Job title: Operational Lawyer
Location(s): London
Salary: £73,704 or £94,114 (depending on skills and experience)
Flexible working: flexible working such as compressed hours is encouraged and supported. We also welcome applicants who wish to job-share and/or work part-time. Working from home is not possible due to the sensitive nature of the work
About Us
We’re MI6, also known as the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). Our mission is to protect the security and economic wellbeing of the UK from overseas threats such as regional instability, terrorism, and cyber-attacks. Working across the globe and in close partnership with MI5 and GCHQ, we help the Government to counter these threats through the provision of secret intelligence. A role in MI6 will see you providing vital support to this work, within a supportive and encouraging environment that puts the emphasis on teamwork.
The Role
Our operational lawyers work in small and collaborative teams providing vital support to MI6 operations and capability development, advising on legislative change, and on MI6’s interests in litigation and inquiries. Their work is as varied as the operations MI6 runs, and – whichever team you join – you’ll gain unique insights into the heart of what we do. All our legal teams work closely with operational and policy colleagues, building effective relationships and liaising with colleagues in other government departments, including the FCDO, Home Office, MI5 and GCHQ.
We’re looking for a creative and innovative lawyer, who can bring novel legal solutions to complex and sensitive matters and provide sensible, practical and risk-based advice to support MI6’s work. You’ll have responsibility for a varied, interesting and challenging portfolio of work, such as advising on the applicable law – this may be key legislation such as the Intelligence Services Act, Investigatory Powers Act, Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, Human Rights Act and Justice and Security Act, or wider domestic criminal and civil law, or international law.
In this fascinating role, you will also represent MI6 legal advisers within and outside the organisation with senior stakeholders. This could include providing advice on the planning and conduct of operations, development of capability and the handling of litigation brought against the UK Government which affects MI6. This may include challenges in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, civil claims for damages, judicial reviews, inquests and inquiries, and criminal proceedings. You’ll also play a key role in training – all our lawyers contribute and support the training of our operational teams.
Organised and methodical, you’ll be able to work independently and take responsibility for managing your own workload. But you won’t be on your own, you’ll be part of a supportive, friendly legal department who regularly work together on projects. There are also unique opportunities to work with other external partners and departments across wider Government.
Our legal teams keep a standard working pattern, although we do operate an out of hours/weekend on-call rota, which you would be expected to take part in. There may also be the requirement for some occasional overseas travel.
About You
The successful candidate will value integrity, respect, teamwork, professionalism and have a creative and enthusiastic approach, while demonstrating sound legal judgement. A confident communicator, you’ll be comfortable articulating complex legal terminology in a clear and consistent way to people without a legal background. Your strong client care skills and the ability to build effective working relationships will enable you to gain a deep understanding of your work, whilst taking into account the broader context and objectives of MI6’s work. You will also represent MI6 legal advisers within and outside the organisation alongside senior stakeholders.
A growth-mindset and a desire to learn are important, to ensure you stay up to date with legal developments and can actively contribute to building legal awareness and skills amongst the team.
You will need to be a lawyer (solicitor, barrister or legal executive) fully qualified to practice in England and Wales (a current Practicing Certificate is required). You will also have experience of effective delivery in areas of law relevant to the advertised role. We will consider all applications, but would normally expect applicants to be able to show experience of effective delivery in the relevant areas of law with a PQE of approximately 5 years or more.
Training and Development
MI6 is a learning organisation; we value your skills and we invest in our people. As part of the legal team you will receive bespoke training to help you orientate yourself within the organization, and you’ll be encouraged to pursue continuous learning through a range of informal and formal development activities. There is a great deal of variety in the different legal roles in MI6, and in the future you could have the opportunity to move between teams as your career in MI6 progresses. In addition, joining our legal team can be an excellent springboard for a career within Government more generally as a national security lawyer.
Rewards and benefits
You’ll receive a starting salary of £73,704 or £94,114 (depending on your skills and experience), 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 be recognised through our employee performance scheme
- Interest-free season ticket loan
- Excellent pension scheme
- Cycle to work scheme
- Facilities such as a gym, restaurant and on-site coffee bars (at some locations)
- Paid parental and adoption leave.
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, ages, 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 such as women, those from an ethnic minority background, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.
Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our website:
https://www.mi6.gov.uk/explore-careers.html
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 offer a person-to-person interview to any candidate who self-identifies as disabled and meets the essential criteria for the role. This is our ‘Offer of Interview’ (OOI). To secure an interview for this vacancy, the essential criteria (in order of application process) are:
- Meeting the eligibility criteria
- Meeting the qualification criteria
- Demonstrating the skills referenced for the role at the CV and covering letter sift
What to Expect
Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:
- Application sift, looking at your motivation for the role and the organisation
- If successful, you will receive an invitation to attend an in person competency based interview
- If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment, subject to vetting
Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process 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.
Before You Apply
To work at MI6, you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. You can read our full eligibility criteria here.
This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. You can find out more about the vetting process here.
Please note we 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.
Before you apply, we advise you to consider setting up a separate email address for your contact with us, to ensure your personal and application correspondence remain separate. Try to avoid having identifying features in your email address, such as your first and/or surname and date of birth. This is good practice and will help you to manage your application with us more discretely.
This role is based in Central and West London, so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application. A loan is available to support people relocating to London.
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. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.
Right to Withdraw Statement:
Please be aware that we withhold the right to bring forward the closing date for this role from the original closing date once a certain number of applications have been received. Please be mindful of this and submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.