Senior Technical Officer - Drone

Salary

£47,049

London weighting allowance (Per Annum)

£4379

RRA - Recruitment and Retention Allowance (Per Annum)

£ 2000

Special Duty Bonus Payment (SDBP) up to per annum

£ 1400

About the Role

Information about the Command

The role of Intelligence is to develop the right operations, which target and disrupt - by the most effective means - the offenders who seek to cause the highest harm to the UK.
A diverse directorate with a wide variety of unique functions and specialist skillsets in our ranks, some of which we deliver as the national provider for the wider Serious Organised Crime (SOC) system. From our niche technical capabilities, to our overseas network of International Liaison Officers (ILO) and our Tasking teams, there are many component parts which contribute to the efforts of the directorate and the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Information about the Business Area

Intelligence Collection coordinates NCA collection capabilities against the NCA’s highest priorities. Intelligence Collection includes forensics, open source, covert human intelligence sources, undercover officers and technical collection capabilities. This includes responding to threats and exploiting opportunities relating to the use of electronic communications by Subjects of Interest using the various powers conferred within the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA). This is a dynamic and diverse arena with constant and rapid change, suiting those officers who thrive on near constant challenge.

Role Summary

To be the lead Drone Pilot for the NCA’s Technical Operations unmanned vehicle programme. The role involves flight planning and clearances, piloting a varied range of vehicles, briefing management and staff and developing capabilities.

Role Description

As the lead Drone Officer you will be responsible for flying and managing unmanned aircraft System (UAS) and unmanned surface vessels (USV) within Technical Operations. You will lead on developing innovative, lawfully audacious unmanned technical capabilities to enable the delivery of technical surveillance activity against authorised tactical and strategic objectives.

You will support technical and technological research activity, in consultation with fellow law enforcement Drone Officers, UK and International partners and the commercial sector. You will proactively maintain a high degree of awareness around unmanned technological innovations, ensuring the Agency maintains cutting edge lead on technical surveillance capabilities.

Duties and Responsibilities

Lead on Technical Operations unmanned vehicle programme. You will be the lead Flying Officer for Technical Operations drone cadre. You will lead for Technical Operations on engagement with the Civil Aviation Authority and Maritime Agency. You will be responsible for developing the unmanned vehicle capability. Responsible for training and developing the Technical Operations drone cadre. Be the Technical Operations Subject Matter Expert in un-manned vehicles. Lead on engagement with suppliers and devlopers. Responsible for writing and developing associated policy and unit standards.

Person Specification

Skills, Knowledge and Experience

Skilled Drone Pilot Lead drone pilot. Need to demonstrate excellent flying skills. Skilled at 1st line servicing and adapting Drone air frames. Ability to service and develop Drone airframes and platforms. Knowledgeable about Drone command and control. Knowledgeable on RF and other command and control principles .Experience of flying different types and size of drones. Have experience of specialist Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) First Person View (FPV) /Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) skills and associated equipment. Communication Skills. Confident in communicating with groups of people. Experience of instructing others in the use of Drones. Able to bring on the capabilities of the Drone cadre.

On-call working

There is the possibility on On-Call working to be discussed once in post.

Essential Criteria

You must meet the essential criteria and evidence this within your application to be considered for the role.

Qualifications, Membership and Licences

General Visual Line of Sight (GVC) Certificate.

Any applications from candidates not meeting this eligibility criteria will not progress.

Desirable Criteria

Desirable criteria are only used for assessment in the event of a tie break.

Powerboat 3 commercial qualification.

Knowledge of Civil Aviation Authority regulations.

Salary

A pay flexibility case seeking to modernise NCA pay frameworks was approved by the Government in July 2026. The NCA recognises and engages in collective bargaining with three trade unions: The National Crime Officers Association (NCOA), Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) and FDA. Therefore, our terms and conditions are currently undergoing a formal review, in consultation with these recognised trade unions. The outcome is expected to be known by early 2027.

Allowances are reviewed annually and may be increased, decreased or removed.

All salary offers will be made in line with Remuneration Policy.

• Roles based in London will receive an additional London Weighting (Per Annum) of £4379

• This position attracts a Recruitment and Retention Allowance (RRA) of £2000 (Per Annum) available as an addition to the advertised salary.

• This role attracts a Special Duties Bonus Payment (SDBP) up to £1400 (Per Annum)

Benefits

All NCA employees are members of the UK Civil Service and eligible for the Civil Service pension scheme, alongside your salary the NCA contributes £13630. Further information on the benefits of the scheme is available on the Civil Service Pensions Website.

New entrants to the NCA receive 26 days annual leave, rising to 31 on completion of 5 years continuous service, plus 8 bank holidays.

If qualifying criteria is met new joiners from UK Police Forces or the UK Intelligence Community (UKIC) will have service with those employers taken into account for continuous service purposes for annual leave entitlement only, this will be up to a maximum of 31 days leave (including 1 privilege day).

Other benefits include:

• Flexible working, including flexi-time, compressed hours and job sharing (in line with business requirements)

• Family friendly policies, notably above the statutory minimum

• Learning and Development opportunities

• Interest free loans and advances, including season tickets, childcare and rental deposits

• Housing schemes - Key Worker status

• Discounts and Savings with a wide variety of services including Cycle to Work, Smart Tech schemes, dental insurance, gym discounts and savings on everyday spending, available through the Reward Gateway | Edenred and Blue Light Card schemes.

• Staff support groups/networks

• Sports and social activities, including membership to the Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC)

Selection Process Details

This vacancy is using the Success Profile framework and will assess using the following criteria: Behaviours, Experience

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our Candidate Guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

How we will assess you

Your application will be assessed against the following:

Experience - This will be assessed:

Experience Criteria - will be assessed by 250 word examples on:

• Knowledge and Experience of advanced Drone flying on multiple Drone airframes.

