G4 Cover Officer – Specialist Operations Advanced

For roles based in London, your contractual place of work will be Stratford. While the Stratford site is expected to become operational from November 2025 – March 2026, you will be required to carry out your contractual duties from Vauxhall or another reasonable location on a temporary basis during the interim period.

Please note that, as Stratford will be your contractual place of work, any subsequent move from a temporary location will not entitle you to payments for travel time or costs under the Relocation and Excess Travel Policy.

About the Role

Information about the Command

The role of Intelligence is to develop the right operations, which target and disrupt – by the most effective means – the offenders who seek to cause the highest harm to the UK.
A diverse directorate with a wide variety of unique functions and specialist skillsets in our ranks, some of which we deliver as the national provider for the wider Serious Organised Crime (SOC) system. From our niche technical capabilities, to our overseas network of International Liaison Officers (ILO) and our Tasking teams, there are many component parts which contribute to the efforts of the directorate and the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Information about the Business Area

Intelligence Collection coordinates NCA collection capabilities against the NCA’s highest priorities. Intelligence Collection includes forensics, open source, covert human intelligence sources, undercover officers and technical collection capabilities. This includes responding to threats and exploiting opportunities relating to the use of electronic communications by Subjects of Interest using the various powers conferred within the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA). This is a dynamic and diverse arena with constant and rapid change, suiting those officers who thrive on near constant challenge.

Specialist Operations within the NCA includes Advanced Undercover Officers (UCOs) and dual role Cover Officers / Advanced UCOs. Both are deployed as undercover officers to collect intelligence and evidence, proactively and reactively in support of NCA objectives and operations in accordance with the Serious and Organised Crime Strategy. Those in the dual role G4 Cover Officer / Advanced UCO will supervise the deployment of UCOs when not deployed themselves. UCOs will also engage in operations utilising covert haulage, maritime and aviation resources.

Undercover officers will:
– Deploy as an undercover officer in support of the NCA and domestic and international partners, authorised projects and operations.
– Enable the NCA and partners to maximise collection opportunities that are in line with the organisational intelligence and evidential requirements to support operations into complex serious and organised crime at both a national and international level.
– Participate in the debrief of deployments to ensure that a full, accurate and timely account is disseminated to operational officers.
–  Maintain an in-depth knowledge of legislation, case law and practices appropriate to covert operations and perform the role of a UCO legally with honesty and integrity.
– Gather, maintain and record material from deployments to produce quality written and oral presentations of intelligence and evidence to support prosecutions, intelligence pictures or disruption as appropriate.
– Give evidence at court both in the UK and abroad in line with legislation and NCA policies.
– Undertake personal responsibility and accountability for the management and maintenance of operational assets and equipment and ensure training qualifications are in date and available for deployment.
– Develop and maintain effective working relationships with internal & external UCOs in order to foster collaborative working and mentoring.
– Provide support to colleagues to maintain covert premises, administration and assets to the standard required by the law and relevant covert law enforcement policies and procedures.

Duties & Responsibilities Overview
Deploy as an Undercover Officer Deploy as an undercover officer in support of the NCA and domestic and international partners, authorised projects and operations.
Supervision Supervise the deployment of undercover officers and assets in support of NCA projects and investigations.
Risk Management Ensure that the risks attached to a deployment are thoroughly assessed, documented and that adequate control measures are in place to manage the risks.
Health & Safety Monitor deployment activity to ensure that health, safety and welfare of officers are not jeopardised and that the activity is not at a level that poses an unacceptable or unmanageable risk.
Knowledge of relevant Legislation Ensure UCOs do not go beyond the intended scope of authorised activity and that their activities are concurrent with the strategic and tactical objectives of the investigation.
Subject Matter Expert Provide advice on legislation, policy, tactical options and evidential opportunities to assist in the planning and implementation of investigations / operations.
Working Together Develop and maintain effective working relationships with both internal & external stakeholders in order to foster collaborative working.
On-Call duties Cover Officers will be expected to form part of an on-call roster.
Deployment in or supervising UCOs involved in investigating CSAE and CSAM UCOs and Cover Officers may be expected to work directly or indirectly in tackling child sexual exploitation and abuse. This may involve exposure to child sexual abuse material.

Skills, Knowledge and Experience Description
Advanced Undercover Officer To have successfully completed a UK accredited Advanced
Undercover Officer course
Cover Officer To have successfully completed an accredited Cover Officer course or to pass an accredited course within 12 months
CPIA Demonstrable knowledge of disclosure /exhibits procedures
Legislation and Procedure In-depth knowledge of law enforcement investigations and criminal justice procedures including CPIA, PACE, RIPA, CCA and PII.
Risk Management Experience of managing risk in an undercover environment
SOC work Proven relevant experience of UCO working in serious and organised crime operations
Communication Communicate with others in a clear, honest and enthusiastic way in order to build trust.
Decision making (including Dynamic decision making) Make decisions confidently in time critical situations and under pressure, even when details are unclear or if they prove to be unpopular
Problem Solving Using logic and imagination to make sense of a situation and find an intelligent solution.

 

On Call Duties

There will be a regular expectation of on call duties in line with a departmental rota.  This will generally be a week of on call, covering overnight periods during the working week, and continued 48 hour cover over the weekend.  The on call rota can change with operational requirements, but will typically necessitate one week in five or six.

Essential Criteria

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

Candidates will need to have the following to be eligible to apply:

To have successfully completed a UK accredited Advanced Undercover Officer course.

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

Salary

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 £4218
  • Roles based in the South-East will receive an additional South-East Allowance (Per Annum) of £3375
  • This role attracts a Special Duties Bonus Payment (SDBP) up to £2400 (Per Annum)

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

Apply for this job

Click here to apply