Job Description

Details

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Reference number

424103

Salary

5,223
GBP

Job grade

Administrative Assistant

Contract type

Internship

Type of role

Intelligence

Working pattern

Full-time

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

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Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information

Location

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Cheltenham

About the job

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Job summary

This 10-week internship, taking place in the summer of 2026, is an opportunity to find out if a career in intelligence is something you'd like to pursue. As part of a cohort of fellow interns, you'll gain unique insights into our organisation, along with access to specialist training and lots of support from a dedicated internship manager, mentors and the wider team. It's a great way to build new skills and develop your abilities, as well as figure out if a career in intelligence is something you want to pursue after your degree. If it is, you'll have the opportunity to apply for employment with GCHQ once the internship is over. Please note, should you choose to apply, you will still need to go through the usual competitive application and selection process to secure a place.

Job description

You'll have an initial induction and IT training prior to moving into one of our intelligence mission teams where you'll experience what life as an intelligence analyst is like. Our teams operate in a rapidly changing technological environment, problem solving every day. We use bespoke technology, finding information from different places, including a high volume of data generated by many internet-connected devices. If you do have specialist skills such as cyber, data science, or coding experience, you may get the opportunity to use and develop these skills on the internship. If you don't have these skills, don't worry - they're not essential and there will be lots to get involved in that won't require them.


At the end of the internship, you'll have the opportunity to apply to join the organisation as an Intelligence Data Analyst. If you choose to make an application for employment following the internship, then you'll need to go through a competitive selection process for that role in order to join.

Person specification

For the 2025/2026 academic year, you'll need to be in your penultimate or final year of university, from a Black, Asian, mixed-heritage or ethnic minority background, and also from a socially or economically disadvantaged background.

You'll share our values - integrity, respect, creativity, and the desire to have a positive impact on the UK. It's also worth considering what you're passionate about and whether that aligns with what we do at GCHQ.


We look for naturally inquisitive people who thrive in a team and bring real enthusiasm. People who enjoy making sense of unique information to solve complex challenges, who like collaborating with others and are passionate about contributing to keeping the country safe.


Our operations are hugely varied, which is why increasing diversity in our agencies is needed more than ever before. Having a diverse organisation is vital to ensure we have diverse insights, perspectives, innovative ideas and different skills to keep the country safe. More importantly, a diverse organisation makes for an enjoyable, fulfilling environment. And you could be exactly who we need to help us achieve our mission.

Benefits

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We'll give you five paid days off that you can use during the internship. Everyone will need to attend the first two weeks for training, and the final day, so make sure you take note of these dates when applying. While you're with us, you'll also have access to organisation-wide events where you can network with people from other teams, learning even more about what we do, and where you could take your career.

Things you need to know

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Selection process details

What to Expect

Our application for the Summer Internship is as follows:

Initial application form - you'll be asked to provide some basic personal details and answer eligibility questions. Full application form - you'll be asked to provide your education details and work history and to answer some questions exploring your strengths and skills in relation to the internship. Online exercise - you'll be asked to complete an online exercise which will give you an insight into what our analysts do. Final interview - you'll be asked questions about your motivation for applying for the internship as well as questions looking at your strengths and skills.

Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process in order to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 to 9 months to process including vetting, so we suggest that you bear this in mind until you have received your final internship offer. Please also note that we are unable to provide feedback for this role.

We 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 best meet the minimum criteria for this internship will be offered an interview where practicable; this is known as 'Offer of an Interview'. To secure an interview for this internship, the minimum criteria (in order of application process) are:

You must meet the minimum pass mark in both of our application questions at assessment sift. You must meet the minimum pass mark in our online bespoke analysis exercise.

There's a wide range of extra support available throughout the internship recruitment process to enable you to do your best. See our website for more information on the reasonable adjustments we can offer.



Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting .



See our vetting charter .
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and 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 .

Apply and further information

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Contact point for applicants

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Job contact :

Name : careers@recruitmentteam.org.uk Email : careers@recruitmentteam.org.uk
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Recruitment team

* Email : careers@recruitmentteam.org.uk