Our Mission

At BEIS, we are leading the UK’s recovery from coronavirus and are building a stronger, greener country. Our varied work makes a real difference to people across the UK and internationally. This is a fantastic opportunity to become part of the BEIS team and our exciting mission!

We lead on the UK’s commitments to tackle climate change and drive green economic growth. We support businesses to create jobs and increase opportunity in regions across the UK. We also encourage investment and innovation to make the UK a science superpower producing research that will improve lives.

Our Inclusive Environment

We are building an inclusive culture to make BEIS a brilliant place to work where our people feel valued, have a voice and can be their authentic selves. We value difference and diversity, not only because we believe it is the right thing to do, but because it will help us be more innovative and make better decisions.

We offer first-class flexible working benefits, excellent employee well-being support and a great pension. We are fortunate to have a range of excellent staff networks and are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader employer. We will support talented people from all backgrounds to build a career and thrive.

We actively welcome applications from anyone who shares our commitment to inclusion. We will fully support candidates with a disability or long-term condition who require adjustments in our recruitment process.

The Investment Security Unit leads the Government’s screening of foreign investments into UK companies; assessing the risks mergers and acquisitions, investments or the transfer of assets could present to the UK’s national security. With more than a year into delivery of the new National Security and Investment Act (NSIA), the Unit is at the heart of the operational response to changes in the global economy and the balance of power, as it coordinates cross-government responses to protect our capabilities and critical national infrastructure. The Unit is an exciting and diverse place to work, with teams delivering a range of operational, policy, analytical and international activities. Delivery of the legislation remains a Secretary of State top five priority and there is huge interest in this policy area from the Prime Minister and other members of the Cabinet. The Unit is recruiting for roles across its different teams which provide regular opportunities to brief Ministers and Private Office as well as extensive cross-Whitehall engagement.

The Risk Assessment team within the Unit is responsible for leading the cross-Whitehall and intelligence community risk assessment of cases passed on by the Risk Identification and Review team in the Unit. These assessments cover the national security, economic and diplomatic implications of individual investments, identifying remedies to address risks and supporting ministerial decision-making.

Co-ordinating expertise.
You will lead discussions across Government and collaborate with relevant partners to help coordinate the necessary expertise and views in order to make a judgement on the level of risk that an investment may pose. You will also work with policy advisors and NSI Legal Advisors to make assessment of how NSIA could be applied to mitigate any national security risks arising from investments.

Analysing information.
You will lead on conducting comprehensive analysis of views and assessments provided by partners across Government, as well as providing your own assessments. You will need to be able to think critically, often balancing competing opinions, to make a judgement on level of risk created by investments. You will consider how those opinions may interact with wider HMG strategies and policies.

Briefing and advising.
You will regularly produce high-quality written and oral advice to support senior officials and ministerial decision-making. You will play a key role in keeping seniors and Ministers sighted on developments, often at short notice. Supporting the ISU’s function. You will support the day-to-day running of the ISU, ensuring that the unit is able to deliver the high-quality service for which it has become known.

You must be prepared to undergo Developed Vetting clearance (if you do not already possess it). This normally requires 10 years’ UK residency in the past 10 years. This is not an absolute requirement but supplementary checks may be required where individuals have not lived in the UK for the required period. This may mean that your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

We are supportive of flexible working but these roles require candidates to work from the London office for the majority of the working week. Some degree of regular home working should be possible, subject to business needs, but the role requires regular access to the London office. Any flexible working arrangements would need to be agreed after appointment in line with business need and could be subject to change.

Skills and Experience

We’re looking for candidates who can work efficiently in a dynamic operational environment, while also possessing the analytical skills and aptitude to cope with novel policy challenges that can have impacts beyond your area of work. You will need an eye for detail and look for ways to improve current systems and processes. We need candidates who are inquisitive, critical thinkers who will continue to develop their knowledge and experience and apply both to new issues. You will anticipate issues and identify trends which impact your work area. You will be a team player, with a track record of delivering high quality results to tight deadlines.

Essential criteria

• Ability to confidently analyse information from a wide variety of sources to arrive at a well-reasoned decision;
• Ability to deliver high quality work at pace;
• Proven drafting skills;
• Experience engaging with internal and external stakeholders at a range of levels.

Desirable criteria

• Understanding of national security policy or operations would be highly desirable in this role;
• Knowledge or an interest in mergers and acquisitions or investment transactions;
• Experience of working in a fast-paced operational environment;
• Experience of tackling new or novel policy problems independently;
• Experience of assessing intelligence;
• Experience in working with cross-government groups and agreeing a way forward on issues where there are competing priorities
• Please note that whilst existing DV clearance is not required to be appointed to these roles, successful candidates must be willing to obtain SC and then DV. It is the responsibility of the applicant to have completed and returned an SC security questionnaire to United Kingdom Security Vetting as part of the onboarding process, otherwise a start date cannot be provided. Please note that these are reserved posts and therefore open to UK nationals only.

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together
• Seeing the Big Picture

BEIS offers a competitive mix of benefits including:

A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking and compressed hours.

Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an average employer contribution of 27%.

A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.

An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.

Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.

A hybrid office/home based working model where staff will spend a norm of 40-60% of their time in the office (minimum of 40%) over a month with flex dependent on balancing business and individual need (from September 2021, depending on how the public health guidance evolves).

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