Belfast, Birmingham, Bridgend, Bristol, Chelmsford, Crawley, Dover, Exeter, Gartcosh, Gillingham (Kent), Leicester, Liverpool, London*, Nottingham, Sheffield, Slough, Stevenage, Sunderland, Warrington. The role can be based in any NCA location. Please ensure you are only selecting locations you are willing to work in as you may be offered a post in any of your location preferences. Job Summary About the Human Resources Business Area Serious and organised crime is becoming more challenging and complex. The environment in which we operate is both exciting and uncertain and is likely to remain so. The accelerating rate of technological development, criminals increasingly sophisticated use of technology and the need for the legislative base on which we operate to keep pace are just some of the factors which affect us, in our response to the threat. To be effective, in our work we are investing in our people, recognising that operational success is achieved through the hard work, expertise and commitment of our people. Because the threat is changing we must adapt and change how we work. We are aiming to create a workforce that has pride in what they do and the difference they can make. It is important to us that they feel empowered and enabled to lead today, at the same time as building capability for tomorrow. We are currently undertaking an ambitious programme to transform the NCA’s HR function. Our vision is to deliver a new HR Operating Model and transform the way we recruit and develop people. This includes a new model for learning, a stronger approach to workforce planning and compelling people deal. The HR Command currently comprises a HR Director and two Deputy Directors, who have oversight of the following functions: Learning & Development - designs, develops and delivers training and training support to all NCA Officers and external partners. HR Strategy & Insights - leads on strategic workforce planning and HR data management. HR Delivery Services - provides transactional support and a front-line HR service to the agency. HR Specialist Services - provides a legally and policy complaint support service for the business, responding to the business need and providing support, guidance and advice. HR Partnering and Leadership – provides strategic engagement and advice to Senior Leadership Teams across the agency and leads on talent and performance for the delegated grades. Pay & Reward – responsible for all aspects of pay and reward for NCA Officers and future Pay Strategy. Recruitment and attraction - responsible for ensuring that the staffing requirements for the entire Agency are met. Job Description Key Responsibilities: Leadership of a modern, professional, customer focussed, HR function and management of HR operational delivery processes, including attraction and outreach, recruitment, pre-employment checks and the induction programme. They will lead the Agency’s recruitment and learning and development teams, designing and delivery innovative learning and development solutions to support our fight against serious and organised crime. Recruitment Continuing the transformation of the end-to-end recruitment process and identifying issues and where improvements can be made, including a regular detailed review of data/MI. Develop, with command leaders, robust, practical workforce plans. Developing and implementing an attraction strategy including a strong employer brand to ensure the NCA has a unique and attractive offer to potential employees in the public, UKIC/law enforcement, private and third sectors. Identifying and implementing best practice in recruitment, including a review of selection methods, ensuring consistent assessment approaches that test capability, cultural fit, aspiration and potential. Ensuring compliance of all internal and external regulations including adherence to the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles to ensure and maintain a good Agency rating. Identifying and implementing continuous improvement to the pre-employment checks process, identifying ways to streamline practice. Working closely with the Integrated Protective Services team to transform the candidate experience during the NCA’s vetting process. Considering technology solutions to improve the candidate, hiring manager and HR experiences and that result in greater efficiencies (and removal of duplication) from the current processes. Learning delivery Determine, in association with operational colleagues, the learning and development strategy and offer. Managing the effective delivery of learning, including mandatory learning, identifying ways to improve the employee learning experience. Develop a strong outreach programme with academic institutions, both for leaning and recruitment initiatives, and significantly broadening our apprenticeship offer. Managing how we capture and use the learning data to measure the effectiveness of learning programmes and make data driven improvements. Continuing the transformation of the induction process to ensure officers land in the Agency and understand their responsibilities as NCA. Key Responsibilities Leadership of a modern, professional, customer focussed, HR function and management of HR operational delivery processes, including attraction and outreach, recruitment, pre-employment checks and the induction programme. They will lead the Agency’s recruitment and learning and development teams, designing and delivery innovative learning and development solutions to support our fight against serious and organised crime. Recruitment Continuing the transformation of the end-to-end recruitment process and identifying issues and where improvements can be made, including a regular detailed review of data/MI. Develop, with command leaders, robust, practical workforce plans. Developing and implementing an attraction strategy including a strong employer brand to ensure the NCA has a unique and attractive offer to potential employees in the public, UKIC/law enforcement, private and third sectors. Identifying and implementing best practice in recruitment, including a review of selection methods, ensuring consistent assessment approaches that test capability, cultural fit, aspiration and potential. Ensuring compliance of all internal and external regulations including adherence to the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles to ensure and maintain a good Agency rating. Identifying and implementing continuous improvement to the pre-employment checks process, identifying ways to streamline practice. Working closely with the Integrated