Senior Policy Advisor Ref. 3878

Flexible working: We support a range of flexible working arrangements, part-time (minimum 32 hours per week), compressed hours, job share and flexible start and finish times. Home working is available one day per week, subject to business need. To find out more about our flexible working options, please visit the work-life balance page of our website.

About us
At GCHQ, we unlock the complex world of data and communications to keep the UK and its citizens safe, both in the real world and online. Working closely with our British Intelligence partners in MI5 and MI6, we protect the UK from threats including serious, organised crime, terrorism, and cyber-attacks. A role at GCHQ offers varied and fascinating work in a supportive and encouraging environment, with an emphasis on teamwork.

The role
As a Senior Policy Advisor, you'll lead a small but influential team, shaping the organisation’s response to policy and legislative developments that could affect how we operate. Your work will help ensure that operational, legal and strategic considerations are properly reflected in discussions across government.

The role covers a varied portfolio of work, balancing immediate priorities with longer-term planning. This could involve coordinating our response to a high-profile policy proposal or bill, drawing on expertise from across the organisation to shape a clear and considered response. At other times, the focus will be on advising senior leaders on emerging policy developments and helping them understand potential risks, opportunities and trade-offs.

Building effective relationships with senior colleagues across the organisation, partners across government and the wider national security community will be an important part of the role. Whether representing GCHQ in cross-government discussions or working with colleagues internally to reach a shared position, your work will help ensure our interests are understood and well represented.

You’ll also lead a team of policy advisors, setting clear direction, supporting their development and creating a collaborative working environment. As part of the wider Strategic Policy and Strategy team, you'll also help strengthen our longer-term policy capability and influence how we engage on policy and legislation more broadly.

As the role works across London and Cheltenham, travel between the two locations will typically be required once or twice a month. There’s usually flexibility around when you travel, although some meetings may require attendance on specific days.

About you
To be eligible for this role, you must be a current Civil Servant with recent experience in
a UK government department and already hold Developed Vetting (DV) clearance. You'll also need experience developing, shaping or influencing policy and legislation through government processes.

Your experience may include leading or making a substantial contribution to the development, passage or implementation of UK government legislation, leading work on complex policy issues, or advising Ministers and senior officials. You’ll also have experience working with organisations across the UK national security community to develop or deliver policy, legislation or wider cross-government outcomes. This will require an understanding of how to balance political, operational and strategic considerations, using sound judgement to navigate ambiguity and find a way forward.

You’ll be confident working with senior stakeholders and influencing policy outcomes, with credibility and political awareness to manage competing priorities. Strong leadership skills are also essential, with experience of setting clear direction, developing high-performing teams and helping people perform at their best.

Training and development
From day one, you'll receive an induction to the organisation, alongside an introduction to the team and your portfolio. A buddy will be there to support you as you settle in, helping you to get to know colleagues, understand day-to-day ways of working and become familiar with the organisation.

As part of an experienced team, you’ll have access to a wide range of learning and development opportunities tailored to your interests and career goals. This could include deepening your policy expertise, developing your leadership skills or broadening your understanding of the organisation and the wider national security community.

Rewards and benefits
You’ll receive a starting salary of £78,139 plus other benefits including:

• 25 days’ annual leave automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, plus an additional 10.5 days’ 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 subsidised 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 truly diverse workforce that 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.

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 are offered an interview, where 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 at each stage of the 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 skill for the role and organisation.

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. 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. Full online application form.
4. An application sift looking at your motivational fit for the role and experience.
5. A face-to-face interview.
6. If successful, you will 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 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. Once you start your application, you must not take any recreational drugs, and you’ll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage of the process.

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 securely.

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, 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 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.