Project Support Officer Ref. 3862

Salary: £35,134, plus a concessionary payment of £2,758

Following successful completion of probation, you may also be eligible for a skills retention payment of approximately £5,000, subject to achieving a skills assessment aligned to the Project Delivery Capability Framework (PDCF).

Flexible working: We support a range of flexible working arrangements, including part-time working (minimum of 30 hours per week), compressed hours, and flexible start and finish times. While all roles require on-site working, we’re happy to discuss flexible working options where possible.

Please note that requests for compressed hours will be considered after probation, subject to business requirements.

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 places the emphasis on teamwork.

The role
As a Project Support Officer, you’ll contribute to the delivery of projects and programmes across GCHQ, supporting a range of activities that help teams plan, govern and deliver their work effectively.

Depending on your deployment, you may support planning and scheduling, risk management, governance, stakeholder engagement, change control, financial control, assurance and reporting activities.

This is an exciting time to join the Project Support community as we continue to evolve in line with the Project Delivery Capability Framework (PDCF). As the profession develops, the role is expanding beyond traditional financial management, creating opportunities for you to build expertise across a broader range of project support disciplines and develop your knowledge of the wider project delivery profession.

Working closely with Project Managers, stakeholders and customers, you’ll contribute to the successful delivery of projects and programmes by maintaining high-quality information, supporting governance activities and helping teams identify and respond to emerging issues. As your experience develops, you'll broaden your knowledge of the wider project delivery profession and become a trusted source of support within the delivery community. Throughout your career, you'll contribute to a collaborative culture built on teamwork, professionalism and clear communication, supported by a well-established project delivery profession.

All Project Support Officers form part of a deployable pool and may be assigned to different projects, programmes or business areas in line with organisational priorities. Requirements vary, so every role is different, with some deployments having a greater emphasis on financial assurance, while others focus more on planning, risk, governance or other project controls disciplines. You'll need to be comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, adapting to changing priorities and developing new skills as business needs evolve.

UK travel may be required to meet teams and engage with stakeholders. The frequency and locations will depend on the project or programme.

About you
You have at least four GCSEs at Grade 4/C or above, including English Language and Maths, or an equivalent Level 2 qualification, alongside experience gained within a Project Management Office (PMO), project controls, or a project delivery environment. You can demonstrate knowledge, skills and behaviours aligned to the Project Delivery Capability Framework (PDCF) at Executive Officer level.

Comfortable working with project data and information, you can identify key messages, analyse issues and present information clearly and accurately to a range of audiences. Proficient in using Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel, you maintain high-quality records and provide reliable information that supports effective decision-making and project delivery.

Building positive and productive relationships with colleagues, customers and stakeholders, you are confident engaging with a range of audiences. A collaborative team player, you communicate effectively and manage challenging conversations professionally using sound judgement to resolve conflict and achieve positive outcomes.

Taking a proactive approach to your work, you drive continuous improvement and contribute to high standards across the project delivery profession. Flexible and adaptable, you respond positively to changing priorities, deployments and business needs. Experienced in operating in environments where ambiguity exists, you work independently, use initiative and maintain focus whilst balancing competing demands.

As part of the Project Controls community, you’ll be expected to continue developing your capability in line with the Project Delivery Capability Framework, building expertise across project controls disciplines and contributing to the successful delivery of projects and programmes across GCHQ.

Training and development
A structured induction will introduce you to our mission, ways of working and the delivery community you’ll be joining. From day one, you’ll be supported by your line manager and a dedicated buddy who will help you settle in, build confidence and navigate the organisation.

Learning and development are built into the role through a combination of practical experience, training and support across the project delivery community. As a corporate member of the Association for Project Management (APM), we encourage you to take advantage of relevant training, professional networks and development opportunities to broaden your experience and support your career growth.

We foster a “Discover. Develop. Deliver” culture where continuous learning is part of everyday work. You’ll build expertise in planning, risk management, financial control and assurance, while strengthening your project controls capability through practical experience across a range of delivery environments. While the role has no formal line management responsibilities, opportunities to develop leadership and mentoring skills may arise as your career progresses.

As part of a supportive and collaborative project management community, you’ll contribute to continuous improvement, share best practice and learn from experienced professionals as you develop your career with GCHQ.

Rewards and Benefits
You’ll receive a starting salary of £35,134, plus other benefits including:

• 25 days’ annual leave, rising automatically to 30 days after 5 years' service, plus an additional 10.5 days of 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 workforce that truly reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: people of 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 individuals from groups that are currently under-represented in our workforce, such as women, people from ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.

Visit our website to find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity.

We’re Disability Confident
GCHQ is proud to have achieved Leader status within the Department for Work and Pensions’ Disability Confident scheme. The scheme encourages employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people. As a Disability Confident organisation, we aim to ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants who best meet the essential criteria for this position, assessed at sift, are offered an interview, if it is practical for us to do so. This is known as the Offer of Interview. To secure an interview for this role, the minimum 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
• Meet the minimum pass mark for your motivation and skills for the role and organisation - to be assessed at application sift

What to expect
Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:

1. An initial online application form including pre-screening questions to ensure you meet our eligibility criteria.
2. Online Situational Judgement Test (SJT) in which you rate the appropriateness of responses to a series of short scenarios.
3. Application Sift, looking at your motivation and skills for the role and the organisation.
4. Virtual Interview, including technical and competency-based questions.
5. If successful, you’ll receive a conditional offer of employment.

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 GCHQ, you must 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 applying, we recommend setting up a separate email address for your contact with us to ensure your personal and application correspondence remain separate. Try to avoid including 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 securely.

This role is based in Cheltenham, Samlesbury or Manchester so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any practical and financial implications before submitting an application, as we do not offer relocation costs.

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 hard copy 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 begin your application. Applying from outside the UK will affect our ability to progress your application. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.

Right to withdraw statement:
Please be aware that we reserve the right to close applications once a certain number have been received. To avoid missing out, we encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible. 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 and then contact us using the email address provided as soon as possible, please use the subject line “Reasonable Adjustments Extension” and briefly outline the support you require.