Bristol, Darlington, Manchester, Wolverhampton Job Summary Are you enthusiastic, resilient, a good team player and motivated to make a difference and develop in a public sector setting? Do you have experience in gathering and analysing open-source intelligence? If so, we have an exciting opportunity to join our team at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG); it's ground-breaking, fast-paced and a great opportunity to develop yourself and widen your experience. The Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 exposed serious fire safety issues in blocks of flats nationwide. The government has been clear that those responsible for making buildings safe must do so without delay, that those responsible for constructing unsafe buildings must pay to fix them and that those living in unsafe buildings must be protected. The Recovery Strategy Unit is a delivery focused team that is central to achieving those aims. We use a range of direct levers including strategic communications, intelligence gathering, legal action and sector engagement to increase the pace of remediation and compel those responsible for defective buildings to pay to fix them. Our work includes taking direct action on behalf of the Secretary of State using new powers in the Building Safety Act 2022. We are recruiting an intelligence analyst to drive forward the RSU’s work by providing actionable intelligence, contributing to target mapping and selection, and helping to drive the strategic direction of the team's actions. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with the vacancy holder to find out more about the role. Please note that this role is not a badged analyst role belonging to one of the 4 professions: Government Statistical Service (GSS), Government Social Research (GSR), Government Operational Research Service (GORS) and Government Economic Service (GES) Job Description We are seeking a driven and imaginative intelligence analyst to join our team, working closely with other intelligence analysts and intelligence manager alongside the wider Recovery Strategy Unit. As an intelligence analyst in the RSU, you will manage and deliver open-source projects to identify patterns, trends and intelligence that will support strategy and decision making. You will conduct thorough and imaginative investigations, delivering and contributing to high impact results. You will build relationships and engage with relevant contacts to enable data collection from a variety of credible sources. Once you have gathered information, you will collate, synthesise, analyse and disseminate - writing and producing well-crafted and imaginative packages, delivering complex ideas confidently, clearly and with precision. This role presents an exciting opportunity to directly contribute to the team’s work in increasing the pace of remediation of buildings with unsafe cladding and recovery of public funds from responsible companies. Key Accountabilities: Manage and deliver open-source analysis projects in collaboration with the wider RSU and other MHCLG teams, producing clear, well-evidenced briefings and intelligence products for senior stakeholders. Analyse large datasets to identify patterns, trends and insights that support strategy and decision making. Alongside this, you will use data to identify areas and corporations where RSU action will have the greatest impact. Identify patterns of behaviour, risk flags (e.g. litigation history, phoenix activity, offshore ownership), and financial vulnerabilities to analyse the efficacy of different available levers. Use investigative tools and structured analysis methods (e.g. network mapping, red-flag frameworks) to build accurate target profiles. Identify and assess any reputational, financial and delivery risks posed and advise on risk mitigation, ensuring the team’s risk register is updated. Support governance boards and programme teams with real-time insights on high-risk entities. Develop and maintain an awareness of the applicable laws and regulations, including RIPA (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act), DPA and UK GDPR. Contribute to the strategic planning and forward looks for developing current and future intelligence capabilities with the team. We are seeking a driven and imaginative intelligence analyst to join our team, working closely with other intelligence analysts and intelligence manager alongside the wider Recovery Strategy Unit. As an intelligence analyst in the RSU, you will manage and deliver open-source projects to identify patterns, trends and intelligence that will support strategy and decision making. You will conduct thorough and imaginative investigations, delivering and contributing to high impact results. You will build relationships and engage with relevant contacts to enable data collection from a variety of credible sources. Once you have gathered information, you will collate, synthesise, analyse and disseminate - writing and producing well-crafted and imaginative packages, delivering complex ideas confidently, clearly and with precision. This role presents an exciting opportunity to directly contribute to the team’s work in increasing the pace of remediation of buildings with unsafe cladding and recovery of public funds from responsible companies. Key Accountabilities: Manage and deliver open-source analysis projects in collaboration with the wider RSU and other MHCLG teams, producing clear, well-evidenced briefings and intelligence products for senior stakeholders. Analyse large datasets to identify patterns, trends and insights that support strategy and decision making. Alongside this, you will use data to identify areas and corporations where RSU action will have the greatest impact. Identify patterns of behaviour, risk flags (e.g. litigation history, phoenix activity, offshore ownership), and financial vulnerabilities to analyse the efficacy of different available levers. Use investigative tools and structured analysis methods (e.g. network mapping, red-flag frameworks) to build accurate target profiles. Identify and assess any reputational, financial and delivery risks posed and advise on risk mitigation, ensuring the team’s risk register is updated. Support governance boards and programme teams with real-time insights on high-risk entities. Develop and maintain an awareness of the applicable laws and regulations, including RIPA (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act), DPA and UK GDPR. Contribute to the strategic planning and forward looks for developing current and future intelligence capabilities with the team. Person specification Essential Criteria Proven experience conducting robust open-source research and analysis, drawing on a diverse range of qualitative sources. Strong critical thinking and investigative skills with experience in intelligence, risk, or due diligence roles, and experience working in or with intelligence teams in a public sector or government context. The ability to produce concise, timely and evidenced written analyses, with a proven record of presenting complex issues clearly and with precision to a diverse range of stakeholders. Ability to think strategically and challenge the direction of travel to iterate and improve services offered. Proven experience in data analysis, with the ability to interpret large and complex data sets to gain actionable insights and identify trends and anomalies, and conduct horizon scanning. Familiarity with data governance practices, maintaining data integrity and quality, risk management, and RIPA legislation Alongside your salary of £40,669, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £11,781 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. Learning and development tailored to your role An environment with flexible working options A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97% Selection process details Artificial Intelligence Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use. As part of our pre-employment checking process, we will be using your CV to confirm your job history. Please note that by providing us with your CV you are consenting to us using the information enclosed as part of the checking process. CV and Cover Letter Declaration We recruit based on your knowledge and skills, and not background, gender or ethnicity - this is called name blind recruitment. Please Remove References To Your: name/title educational institutions age gender email address postal address phone number nationality/immigration status You will need to merge your CV and covering letter into one document. When submitting your application Applied will ask you to upload a CV, when doing this you should upload your merged document of your CV and covering letter. Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that your application would be viewed by different assessors. At sift, through your CV and covering letter we will be assessing: Your covering letter should be no more than 1 page referencing how you meet the criteria set out in the job description. The interview will be of a blended nature consisting of the following success profiles elements: Behaviour: Seeing The Big Picture, Making Effective Decisions, Delivering at Pace Technical: Yes – Technical questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description. Candidates will be asked to complete a written exercise that showcases their ability to plan a research project. In the full campaign we will test the below Success Profile Elements: Technical Behaviours Please contact the vacancy manager if you have any questions about the role. We do not consider direct CV applications – you must apply for this role via the application link on Civil Service Jobs. Please note that near miss offers may be made at the lower grade to candidates who do not meet the grade criteria for this campaign. SEO salary The salary for this role is £44,319 (London) or £40,669 (National). For existing civil servants, the usual policy on level transfer and promotion will apply and is non-negotiable. If you apply for a role that requires a transfer of location, for example if you are transferring from London to a National location, your salary will be adjusted in accordance with our policy on transfer between HQ pay ranges. Please note that the average employer pension contribution is based upon the National minimum salary for this role. Should your agreed starting salary for this role be different, the average employer pension contribution will be calculated accordingly. If you are a Secondee, this will not apply as you will remain on your home organisation’s terms and conditions. Benefits Transfers across the Civil Service on or after 4 October 2018 : Any move to MHCLG from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk. For further information about the benefits available to MHCLG employees, please see the attached Candidate Pack. Location Darlington* Wolverhampton Bristol Manchester There may be opportunities for candidates to work flexibly depending on the business needs. This will be discussed with the vacancy manager on a case-by-case basis if you are successful for the role. Please note: The Darlington Economic Campus is a pioneering new cross-government hub which will bring together people across departments and public organisations to play an active role in the most important economic issues of the day. The work of the Campus will make a real difference to people both across the UK and internationally. There will be substantial career opportunities and exciting prospects - a career at the Campus means you will be working at the heart of Government, with access to the benefits and fantastic opportunities offered by the civil service. For further information on the DEC, please take a look at the attached DEC candidate pack. At present, a minimum of 60% of your working time will be spent in your contractual office location. Requirements to attend other office locations or off-site meetings will be counted towards this. You will be asked to express a location preference during the application process. Sift and Interview dates We will be sifting applicants as we go – so please don’t wait until the deadline to submit your application. Interview dates will be confirmed at a later stage, all interviews are currently being held remotely via videocall. Reserve List In the event that we identify more appointable candidates than we currently have posts available, we will hold applicant details on a reserve list for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made. This may include roles at a lower grade. Candidates placed on a reserve list will be informed of this. Those candidates who do not wish to remain on the reserve list should contact recruitment@communities.gov.uk to be removed from the reserve list. Security Clearance Requirements: Please note that successful candidates will need to pass the CTC security checks – this requires you to have been resident in the UK for the past 3 years. Please refer to the MHCLG Notes on Security Clearance section of our Candidate Pack for further information on Counter Terrorism Clearance (CTC). Candidates should also note that with effect from 1st August 2018 the department will also check all applicants who are successful at interview, against the Internal Fraud Database (IFD) held by the Cabinet Office. In accordance with the Civil Service Internal Fraud Policy, any applicant who is included on the IFD will be refused employment by MHCLG. Please see the Candidate Pack for further information on the Internal Fraud Database. Before starting your application it’s very important to make sure that you are eligible to apply and meet the Civil Service nationality requirements. All candidates are expected to read the information provided in the MHCLG candidate pack regarding nationality requirements and rules Candidate Pack Information Please see attached Candidate pack for further information. Internal Fraud Database The Internal Fraud function of the Fraud, Error, Debt and Grants Function at the Cabinet Office processes details of civil servants who have been dismissed for committing internal fraud, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned. The Cabinet Office receives the details from participating government organisations of civil servants who have been dismissed, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned, for internal fraud. In instances such as this, civil servants are then banned for 5 years from further employment in the civil service. The Cabinet Office then processes this data and discloses a limited dataset back to MHCLG as a participating government organisations. MHCLG then carry out the pre employment checks so as to detect instances where known fraudsters are attempting to reapply for roles in the civil service. In this way, the policy is ensured and the repetition of internal fraud is prevented. For more information please see- Internal Fraud Register 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 security check (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 security check (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). 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 : Zoe Eckersley Email : zoe.eckersley@communities.gov.uk Recruitment team Email : recruitment@communities.gov.uk