Information about the Business Area

This DD area incorporates our response to organised immigration crime (OIC), the Command’s London-based multi-threat and borders teams, and the Special Operations Unit (SOU).

As Deputy Chief Firearms Instructor (DCFI) you will assist and support the design, development and delivery of NCA armed officer training, with specific regard to the Armed Operations Unit (AOU) niche capability of armed surveillance and armed intervention from a surveillance platform, Firearms Command training and Post Incident Management training across the wider NCA.

As Deputy Chief Firearms Instructor (DCFI) for the NCA you will be directly assisting the Chief Firearms Instructor (CFI) in the managing of a firearms training team with national responsibilities and with the niche capability of armed surveillance. You will play a key role within the Special Operations Unit Senior Management Team, shaping policy with regards to a number of matters including people, development, equality diversity and inclusion. Crucially you will be pivotal in enhancing the culture within the Armed Policing teams – both operational and training and maintaining successful working relationships between the two departments. You will ensure that all training within your area of responsibility is delivered in accordance with NCA policy and guidance, the authorised training planner and the agreed Armed Policing Role Profiles. You will ensure that NCA Armed Policing training is compliant with national policy and guidelines relating to the delivery of firearms training, through the annual College of Policing Firearms Licensing process.

As Deputy Chief Firearms Instructor, the successful candidate will be required to travel to various locations across the UK and may occasionally be required to stay away from home overnight.

Duties & Responsibilities Overview
Leadership Assist the CFI in the management of firearms training team with national responsibilities and with the niche capability of armed surveillance delivering people, development, equality, diversity and inclusion.
Management Team Member Crucially you will be pivotal in enhancing the culture within the Armed Policing team both operational and training and maintaining successful working relationships between the two departments.
Policy and compliance Ensure training delivery is compliant with NCA policy, Authorised Professional Practice Armed Policing (APP AP) and the National Police Firearms Training Curriculum (NPFTC).
Assurance Assure training and delivery in accordance with NCA Policy, APP AP and NPFTC.
Health and Safety Ensure training is delivered in accordance with NCA policy, APP AP and NPFTC.
Manage the Firearms Training Budget Together with the CFI and L&D manage the training budget, making cost savings when appropriate. Engage with commercial when booking venues and procurement.
Maintain Professional Qualifications PPST, NFI, NVQ Teaching diplomas, PTLLS, ASO, Q1.

Skills, Knowledge and Experience Description
Communication Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to engage effectively at all levels.
Leadership Inspires excellence in others and demonstrates values for others to adopt and follow.
Operational Delivery Recent training/operational experience in an armed policing or covert policing role is essential.
Training Effectively plans, delivers and manages training.
Problem Solving Using logic and imagination to make sense of a situation and find an intelligent solution.
Time Management Experience of managing staff, overseeing training records, ensuring staff maintain operational competence.
Team Work Works effectively with others to focus on and achieve joint outcomes, rather than individual goals.
Relationship Management Develops and maintains positive relationships with internal and/or external stakeholders in order to achieve stakeholder needs and business objectives.
Experience A National Police Firearms Instructor with in depth knowledge of Armed Policing Authorised Professional Practice (APP) and the National Policing Firearms Training Curriculum (NPFTC).

Essential Criteria

You must meet the essential criteria and evidence this within your application to be considered for the role.

Essential Accreditation

Are you currently accredited as a Deputy Chief Firearms Instructor (College of Policing standard) and a National Firearms Instructor (College of Policing standard)?

Surveillance Qualification/Experience

You must meet one of the following criteria

Qualified and accredited Surveillance Operative to College of Policing Q1/Q100 standards; or

Qualified and accredited to the College of Policing Surveillance Firearms Integrated Course (SFIC) to Q8/Q800 standards; or

Have significant experience managing the delivery of training for Q1/Q100 or Q8/Q800 standards.

Training, First Aid and Health & Safety Qualifications

You must hold all of the following

D13.2 Enhanced First Aid qualification;

NVQ Level 2 in Managing Health & Safety (or recognised equivalent, e.g. IOSH Managing Safely);

PTLLS qualification (or equivalent/higher teaching qualification).

 

Any applications from candidates not meeting this eligibility criteria will not progress.

Desirable Criteria

Desirable criteria are only used for assessment in the event of a tie break.
Externally awarded assessor qualification level 4.
Firearms Commander (OFC, TAC or PIM).

