Facilities Support Officer London, England
Job description
About Us
We are MI6, also known as SIS. We work with the UK’s foreign partners to support global stability by combating international terrorism and the spread of weapons. We work secretly around the world gathering intelligence to promote and protect the UK’s interests and help stay ahead of our adversaries.
The Role
You will be joining a busy team, who undertake a variety of facilities roles in support of their MI6 colleagues who are based in the United Kingdom and overseas.
The role is mainly based in Central London but could occasionally be split between a number of buildings within the M25.
Job specific training will be provided and no previous experience in Facilities Management is required.
As a Facilities Support Officer you are the face of the Estates Department for the majority of colleagues within the organisation.
- Your day and week can be varied and can include driving (e.g., forklift, minibus and 7.5t lorry-subject to external training), delivering mail, dispensing stationary, portable appliance testing, painting & decorating, carpet tile laying and furniture building. We will also train you as part of our locks support team. Handyperson skills are a nice to have, however a flexible working attitude is essential.
- We do occasionally offer limited voluntary overseas working opportunities.
- 41 hours office based (Monday – Thursday 08:00 – 16:15 & Friday 08:00 – 16:00)
- There are no line management responsibilities in this role.
About You
You should be comfortable working in a customer facing role, dealing with colleagues from across the organisation at all grades. You need to be a good communicator and be happy working in a team.
A driving licence is essential.
We need people who are able to switch between jobs as priorities change during the day – no day (or week) is ever the same.
Knowledge of electrical installation and maintenance, PAC testing and fire regulations/compliance would be useful but is not essential.
Training and Development
We will provide training if you do not have the qualification (on your driving licence) to drive either a minibus or lorry.
You will receive day to day training (provided internally) for all mail room and specialist duties and all relevant Health & Safety responsibilities.
Before beginning with the team, you will undertake a MI6 induction course and then a specific Estates Team H&S induction.
Rewards and Benefits
You’ll receive a starting salary of £29,979 including allowances plus other benefits including:
- 25 Days Annual Leave automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, and an additional 10.5 days public and privilege holidays.
- Opportunities to work flexibly, subject to business needs.
- Interest-free season ticket loan
- Excellent pension scheme
- Cycle to work scheme
- Facilities such as a subsidised gym and restaurant, and on-site coffee bars
- Paid parental and adoption leave
Culture and Working Environment
As part of our team, you’ll discover an inclusive workplace that’s welcoming, supportive and encouraging. You’ll be part of an organisation where people want to support one another and make a difference. Aside from fostering an open culture, we’ve got a range of growing affinity groups. For example:
- Ethnic Minority and gender equality networks
- Groups supporting wellbeing, mental health, neurodiversity and disability
- Faith/No Faith communities for staff to come together
- LGBTQ+ support networks
You’ll also find a variety of sports, activity, interest and social groups to help you settle in and connect with people with similar interests.
Before You Apply
To work at MI6, you need to be a British citizen. 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 at the relevant stage.
Honesty and integrity are really important if you want to work at MI6. Take some time to read about the vetting process and make sure you meet the criteria in the vetting pages of the ‘How to Apply’ section. The process can take some time, but this is just because it’s thorough. Giving misleading information and omitting or concealing information during the recruitment and vetting process is viewed very seriously.
The role is based in MI6, so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application.
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.
Equal Opportunities
At MI6 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: those with different backgrounds, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce.
We’re Disability Confident
MI6 are proud to have achieved Leader status within the DWP’s Disability Confident scheme. This is aimed at encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people. Being Disability Confident, we aim to ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this position will be offered an interview where practicable; this is known as ‘Offer of an Interview’. To secure an interview for this vacancy, the minimum criteria (in order of application process) are:
- Meeting our eligibility criteria (below)
- Passing the application sift.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible to apply, you must be a British Citizen. If you hold dual nationality, of which one component is British, you will nonetheless be considered. If successful, you will not normally be required to give up your non-British citizenship but, as a condition of your employment or secondment, MI6 may impose restrictions on your postings, work travel and/or general use of that nationality. Candidates must normally have been resident in the UK for seven out of the last ten years. This is particularly important if you were born outside the UK. Each case will be carefully considered on its own facts. You can apply at the age of 17 years, if successful you will not be offered a start date prior to your 18th birthday. Discretion is vital.
What to Expect
Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:
- You will complete an application form which will be sifted by the hiring team.
- If successful, you will be invited to a one-day assessment centre (online or in person tbc) which includes:
- Documents check
- Competency question-based interview
- Drugs test
- Occupational Psychologist interview
- If successful at Assessment Centre, you will be invited back for a driving assessment and a physical fitness to work assessment by a member of our Occupational health team.
- If successful you will be given a Conditional Offer of appointment, subject to passing vetting and other checks carried out.
- If you are granted security clearance, you will be given a final offer of employment and invited to sign your employment contract prior to starting your Induction course.
Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process in order to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 - 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer.
Our Vetting
To work in this role you will need the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community has to go through and it can take some time. As part of the DV process you will be asked to fill in a detailed questionnaire and attend an interview with a vetting officer. In your interview the vetting officer will have a thorough, compassionate and honest discussion with you about you as a person and your life experiences, to ensure holding a DV clearance is right for you. You don’t need to do any preparation for your vetting interview, just be honest and be yourself. All applicants for DV are treated impartially and consistently, irrespective of gender, race, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation and other protected characteristics.