• Experience of developing, modifying repairing a Drone airframe.

• Experience in developing the flying capabilities of others.

A panel will assess how well your application demonstrates the requirements outlined above.

Longlist

In the event of a high number of applications, we may operate a longlist. Applicants will need to meet the minimum pass mark for the lead criteria.

- Knowledge and Experience of advanced Drone flying on multiple Drone airframes. .

Candidates who do not meet the minimum pass mark for the lead criteria will not progress to having their other criteria assessed. Applications must meet the minimum criteria to be progressed to the assessment stage.

You will receive an acknowledgement once your application is submitted.

We aim to have sift completed and scores released within 10 working days of the closing date of the advert. For high volume campaigns this timeframe may be extended.

Scores will be provided but further feedback will not be available at this stage.

Assessment 1

The format of this assessment will be Drone Flying Assessment which will be tested on via the details listed below.

Candidates successful at shortlisting will be invited to complete a drone flying assessment against set parameters in person. Further guidelines will be provided on the day.

Candidates are required to pass every stage of the assessment in order to be invited to interview.

If you are successful you will be invited to the second assessment.

Assessment 2

The format of this assessment will be Interview which will be tested on the criteria listed in theSuccess Profiles at Assessment section.

Success Profiles at Assessment

Behaviours -

• Working Together

• Delivering at Pace

Experience -

• Knowledge and Experience of advanced Drone flying on multiple Drone airframes.

• Experience of developing, modifying repairing a Drone airframe.

• Experience in developing the flying capabilities of others.

Assessment Outcome

Outcomes will be communicated via the NCA recruitment portal.
If successful but no role is immediately available, you may be placed on a reserve list for 12 months.
Reserve lists can be used to fill similar role types across the Agency where the assessment criteria is considered a match by the recruitment team and the business area.

In the event of a tie at the assessment stage, available roles will be offered in merit order using the following order:

1. Lead criteria (behaviours/technical/experience)

2. If still tied, desirable criteria will be assessed (if advertised)

3. If still tied, application sift scores will be used

Feedback is provided only to those who attend an assessment.

You will be subject to vetting and pre-employment checks before appointment.

Once the vacancy closes, the advert will no longer be accessible. Please save a copy for your records.

We encourage all candidates to visit the NCA Careers Page for more information.

Eligibility, Pre-Employment Check and Vetting

If you are an internal candidate who has passed interview but is undergoing an internal investigation or have a written warning in place preventing a post move you may not be able to be posted until this investigation is concluded or restriction lifted.

Nationality Requirements

This role is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals or dual nationals, where one component is British

• Nationals of the Republic of Ireland

• Nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK

• Nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the (EUSS)

• Nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre- settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)

• Individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020

• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

You will be required to participate in digital right to work and address checks as part of the recruitment process.

Security and Vetting

People working with government assets must complete Baseline Personal Security Standard checks.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is SC Enhanced. All security clearances will be managed by the NCA.

Vetting requirements - SC Enhanced

Prior to commencing the role, you will need to successfully complete SC Enhanced clearance.

The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years.

Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.

Individuals will be required to undertake and pass a substance misuse test as part of pre-employment checks.

Occupational Health

Successful candidates will be expected to undertake an occupational health assessment. Depending on the role an in-person medical may be required in either London or Warrington. Unfortunately, travel costs will not be reimbursed.

Things you need to know

Operational Roles

The National Crime Agency is a law enforcement agency and as such we are part of the Criminal Justice System. Therefore if you are going into an operational role we need to be aware if any of our officers have, either before they join us or afterwards, any of the following:

Any criminal conviction (including Court Martial), or caution or fixed penalty notice for disorder or theft;
Any adverse judicial findings;
Any charges or summonses where the proceedings are not complete;
Any misconduct or gross misconduct findings or where proceedings are not complete.

You will be asked to complete a declaration covering the above if offered a role with the NCA.

Each case will be considered on its merits and a positive declaration does not automatically mean that your application will not be progressed. However, should you fail to disclose a relevant matter then your application or employment will be adversely affected. If in doubt, please declare it at this stage.

Near Miss

If you meet the criteria for a lower grade, you may be offered that role if not appointable at the advertised grade.

Conversely, if found appointable at a higher grade but no posts are available, you may be offered a lower-grade role.

All offers are made based on merit.

Hybrid Working

The NCA supports hybrid working. The extent of remote working will depend on the role and can be discussed at the offer stage.

Reasonable Adjustments

We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Leader and an inclusive, equal opportunities employer.

We’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone can be their authentic self. If you’re neurodiverse, have a disability, or live with a long-term health condition, we encourage you to let us know about any reasonable adjustments you may need during the recruitment process.

Please ensure you complete the ‘Equal opportunities’ and 'Reasonable Adjustments' sections in the application form to inform us on what support you may need in the recruitment process.

Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People PLan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.

In order to monitor the effectiveness of the National Crime Agency's Diversity & Inclusion strategy, we require certain personal details about you on submission of your application for statistical and monitoring purposes only. Please note that this will be treated in confidence and will not impact your application.

This vacancy is part of the Great Places Work Veterans initiative.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit on merit through fair and open competition, in line with the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Working for the NCA

The National Crime Agency is a 24/7 organisation, and working patterns must support business requirements. Some roles may require you to respond at short notice or outside of core hours.

If preferable, alternative contract types may be available. Please review the green bar of this advert to view all available contract types for this role. Where Loan or Secondment options are available, these would be for existing Civil Servants (Loan) and applicants from accredited Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) or any other employer (Secondment). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.