Salary

A pay flexibility case seeking to modernise NCA pay frameworks was approved by the Government in July 2026. The NCA recognises and engages in collective bargaining with three trade unions: The National Crime Officers Association (NCOA), Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) and FDA. Therefore, our terms and conditions are currently undergoing a formal review, in consultation with these recognised trade unions. The outcome is expected to be known by early 2027.
Allowances are reviewed annually and may be increased, decreased or removed.
All salary offers will be made in line with Remuneration Policy.
  • Roles based in London will receive an additional London Weighting (Per Annum) of £4,379
  • This position attracts a Recruitment and Retention Allowance (RRA) of £3,000 (Per Annum) available as an addition to the advertised salary.

This role attracts a SPOT Rate salary. SPOT Rate offers a progressive increase in pay to reflect the skills and experience of the officer.

Benefits

All NCA employees are members of the UK Civil Service and eligible for the Civil Service pension scheme, alongside your salary the NCA contributes £16,086. Further information on the benefits of the scheme is available on the Civil Service Pension Website.

New entrants to the NCA receive 26 days annual leave, rising to 31 on completion of 5 years continuous service, plus 8 bank holidays.

If qualifying criteria is met new joiners from UK Police Forces or the UK Intelligence Community (UKIC) will have service with those employers taken into account for continuous service purposes for annual leave entitlement only, this will be up to a maximum of 31 days leave (including 1 privilege day).

Other benefits include:

  • Flexible working, including flexi-time, compressed hours and job sharing (in line with business requirements)
  • Family friendly policies, notably above the statutory minimum
  • Learning and Development opportunities
  • Interest free loans and advances, including season tickets, childcare and rental deposits
  • Housing schemes – Key Worker status
  • Discounts and Savings with a wide variety of services including Cycle to Work, Smart Tech schemes, dental insurance, gym discounts and savings on everyday spending, available through the Reward Gateway | Edenred and Blue Light Card schemes.
  • Staff support groups/networks
  • Sports and social activities, including membership to the Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC)

Further information is available on the NCA Website.

Selection Process Details

This vacancy is using the Success Profiles framework and will assess using the following criteria: Behaviours, Experience
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.

How we will assess you

Your application will be assessed against the following:
Experience – This will be assessed:

CV

Please include your full career history, training, qualifications, key responsibilities, and achievements. Explain any employment gaps in the last two years. Ensure all accreditation dates are accurate.

Details of what is expected within your CV are as follows: Please upload a CV no more than 2 pages, Font size 11. Your CV should demonstrate how you meet the outlined essential criteria and person specification listed on the advert. All accreditation, qualification and certification dates may be subject to verification.

Experience Criteria – will be assessed by 250 word examples on:
  • Recent proven experience of training Authorised Firearms Officers (AFO’s) in the following tactics; deals with subjects on foot, vehicles and within structures as set out in NPFTC Modules.
  • A clear theoretical and practical working knowledge of the current National Police Firearms Training Curriculum (NPFTC) and Authorised Professional Practice Armed Policing (APP AP)
  • Experience in improving culture within a team and measuring its success.
A panel will assess how well your application demonstrates the requirements outlined above.

Longlist

In the event of a high number of applications, we may operate a longlist. Applicants will need to meet the minimum pass mark for the lead criteria.

– Recent proven experience of training Authorised Firearms Officers (AFO’s) in the following tactics; deals with subjects on foot, vehicles and within structures as set out in NPFTC Modules. .

Candidates who do not meet the minimum pass mark for the lead criteria will not progress to having their other criteria assessed. Applications must meet the minimum criteria to be progressed to the assessment stage.

You will receive an acknowledgement once your application is submitted.

We aim to have sift completed and scores released within 10 working days of the closing date of the advert. For high volume campaigns this timeframe may be extended.

Scores will be provided but further feedback will not be available at this stage.

For guidance on the application process, visit:
NCA Applying and Onboarding

Assessment 1

The format of this assessment will be Interview which will be tested on the criteria listed in the Success Profiles at Assessment section.

Success Profiles at Assessment

Behaviours
  • Leadership
  • Delivering at Pace
Experience
  • Recent proven experience of training Authorised Firearms Officers (AFO’s) in the following tactics; deals with subjects on foot, vehicles and within structures as set out in NPFTC Modules.
  • A clear theoretical and practical working knowledge of the current National Police Firearms Training Curriculum (NPFTC) and Authorised Professional Practice Armed Policing (APP AP)
  • Experience in improving culture within a team and measuring its success.
Assessment Outcome
Outcomes will be communicated via the NCA recruitment portal.
If successful but no role is immediately available, you may be placed on a reserve list for 12 months.
Reserve lists can be used to fill similar role types across the Agency where the assessment criteria is considered a match by the recruitment team and the business area.

