Lawyer Ref. 3834

Flexible working: due to the sensitive nature of the work, remote working or home working will not be possible. However, other flexible working options such as part-time (minimum four days per week), compressed hours and job shares would all be considered.

Please note that interviews for this role will take place in early 2027.

About us
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.

The role
We are looking for experienced legal practitioners – irrespective of personal and professional background - to support and deliver our mission across a range of legal disciplines and practice areas. Many of the areas we cover are unique to the world of intelligence and national security and all of which are exciting, varied and at the cutting-edge of the law. Previous experience of national security law is not essential.

Working in one of our legal teams (but with the expectation that over time you will work across all our legal teams), you will deal with novel, complex and challenging legal issues arising from the delivery of MI5’s mission. You will advise on: operations and investigations; the development and deployment of technical capabilities; data and information acquisition, use and sharing; the use of executive powers and the disruption of terrorist and hostile state activity; litigation and engagement with oversight and scrutiny bodies; and the development of new legislation and powers.

This role offers the chance to make a real difference to the safety of the country and its citizens, with immediate responsibility coupled with plenty of on-the-job support and career and professional development to help you build new skills and areas of expertise. Plus, with no client time recording or billable hour requirements, you will be able to focus on delivering sound legal advice and creative solutions that support our national security mission.

We are looking for potential and the ability and desire of lawyers to pick up new areas of law and new responsibilities. Lawyers may have the opportunity to lead cross-disciplinary teams of lawyers and non-lawyers, and lead on particular projects and areas of work, but there are no direct line management responsibilities.

Some aspects of the role might require travel around the country or internationally, but this is infrequent and not an expected day to day aspect of the job.

About you
You will be a solicitor or barrister, qualified to practise in England and Wales, with a minimum of 2 years’ Post-Qualification Experience (PQE). You do not need national security law experience to apply. We are more interested in your potential, your intellectual curiosity and your desire and ability to develop expertise in new areas of law.

You will have the ability to find creative solutions to complex legal problems, drawing on your experience and judgement. Whether your background is in criminal, public, human rights, immigration, data and information, family, corporate and commercial, litigation or any other area of law, you will bring a perspective that can add something new to our work.

You will be persuasive and diplomatic, with excellent written and verbal communication skills, and able to handle complex and sensitive casework with credibility. You will be capable of making sound risk-based judgements and have the ability to operate independently. You will have the insight to know when to seek support and assistance and a desire to work as part of a supportive and collaborative team. You will be seeking a career with real purpose and will want to make a positive difference.

Training and development
You will have the potential to develop into an effective all-round national security lawyer but you do not need to know everything when you join us. From day one, you'll have a comprehensive induction, both into the specific legal team you join and into the wider legal department and national security legal community. This will be followed by on-the-job training and a personal development plan tailored to you. You will also have access to courses through our internal training academy, alongside wider professional development support in a close-knit environment where lawyers are encouraged to keep learning, however experienced they already are.

Alongside your line manager, you'll be allocated a mentor and a buddy within your team, giving you both immediate, practical support as you settle in and an ongoing source of guidance as you grow. Beyond the development support we offer, you will also have ownership of the way you would like to grow, including identifying and pursuing the opportunities that match your own goals. Training here works across different timeframes: in the short term, it is about getting you up to speed as quickly as possible; over the longer term, it is about building deep expertise in your field of specialism while still having room to branch into new areas as your interests evolve.

Rewards and benefits
You’ll receive a starting salary of £86,779 or £96,097 (depending on experience) plus other benefits including:

• 25 days of annual leave automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, and an additional 10.5 days of public and privilege holidays
• opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme
• a dedicated development budget
• 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 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.

We’re Disability Confident
MI5 is proud to have achieved Leader status within the Department for Work and Pensions 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:

• 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
• be able to demonstrate the skills referenced for the role and an ability to find creative solutions to difficult legal problems - assessed at application sift
• be able to demonstrate an ability to handle complex and sensitive casework with credibility - assessed at application 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 adjustments we 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:

1. Initial online application.
2. Online Situational Judgement Test (SJT) in which you rate the appropriateness of responses to a series of short scenarios.
3. Full online application.
4. Application sift which looks at your evidence against the essential criteria above and motivation for the role and the organisation.
5. If successful, you will receive an invitation to attend an online assessment and, then if successful, an invitation to attend a final round in-person exercise and competency-based interview.
6. If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment subject to vetting.

Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 to 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. Read about our eligibility criteria.

This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. Find out more about the vetting process.

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 manage your application with us more discretely.

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

We offer reasonable reimbursement of travel costs for candidates attending in‑person appointments during the recruitment and vetting process. Full details will be provided with your interview or assessment invitation.

Reimbursement is discretionary and will only be made in line with the Candidate Expenses Policy, as amended from time to time. Candidates must book their own travel, using the most economical option, and provide original hardcopy receipts for reimbursement.

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 close applications early
Please be aware that we reserve the right to close applications once a certain number have been received. Please submit your application as soon as possible to avoid missing out. If you have a disability (as defined under the Equality Act 2010) and need additional time to complete your application, please submit your initial application. Then, contact us via the email provided as soon as possible, using the subject line "Reasonable adjustments extension" and briefly outline the support you require.