At MI5 Business Enablers play an essential role in keeping the country safe. As the country faces increased threats to national security, it will be your role to support the intelligence business through our many corporate roles.

The Role

MI5 safeguards the UK against threats such as terrorism, espionage, cyber and sabotage. We investigate suspect individuals and organisations in the UK to obtain, collate, analyse and assess secret intelligence relating to these threats. Alongside our British Intelligence partners MI6 and GCHQ, we provide the UK government with the information they need to protect national security. At MI5 you’ll enjoy varied and rewarding work in a supportive and encouraging environment that puts the emphasis on teamwork.

It means we have really rewarding careers that rely on people with varied backgrounds, ages, and skills – just like our Business Enabler role. Whether you’ve just graduated or want a career change, you’ll develop your skills, have a hugely positive impact and be at the heart of what we do. As a Business Enabler at MI5, you will play an essential role in protecting national security. The support you give in one of our many corporate/mission enabling positions will help the wider intelligence business work smoothly. It’s varied work that’ll give you lots of interesting insights.

You’ll work in a corporate/mission enabling role and collaborate with a range of business areas. When you join, you won’t be rotated around different departments. Instead, your first post will typically last for two to three years. You might be based in fascinating areas like Finance, Legal, Information Management, HR, Project Management, Compliance, Recruitment, Policy, and Data Management. And that’s just to name a few.

This’ll help you to gain a breadth of experience, build relationships and develop detailed knowledge in one specific area of our organisation. And after that, you’ll take full control of your career as you can apply for a range of roles across MI5. While you’ll be employed by MI5, you might have opportunities to also work with MI6 and GCHQ.

About you

There’s no one ‘type’ of person we’re after. Safeguarding the UK requires talented people, and those people aren’t found in any one particular section of society. Our Business Enablers come from a range of backgrounds and with various degree disciplines. Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit.

To join, you’ll have (or be expecting) a 2:2 degree or above in any degree discipline, or you’ll have work experience in the workplace where you have developed the skills and qualities that will be crucial for success in this role. That experience could come from any range of employers. You’ll be able to communicate effectively with people, establish productive working relationships, work well in a team and be adaptable to new working environments. With great organisational skills and a good eye for detail, you’ll trust your own judgment and have confidence in making your own decisions. While happy to take responsibility for your own areas of work, you’ll also enjoy collaborating to solve problems. And it’s important that you’re keen to learn.

No matter your experience or background, you’ll get lots of dedicated support when you join. With an induction and your own mentor, you’ll quickly get to grips with everything and have a friendly face to help.

Rewards and benefits

You’ll receive a starting salary of £34,414 rising to £37,203 after 1 year (London) £32,050 rising to £34,648 after 1 year (Cheltenham & Manchester) and 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
• Personal Learning Budget

• Opportunities to work flexibly, subject to business needs
• Interest free season ticket loan
• Excellent pension scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Parental and adoption leave

There are lots of facilities at our site, such as a gym, restaurant, and coffee bars. And we also host lots of social events so that everyone can get together outside of ‘work’.

Culture and Working Environment

We have a serious job, but that doesn’t mean we’re serious all the time. We work in a collaborative environment, friendships develop – perhaps because we can talk about our work with each other, but mainly because we’re a welcoming bunch. It’s a very collaborative and inclusive place to work and teamwork really is key.

It’s also really important that everyone has a great work-life balance. That’s why we offer part-time working, job sharing, compressed hours and flexible working. We also work hard to ensure our people can bring their whole selves to work. Aside from fostering a welcoming, supportive, and open culture, we’ve got a range of growing affinity groups. These currently include:

• Ethnic Minority networks
• Communities supporting gender diversity and social mobility
• 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 range of sports, activity, interest, and social groups to help you settle in and connect with people with similar interests.

Find out more at our Diversity page.

If you are in the final year of your studies we advise you to apply now. During the recruitment process our recruitment team will give you further information about when you would be able to join.

We reserve the right to close the online vacancy when we are in receipt of sufficient applications. Should you wish to apply for this post you are advised to complete and submit your application form as soon as possible.

Before You Apply

To work at MI5, you need to be a British citizen and you’ll need a real passion for the role. We do 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.

Honesty and integrity are really important if you want to work at MI5. Take some time to read about the vetting process and make sure you meet the criteria in the vetting pages of the ‘How to Apply’ section. The process can take some time, but this is just because it’s thorough. Giving misleading information and omitting or concealing information during the recruitment and vetting process is viewed very seriously.

The majority of these roles are based in London, but there are also limited opportunities in Cheltenham and Manchester. You will be asked to specify your location preference, but we cannot guarantee that you will receive your preference. You will 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 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.

Disability Confident Employer

We’re a global organisation that represents and defends the UK’s interests. So, naturally, Diversity and Inclusion is at the top of our agenda. It’s essential that we have a diverse workforce and provide an inclusive environment. We aim for everyone’s differences to be celebrated, and to create a workplace where everyone feels encouraged and supported.

As well as supporting you throughout the recruitment process, including offering a range of adjustments, we’ll ensure you have the right support throughout your career. We have a dedicated disability network group, which aims to build awareness of disability through internal talks, activities, and social events.

We’re also proud to be a ‘Disability Confident’ organisation and have achieved ‘Leader’ status within the Department for Work and Pension’s scheme. We ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this position will be offered an interview, (this is known as Offer of an Interview). To secure an interview for this role, the minimum criteria (in order of application process) are:

Eligibility Questions – You will be asked a series of questions relating to this vacancy. If you meet this criteria, you will be directed to the initial application form.

Online Test – You will be required to reach the pass mark set for the situational judgement test.

On successful completion of this test and an application form sift; you will be invited to an interview. This will normally be a telephone interview and is our guaranteed interview.

Our commitment demonstrates the importance we place on equal opportunities, and it means that we also:

• Do our best to accommodate adjustments
• Allow extra time during selection ‘tests’
• Ensure accessible formats are available
• Offer alternative ways of carrying out different recruitment processes
• Provide equipment where requested
• Give candidates a telephone number or email address to contact us with any queries throughout the process

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