Protective Services team to transform the candidate experience during the NCA’s vetting process. Considering technology solutions to improve the candidate, hiring manager and HR experiences and that result in greater efficiencies (and removal of duplication) from the current processes. Learning delivery Determine, in association with operational colleagues, the learning and development strategy and offer. Managing the effective delivery of learning, including mandatory learning, identifying ways to improve the employee learning experience. Develop a strong outreach programme with academic institutions, both for leaning and recruitment initiatives, and significantly broadening our apprenticeship offer. Managing how we capture and use the learning data to measure the effectiveness of learning programmes and make data driven improvements. Continuing the transformation of the induction process to ensure officers land in the Agency and understand their responsibilities as NCA. Person specification In your application you will need to demonstrate evidence against the below essential criteria: We ask that you write a statement of suitability of no more than 1250 words (bahnchrift 11) using examples to explain how your skills and experience meet the essential criteria. Failure to address any or all of these may affect your application. Essential Criteria Inclusive leadership skills – comfortable operating in a complex operational environment, with a demonstrable commitment to lead, develop and nurture a highly performing, diverse and talented workforce. Excellent communication and influencing skills and experience of building effective partnerships, particularly with technical teams, across government, UK public and private sectors, Security partners and with international partners at a strategic level. Significant HR operations delivery experience. Strong generalist HR knowledge from working in complex environment. Knowledge of HR policies and procedures and leading-edge HR practice. Proven track record in design and delivery of large-scale change programmes that include technology components. The ability to articulate a strategic forward vision for a large, complex organisation or system, ensuring that a wide range of internal and external stakeholders are engaged and supportive. Experience of delivering pragmatic interventions in a complex environment that result in cultural change. Demonstration of commitment to identifying and embedding initiatives to develop and foster the team culture in line with the organisational cultural ambitions, fostering a culture of trust which enables people to speak up, feel safe, and advocate for others. Ability to acquire and retain DV status. Chartered Member of CIPD or equivalent professional qualification e.g. Degree in HRM, or must be willing to obtain this within the first 12 months of appointment. Qualifications Chartered Member of CIPD or equivalent professional qualification e.g. Degree in HRM, or must be willing to obtain this within the first 12 months of appointment. Alongside your salary of £81,000, National Crime Agency contributes £23,465 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. Civil Service Pension A competitive contributory pension scheme that you can enter as soon as you join where we will make a significant contribution to the cost of your pension; your contributions come out of your salary before any tax is taken; and where your pension will continue to provide valuable benefits for you and your family if you are too ill to continue to work or die before you retire. If you are an active police pension member immediately prior to joining the NCA, you can continue your membership throughout your employment with us. Annual Leave 25 days annual leave on entry (plus one privilege day for the King’s Birthday), plus 8 Bank Holidays, increasing to 30 days after reaching 5 years continuous service (plus one privilege day for the King’s Birthday), plus 8 Bank Holidays. 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 30 days leave (plus 1 privilege day for the King’s Birthday). Parental Leave Family friendly policies including paid maternity, adoption, paternity and shared parental leave of up to 26 weeks. Access to the government Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) scheme. Existing employees may be able to continue to claim childcare vouchers. Flexible Working Flexible working arrangements allowing you to split your work between the office and home, subject to the nature of the role. Alternative working patterns such as part-time and compressed hours options subject to business needs. Support for officers who are Reservists and Special Constables. Learning and Development Access to a range of learning and development activities, and opportunities to support career progression. Paid time off to facilitate continuous professional development, and access to Civil Service Learning up to 5 days per year. Wellbeing and Inclusion Occupational sick pay and access to occupational health services. A network of qualified Mental Health First Aiders and Workplace Support Officers, who can provide advice, signposting and support to all our officers. On site facilities including fitness centres and canteens (where available). Access to a variety of active staff network groups. Employee Savings Interest-free loans allowing you to spread the cost of an annual travel season ticket. Access to a wide range of discounts, offers and gift cards with a number of high street and online retailers through the Blue light Scheme and EdenRed. Cycle2work salary sacrifice scheme to hire a bicycle up to the value of £4,000 to assist in improving health and fitness and save you money. Access to a home and technology purchase scheme, allowing you to purchase items and spread the cost over 12 months through salary sacrifice. Key worker status, enabling access to accommodation at a discounted rate, subject to eligibility. Access to a range of sports, leisure and health benefits at reduced prices through membership with Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC). Selection process details To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process, outlined below. This should be completed no later than 23:55, on Monday 27th October 2025. Enter your CV details setting out your career history, including key responsibilities and achievements. It is essential that your CV reflects the role you are applying for. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any employment gaps within the last two years. A statement of suitability (no more than 1250 words, bahnschrift 11) with detailed evidence of your skills and experience that relate to the criteria on page 12. In order to monitor the effectiveness of the National Crime Agency’s Diversity & Inclusion strategy, the NCA require certain personal details about you on submission of your application. Please note that this will be treated in confidence and will not impact your application. As part of your application, you will be asked to complete a diversity monitoring form. If you do not wish to provide a declaration on any of the particular characteristics, you will have the option to select ‘prefer not to say’. All monitoring data will be treated in the strictest confidence and will not be provided to the selection panel. The information you provide when submitting your application will help us monitor our progress towards the Civil Service becoming the most inclusive employer. Your application will be acknowledged within 48 hours of receipt. Should you encounter any issues with your application please get in touch with our recruitment partners at the following email address: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk Shortlist A shortlisting meeting will be held in the week commencing 3rd November 2025 with successful candidates given more information about their final panel interview. Assessment A Staff Engagement Exercise which will be delivered virtually on MS Teams in the week commencing 10th November 2025. Final Panel Interview The interview will be held in London in the week commencing 24th November 2025. The panel will assess your previous experience and professional competence against the essential criteria. You will also be asked to deliver a presentation. Full details of the requirements will be given to shortlisted candidates ahead of their interview. A subsequent 1:1 interview may be offered following the final interview at the discretion of the vacancy holder. Offer Regardless of the outcome, we will notify all candidates as soon as possible. If your application is successful and we are unable to offer you a post immediately, you will be invited to join our reserve list so that we can continue to communicate with you regarding your employment with the Agency, and the incredible work that we do. If over the next 12 months we are able to offer you a position, we will contact you as soon as possible. If you are not found appointable at the advertised grade you may be offered the lower grade role if you are considered to meet the skills, experience and behaviours for the lower level. The benchmark for appointing to the lower grade is set at the start of each campaign. All offers will be made in merit. Appointments will be made in adherence to the Civil Service Recruitment Principles and in strict merit order with the highest scoring candidates being appointed first. We will keep you updated throughout your application and whilst in the candidate pool, we wish you every success in this process and are excited for the journey ahead. Role The NCA is a law enforcement agency and as such we are part of the Criminal Justice System. Therefore, if you are going into an operational role we need to be aware if any of our officers have, either before they join us or afterwards, any of the following: Any criminal conviction (including by Court Martial), or caution or fixed penalty notice for disorder or theft; Any adverse judicial findings; Any charges or summonses where the proceedings are not complete; Any misconduct or gross misconduct findings or where proceedings are not complete. You will be asked to complete a declaration form covering the above if offered a role with the NCA. Each case will be considered on its merits and a positive declaration does not automatically mean that your application will not be progressed. However, should you fail to disclose a relevant matter then your application or employment will be adversely affected. If in doubt, please declare it at this stage.’ Indicative Timeline Please note that these dates are only indicative at this stage and could be subject to change. If you are unable to meet these timeframes, please let us know in your application letter. The Anticipated Timetable Is As Follows Advert Closing Date: Monday 27th October 2025 Expected shortlist announcement: w/c 3rd November 2025 Staff Engagement Exercise: w/c 10th November 2025 Interviews: w/c 24th November 2025 Pre-employment checks Pre-employment checks take on average 16 - 20 weeks from the point of offer to arranging a start date. This includes vetting, occupational health assessments, employment history checks and substance misuse tests. This is an approximate time frame and is to be taken as a guideline only as this can very between candidates. This is dependent on when all requested documentation is provided. Candidates are asked to note the above timetable, which may be subject to change, and are asked to exercise flexibility through the recruitment and selection process. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise. As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above. 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. 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 The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). 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. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). 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. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. 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). This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative. 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 : SCS Recruitment Team Email : scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk Recruitment team Email : scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk Further information Civil Service Commission Selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit, on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. In accordance with the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles, our recruitment and selection processes are underpinned by the requirement of appointment on the basis of merit by fair and open competition. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance you should contact; scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk If you are not satisfied with the response you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commission at info@csc.gov.uk and more information can be found at www.civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk