range of people and able to pay close attention to detail. A good understanding of Microsoft Office is also important.

Training and development

Upon joining, you'll attend a short induction course to give you a broader understanding of our organisations and the way we work. We're committed to ensuring our people are able to maximise their talent, so throughout your career with us you'll also have the opportunity to attend a wide range of personal development and job specific courses.

Whether through internal training or knowledge sharing, you'll never stop learning. Plus, our strong community of Admin Officers have created a peer support group, where you can learn from each other, share ideas, organise events and build connections that'll last throughout your career.

Rewards and benefits

• 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
• an interest free season ticket loan
• an excellent pension scheme
• a cycle to work scheme
• facilities such as a gym, restaurant and on site coffee bars (at some locations)
• paid parental and adoption leave

Equal opportunities

At GCHQ 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.

We're Disability Confident

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 offer a fair and proportionate number of person to person interviews 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:

1. You'll be required to reach the minimum pass mark for the online Situational Judgement Test (SJT), which assesses criteria important for all roles in our organisation.
2. You will be required to reach the minimum pass mark in the motivation and skills based application questions.

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

Workplace requirements

To work at 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.

The role is based in Cheltenham and Manchester, so you'll need to live within a commutable distance to your chosen location. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application as we do not offer relocation costs.