Please note that the characters in the above interactive feature are actors and not MI5 employees.
Introduction to Administrative Officers
MI5’s mission is to keep the country and its people safe. It means we have really rewarding careers that rely on people with varied backgrounds, ages and skills – just like our Admin Officer role. Whether you’ve just finished school or are returning to work after a break, whether you choose to work full-time or part-time, you’ll have a hugely positive impact and be at the heart of what we do. It’s a chance to develop your skills and get plenty of support along the way.
What does an admin officer do?
You’ll do lots of different things as you’ll work across a variety of departments. Each one offers a range of roles, diverse challenges and interesting insights. Day-to-day, you’ll be organising meetings, managing information and records, booking travel, looking after visitors and providing essential support to our intelligence officers. It’s all about helping us to run smoothly.
Who are we looking for?
We’re after lots of initiative and great organisational skills. You’ll also need to be comfortable talking to a range of people and paying close attention to detail. And if you’re keen to learn new skills, you’ll have all the makings of an excellent Admin Officer. You’ll also need two GCSEs (or equivalent) in Maths and English, at grades A*-C / 9-4. Or, you’ll have relevant experience within an office and/or admin role.
We’re interested in all the things that make you, you. So there’s really no ‘type’ of person we’re after. And if you consider yourself to have a disability or long term condition we offer adjustments in the recruitment process and support you throughout your career.
This role has given me the opportunity to train in different areas and I’ve carved out such an interesting and unique career.
What support will you give me?
Lots! As soon as you start, you'll go on an induction and be given a mentor. You’ll quickly get to grips with everything and have a friendly face to help. And we understand it takes some time to settle in, so there really is no such thing as a silly question and everyone is here to support you. As you begin to develop, you’ll go on training courses and take advantage of 'lunch and learn sessions'. There is a network group for Admin Officers, where you will get to chat to other people doing the same role.
Is it a really serious environment?
We have a serious job, but that doesn’t mean we’re serious all the time. Everyone’s called by their first name and as we work in a collaborative environment, friendships develop – perhaps because we can talk about our work with each other, but mainly because we’re a welcoming bunch. It’s a very collaborative and supportive place to work and teamwork really is key.
Can I still use social media?
Due to the sensitive nature of our work, you’ll need to be discreet. But don’t worry - while you can’t tell your friends what you do, you can continue to use social media and lead a completely normal life.
What's the work-life balance like?
A lot of people think that all our roles must just be work, work, work. But that’s not true. It’s really important that everyone has a great work-life balance. That’s why we offer part-time working, job sharing, compressed hours and flexible working opportunities.
What benefits can I expect?
We know you’ll work really hard, so we want to make sure you’re rewarded for it. You’ll receive a starting salary of £25,876 and other benefits including: a desirable pension scheme, generous parental leave, and 25 days of annual leave. We also encourage flexible working, so we have a flexi-time scheme and offer part-time working and job sharing where possible. There are also lots of facilities at our site, such as a gym, restaurant and coffee bars. And we also host lots of social events so that everyone can get together outside of ‘work’.
Is it an inclusive place to work?
Whatever your idea of the kind of people who work here, you’ll find we’re just ordinary people doing extraordinary jobs. We work hard to ensure our people can bring their whole self to work. Aside from fostering a welcoming, supportive and open culture, we’ve got a range of growing affinity groups. These currently include:
- our ethic minority network
- a group working to achieve gender and non-binary equality
- a network supporting staff with illnesses and disability
- an open forum for staff with a faith, or no faith, to come together
- our network supporting LGBT+ staff.
Find out more at our Diversity page.
As an Asian woman, I was concerned that I wouldn’t connect with anyone. But that couldn’t be further from the truth!
Disability confident employer
We’re a global organisation that represents and defends the UK’s interests. So, naturally, Diversity and Inclusion is at the top of our agenda. It’s essential that we have a diverse workforce and provide an inclusive workforce. We aim for everyone’s differences to be celebrated, and to create a workplace where everyone feels encouraged and supported.
As well as supporting you throughout the recruitment process, including offering a range of adjustments, we’ll ensure you have the right support throughout your career. We have a dedicated disability network group, which aims to build awareness of disability through internal talks, activities and social events.
We’re also proud to be a ‘Disability Confident’ organisation and to have achieved ‘Leader’ status within the Department for Work and Pension’s scheme. We ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this position will be offered an interview. (This is known as Offer of an Interview.) To secure an interview for this role, the minimum criteria (in order of application process) are:
- Two GCSEs in Maths and English at grade 9-4 (A*- C or equivalent)
- Successfully passing a question about your motivation for applying for the role
- On completion of the application form, you will be invited to an online interview. This is your offer of interview.
Our commitment demonstrates the importance we place on equal opportunities and it means that we also:
- Do our best to accommodate adjustments
- Allow extra time during selection ‘tests’
- Ensure accessible formats are available.
- Offer alternative ways of carrying out different recruitment processes
- Provide equipment where requested.
- Give candidates a telephone number or email address to contact us with any queries throughout the process.
Everyone works towards the same goal. So no matter your background, someone is always willing to help.
Is there anything else I need to know?
To work at MI5, you need to be a British citizen and you’ll need a real passion for the role. We do 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 during the recruitment process.
How do I apply?
If you click the link below, you’ll start your application. You can find out more about our recruitment process further down this page.
What’s the recruitment process?
The recruitment process for this role is outlined below (in order):
Eligibility questions – you’ll answer a number of questions based on the requirements for the role.
Initial form – you’ll create a personal account and complete our equal opportunities monitoring questions.
Application form – you’ll be asked to complete an application which will cover relevant experience, your motivation for applying and some situational judgement questions aligned to being an admin officer. These require no prior knowledge or experience of the role.
To process your application, it's essential that you provide all the information requested in the application form. Our recruitment team will complete an application sift and successful applicants will be invited to the next stage which is an online interview.
Online interview – this interview will take place online over a video conferencing system. You’ll not be required to attend any of our premises. This interview will further explore that you have the potential skills and motivation to join MI5.
Security interview – this interview will take place in Central London and is an important part of the selection process. It’s an interview to explore your life and experiences, and it’s not a competency or capability-based interview. We have taken appropriate measures to ensure that our buildings are COVID secure. This interview will take place in line with current government guidance around social distancing and COVID procedures.
Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process in order to progress to the next and your application may take around 6 - 9 months to process.
Announcer:
A film showing a list of roles and tasks that an admin officer would perform to support counter-terrorism, HR and Finance, Operations and Data Analysis, Information Management and Communications and Legal.
Narrator:
Administrative assistants are at the very heart of MI5.
You'll support vital projects, and work across a range of exciting departments.
Day-to-day, you'll demonstrate and develop a range of administrative skills.
With excellent organisational skills, you'll be responsible for booking travel, ordering office essentials and managing information.
You could be organising critical meetings, so you'll become an essential point of contact.
And as a great communicator, you'll answer phone calls and respond to queries.
You could also be greeting both internal and external visitors, so it's really important you're discreet.
You'll need to be motivated, proactive and have an eye for detail.
It's an important job, but you can't take your work home with you.
And because we work flexibly, you'll have a good work-life balance.
You'll quickly settle into our supportive environment, and feel valued by everyone.
After all, you'll be at the heart of MI5.
Behind everything we do, there's you.
