Intelligence analyst job profile

Intelligence analysts help keep the country secure by assessing and interpreting intelligence data

Your role as an intelligence analyst is to protect UK national security and economic wellbeing, as well as to detect and prevent serious organised crime, such as terrorist attacks, cybercrime and drug trafficking.

You'll be involved in the acquisition, evaluation, analysis and assessment of secret intelligence.

Intelligence analysts, also known as intelligence officers, work primarily for the UK's three intelligence and security agencies - Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the Security Service (MI5) and the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), and also the armed forces and the police. There are also intelligence analyst roles available in other government departments such as HMRC.

Responsibilities

As an intelligence analyst, you'll need to:

build up intelligence pictures, identifying potential agents and targets. This is done through a range of sources, including signals intelligence (SIGINT) and human intelligence (HUMINT)
collate and validate intelligence, evaluating the reliability of sources and credibility of information
use various analytical techniques to assess and interpret intelligence data
liaise and collaborate with colleagues (such as cryptanalysts, mathematicians and linguists) to gather further information, which may help to piece together the whole picture
develop relationships with customers to understand their intelligence requirements
deliver information in formal reports or as presentations and desk-level briefings to customers in government, who include the Ministry of Defence (MOD), the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the Home Office, the National Crime Agency (NCA) and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) among others
develop expertise in a specific area
observe strict non-disclosure rules about your work, the extent of which will vary depending on your employer.

Salary

Starting salaries for the three agencies - GCHQ, MI5 and MI6 - are in the region of £37,281, rising to £40,303 after the first year, plus benefits.
With experience, you will progress to higher grades, where salaries can reach in excess of £50,000.
All grades experience incremental annual increases in pay, plus bonus payment opportunities.

Other benefits including a generous pension scheme.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

Intelligence analysts typically work a 37-hour week.

You may need to work shifts in some roles as data and intelligence is analysed in real-time in order to provide a rapid response.

You may be expected to work extra hours at times of pressure or during crises but will receive time off in lieu.

Part-time working, job sharing and flexible working are all possible.

What to expect

Intelligence analysts work throughout the civil service and are based in every region of the UK. Many jobs are based where the three intelligence and security agencies have their main offices. GCHQ's main site, for example, is based in Cheltenham but it has smaller sites in Cornwall, Manchester and North Yorkshire. The headquarters for MI5 and MI6 are based in central London. MI5 also has regional offices and an office in Northern Ireland. MI6 offers the chance to spend considerable time working overseas.
New staff usually start work at the agencies' headquarters, although there will be opportunities to work elsewhere in the UK and overseas after several years' experience.
Intelligence analysts working for the three UK intelligence and security agencies are bound by many of the same rules, terms and working conditions as other government departments. The key difference is the secrecy of the work and the need to protect the identities of staff in order to operate successfully. When applying for a role, you're advised to only tell one close family member or partner. Once you've been accepted, you will get further guidance on who you can tell.

Qualifications

UK intelligence agencies seek to recruit analysts from different educational and ethnic backgrounds in order to tackle the diverse range of threats from within and outside the UK.

This area of work is open to graduates of any degree discipline, although the following degree subjects may be particularly useful:

computing
criminology
maths and statistics
psychology
social science

Degree classification requirements vary between the agencies.

If you have language, IT or technology skills, you may be at an advantage but all three agencies recruit linguistic and technology specialists separately.

Some agencies run graduate training schemes. MI5, for example, runs the Intelligence Officer Development Programme. You'll need a 2:2 or higher in any degree subject (or substantial work experience where you've developed some of the required skills and qualities) to apply for this scheme.

To work for one of the three security and intelligence agencies, you must be a British citizen or hold dual nationality and will usually need to have been a resident in the UK for seven out of the last ten years. You'll also have to be over 18 years of age to start in the role.

The selection process can be lengthy and may include an online application form, competency tests, interview and attendance at an assessment centre.

The intelligence agencies are looking for high-calibre people, and competition for places is strong. You're advised not to discuss your application with anyone and, if successful at the recruitment and selection stages, you then need to pass developed vetting (DV) security clearance to be granted access to secret intelligence. (Intelligence analyst roles in other government departments may not require DV clearance, but will require some level of vetting. Check when applying.)

If you don't have a degree, your application may be considered if you have significant work experience in an intelligence environment, such as the armed forces. In addition, the agencies may consider candidates requesting a transfer from another civil service department who are at executive officer level or higher.

It's also possible to enter the profession by doing a Level 4 Intelligence Analyst higher apprenticeship. Apprenticeships combine paid work with part-time study, meaning you can train on the job.

