Role Summary
The role is for a Senior Officer within the Covert Monitoring Unit (CMU), delivering a specialist capability supporting NCA investigations into serious and organised crime. Responsible for leading a small team, ensuring lawful and compliant monitoring activity, and working closely with law enforcement partners to gather intelligence and evidence. This is a high‑impact role requiring strong leadership, operational judgement, and the ability to perform in a sensitive, fast‑paced environment.
The role is based on-site within the office due to its operational requirements, and while duties are carried out within a central location, there is limited provision for home working.
Based at the NCA site at Warrington, Cheshire you will be working in a fast-paced, operational role, requiring strong decision-making, leadership, and the ability to adapt to changing priorities. As part of a 24/7 organisation, you will be expected to work flexibly, including unsocial hours at short notice.
Duties & Responsibilities
Skills, Knowledge and Experience
You will have a strong, working knowledge of legislation governing covert monitoring activity, particularly the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), Investigatory Powers Act, and associated codes of practice. An understanding of wider UK and relevant international legal frameworks affecting law enforcement operations is also important. You must be confident applying this knowledge in an operational context, ensuring compliance while supporting investigations. Previous experience in covert monitoring, surveillance tactics, and case management in a law enforcement setting (including CPIA and the criminal procedure rules) is required, alongside an understanding of how covert monitoring benefits investigative strategies both in relation to serious and organised and major crime.
Operational Experience
You will have recent experience of managing officers involved in covert monitoring and/or surveillance activity within a law enforcement or similar operational environment. Such experience would include the planning, authorising, and overseeing of activity requiring covert surveillance or equivalent authorities, ensuring all deployments are lawful, necessary, and proportionate. You should also have a good understanding of major crime and SOC investigations, including the range of proactive, sensitive tactics available to a SIO. Further you should have experience and a good working knowledge around case management (CPIA, criminal procedure rules, the management of legally privileged, excluded and special procedure material etc) and the criminal justice process.
Leadership and Management
Proven experience of managing and leading teams in a high-pressure, operational environment is essential. You must be able to manage, motivate, and develop specialist officers, often working irregular hours in demanding conditions. Experience of coordinating resources, prioritising competing demands, and maintaining officer welfare and performance is required. You will demonstrate strong leadership presence, clear communication, and the ability to influence both peers and senior stakeholders.
Decision Making and Accountability
You will have a track record of making sound, timely decisions in complex and dynamic environments, often with incomplete or rapidly changing information. You must be comfortable taking ownership of operational decisions and outcomes, providing clear rationale, and standing by those decisions under scrutiny. Experience of advising senior officers and contributing to strategic decision-making is highly desirable.
Risk Management
You will have proven ability to identify threats, and manage the associated risk considering impact v likelihood. You should be able to balance operational necessity against legal, ethical, and reputational considerations, implementing appropriate controls and mitigation strategies in real time.
Communication and Interpersonal Skills
Strong verbal and written communication skills are essential. You must be able to deliver clear operational briefings, produce accurate and concise reports, and engage effectively and credibly with a range of stakeholders, including SIOs and partner agencies. The ability to handle sensitive information in line with legislation is critical.
Personal Attributes
You will demonstrate high levels of integrity, resilience, and personal accountability. You must be adaptable and able to respond to changing operational demands, often at short notice. A calm and composed approach under pressure, combined with strong analytical thinking and attention to detail, is essential. Commitment to continuous professional development and maintaining the highest professional standards is expected.
Entry requirements:
Audiometric Test – Candidate will be required to successfully pass an audiometric assessment and undergo further assessments every two years thereafter.
Full UK or International Driving Licence – Candidates must hold a valid driving licence permitting them to drive a car in the UK. This may include a full UK driving licence or an appropriate international driving licence recognised for use in the UK, as the role requires regular travel to operational deployments and visits across the country.
Qualification – The successful candidate must be trained to College of Policing H2 License, or recognised equivalent.
Continuous Professional Development – Maintained Covert Monitoring competence through both deployment history and continuous professional development.
The role requires participation in a rota to provide cover outside core hours, including evenings, weekends, and public holidays. Officers will also take part in a 24/7 on-call system, with frequency determined by business need and line management.
Officers must demonstrate flexibility to adapt to changing operational demands and working patterns.
Rotas will be issued with appropriate notice in line with NCA terms and conditions. An on-call allowance is payable to eligible officers for each session worked.
This role attracts a Spot Rate salary. Spot Rate offers a progressive increase in pay to reflect the skills and experience of the officer.
Successful applicants will start at Spot Rate 1 and will have the opportunity to be reviewed to move to Spot Rate 2 whilst in post
All NCA employees are members of the UK Civil Service and eligible for the Civil Service pension scheme, alongside your salary the NCA contributes £14309. 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:
Further information is available on the NCA Website.
Statement of Suitability
Please provide a 250 word personal statement demonstrating how you meet the criteria below:
H2 equivalent, stating the title of the Covert Monitoring course, date taken and details of the training provider.
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.
The format of this assessment will be Interview which will be tested on the criteria listed in the Success Profiles at Assessment section.
In the event of a tie at the assessment stage, available roles will be offered in merit order using the following order:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Name : Central Recruitment Team
Email : Central.Recruitment@nca.gov.uk