In the event of a tie at the assessment stage, available roles will be offered in merit order using the following order:

  1. Lead criteria (behaviours/technical/experience)
  2. If still tied, desirable criteria will be assessed (if advertised)
  3. If still tied, application sift scores will be used
Feedback is provided only to those who attend an assessment.
You will be subject to vetting and pre-employment checks before appointment.
Once the vacancy closes, the advert will no longer be accessible. Please save a copy for your records.
We encourage all candidates to visit the NCA Careers Page for more information.

Eligibility, Pre-Employment Check and Vetting

Please see the NCA T&Cs and Privacy Policy (pdf) for details on how your data is handled.
If you are an internal candidate who has passed interview but is undergoing an internal investigation or have a written warning in place preventing a post move you may not be able to be posted until this investigation is concluded or restriction lifted.

Nationality Requirements

This role is broadly open to the following groups:
• UK nationals or dual nationals, where one component is British
• 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)
• 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
You will be required to participate in digital right to work and address checks as part of the recruitment process.

Security and Vetting

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard checks.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is SC Enhanced. All security clearances will be managed by the NCA.
For more information on security vetting please visit: UK Security Vetting guidance for applicants and Demystifying Vetting and see our vetting charter at: The Vetting Charter.

Vetting requirements – SC Enhanced

Prior to commencing the role, you will need to successfully complete SC Enhanced clearance.
The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years.
Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.
For further information on National Security Vetting checks please visit the following page Demystifying Vetting
Individuals will be required to undertake and pass a substance misuse test as part of pre-employment checks.

Occupational Health

Successful candidates will be expected to undertake an occupational health assessment. Depending on the role an in-person medical may be required in either London or Warrington. Unfortunately, travel costs will not be reimbursed.

Things you need to know

Operational Roles

The National Crime Agency is a law enforcement agency and as such we are part of the Criminal Justice System. Therefore if you are going into an operational role we need to be aware if any of our officers have, either before they join us or afterwards, any of the following:

Any criminal conviction (including Court Martial), or caution or fixed penalty notice for disorder or theft;
Any adverse judicial findings;
Any charges or summonses where the proceedings are not complete;
Any misconduct or gross misconduct findings or where proceedings are not complete.

You will be asked to complete a declaration covering the above if offered a role with the NCA.

Each case will be considered on its merits and a positive declaration does not automatically mean that your application will not be progressed. However, should you fail to disclose a relevant matter then your application or employment will be adversely affected. If in doubt, please declare it at this stage.

Multi Location

Where multiple locations are advertised, appointments will be made in merit order for each location.

Please indicate up to three location preferences clearly. Only your first three preferences will be considered. You may be allocated to any of the locations you select. If you decline an offer for a location you have selected as a preference, a further offer may not be made.

If you choose to reject an offer and no alternative preferred location can be offered, you will not be able to return to the process or be placed on a reserve list.

Only the advertised locations are available; any additional notes added to the application will not be taken into account.

Near Miss

If you meet the criteria for a lower grade, you may be offered that role if not appointable at the advertised grade.

Conversely, if found appointable at a higher grade but no posts are available, you may be offered a lower-grade role.

All offers are made based on merit.

Hybrid Working

The NCA supports hybrid working. The extent of remote working will depend on the role and can be discussed at the offer stage.

Reasonable Adjustments

We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Leader and an inclusive, equal opportunities employer.

We’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone can be their authentic self. If you’re neurodiverse, have a disability, or live with a long-term health condition, we encourage you to let us know about any reasonable adjustments you may need during the recruitment process.

If you experience accessibility issues with the advert or require reasonable adjustments, please contact our Recruitment Team at central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk before the advert closing date.

Please ensure you complete the ‘Equal opportunities’ and ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ sections in the application form to inform us on what support you may need in the recruitment process.

For more on our Disability Confident commitment, visit Disability Confident Scheme | Civil Service Careers.

Visit NCA Benefits and Support for more details.

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 and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy

In order to monitor the effectiveness of the National Crime Agency’s Diversity & Inclusion strategy, we require certain personal details about you on submission of your application for statistical and monitoring purposes only. Please note that this will be treated in confidence and will not impact your application.

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit on merit through fair and open competition, in line with the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.

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.

If you believe your application has not been treated fairly, email: central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk(quoting the vacancy reference).
If unresolved, you may escalate your complaint to the Civil Service Commission.

Working for the NCA

The National Crime Agency is a 24/7 organisation, and working patterns must support business requirements. Some roles may require you to respond at short notice or outside of core hours.
If preferable, alternative contract types may be available. Please review the green bar of this advert to view all available contract types for this role. Where Loan or Secondment options are available, these would be for existing Civil Servants (Loan) and applicants from accredited Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) or any other employer (Secondment). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.
If you have any specific queries about the role that are not covered by the advert, please contact:

Name : Central Recruitment Team
Email : central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk

Attachments

NCA T&Cs and Privacy Policy (pdf)