The agencies look for individuals with personal integrity, honesty, discretion and reliability, and who can demonstrate professionalism and resilience.

Find out more about working in intelligence analysis.

Skills

You'll need:

critical thinking skills
communication skills
a naturally enquiring mind with excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
the ability to work as part of a team
report-drafting skills as reports will be written for readers in the highest levels of government
confidence in your own judgement and in making decisions
organisation skills and attention to detail
a willingness to learn and work with a range of IT applications, including some specialised data collection, analysis and presentation tools
motivation, drive, focus, initiative and innovation
the ability to respond quickly to changing requirements and priorities, and adapt to unpredictable circumstances
cultural sensitivity, empathy and strength of character to build relationships with people and be persuasive, especially in human intelligence work
the ability to work effectively under pressure, demonstrating resilience and perseverance.

Work experience

The Summer Intelligence Internship is offered by MI5, MI6 and GCHQ. It is open to penultimate or final year students from a Black, Asian, mixed heritage or ethnic minority background and from a socially or economically disadvantaged background. On completion of the internship, you'll be invited to apply for a permanent position.

Employers

The main employers of intelligence analysts in the UK are the three intelligence and security agencies.

Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is the UK's intelligence, cyber and security agency. Their five areas of work are counter terrorism, cyber security, strategic advantage, serious and organised crime, and support to defence. GCHQ gathers communications and data using a range of methods and analyses it to produce intelligence reports for reasons of national security, military operations and law enforcement. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) forms part of GCHQ. The director of GCHQ reports to the Foreign Secretary.

The Security Service (MI5) is the lead agency responsible for protecting the UK against covertly organised threats to national security, using both human and technical sources. Their work includes tackling international and domestic terrorism, as well as counter-espionage work. The National Protective Security Authority is part of MI5. The director general of MI5 reports to the Home Secretary.

The Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) collects secret foreign intelligence on issues relating to the UK's interests in national security, defence, serious crime, and foreign and economic policies. Using human and technical sources, as well as liaison with foreign counterparts, MI6 obtains and provides information about the acts and intentions of foreign nationals, conducting operations overseas in the support of UK government objectives. Their three key areas are counter terrorism, disrupting hostile state activity and cyber. The chief of MI6 reports to the Foreign Secretary.

The Ministry of Defence also employs intelligence analysts, either directly recruited as civilians into Defence Intelligence (DI), or recruited as military staff. For example, the British Army recruits intelligence analysts into the Intelligence Corps.

Other parts of the UK government contributing to intelligence collection and/or analysis, include:

UK police services individually recruit criminal intelligence analysts. They analyse reported crime statistics to identify patterns in criminal behaviours in order to predict future crime and persuade senior staff to allocate crime-fighting resources accordingly. For information about working for the police force in the UK, see College of Policing - Join the Police.

Look for job vacancies at:

All three agencies separately advertise vacancies in the national press and on their own websites. Applications are made online.

Professional development

The agencies offer structured inductions and on-the-job training programmes, combined with tailored courses that are relevant to the particular jobs.

New joiners may be offered a mentor or coach who will offer advice and guidance.

Training opportunities include:

attending internal and external courses, ranging from report writing, language learning, legislation and staff review and development to database querying techniques, internet exploitation and digital communications developments
attending briefings, presentations and conferences
shadowing colleagues
secondments within individual agencies and between agencies
visits to, and briefings from, partner organisations at home and abroad
e-learning training software
sponsorship to study for professional and academic qualifications accredited by professional bodies
one-to-one mentoring, with more experienced team colleagues who offer support, in addition to that offered by line managers.

As an intelligence analyst, you'll be encouraged to develop your skills and learn new ones as part of a programme of continuing professional development (CPD).

Career prospects

Your first posting as an intelligence analyst is likely to be for a period of between 18 months and three years, and you can expect plenty of responsibility from an early stage. The agencies aim to identify people to work in specific areas from the skills, abilities and competencies identified during the recruitment process.

After this period, there are opportunities to move between jobs every two to three years and regular job rotation is actively encouraged. This may either be moving to a comparable role within operations, or moving to work in other parts of the business including:

finance
personnel
policy
projects
team management.

The nature of intelligence and security work means that it's possible you could remain in a role for many years. However, you'll be strongly encouraged to move jobs in order to maintain intellectual stimulation, take on new challenges and gain experience across a number of areas. This could mean moving within, or between, teams in order to focus on different areas, such as a new geographical region or specific analytical techniques.

The speed, depth and range of changes in information and communications technologies means that you'll be required to constantly adapt your working methods to meet new opportunities and threats.

Intelligence analyst