The Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ) is currently recruiting for a number of roles in Manchester.
Whether it’s something you’re aware of, or it’s rather fittingly been kept under wraps, the country’s intelligence and security organisation actually has an office base right here in Manchester city centre.
GCHQ is responsible for providing signals intelligence and information assurance to the government and the UK’s armed forces.
In a nutshell, the main goal is to “keep our country safe”.
We're not always looking for qualifications – we're also looking for potential.
A career with us opens the door to our excellent training and development programmes to allow you to flourish.
While the main hub of the over 100-year old organisation is actually based down in Cheltenham, other office locations include London, Scarborough, Lincolnshire, Cornwall, and of course, Manchester.
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Working alongside MI5 and MI6, the organisation combines technology and intelligence to counter sophisticated threats such as terrorism, cyber attacks and more – and you can now apply to be a part of the action at “the heart of the nation’s security” as GCHQ is recruiting for roles in our region.
Here’s some of the jobs currently up for grabs.
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Specialist Technical Analyst
Salary – £28 642 + the opportunity to qualify for specialist skills payments ranging from £5,000 to £23,000+ per annum in the role.
Role – According to the job description on the GCHQ website, this position is an operational role within GCHQ that is responsible for analysis of industrial systems data and making recommendations.
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This post is part an analytical team, and the successful candidate will play a role in informing and shaping HM government outcomes.
“This is a unique and exciting opportunity to work at the centre of intelligence.”
You can find more information about the role of Specialist Technical Analyst, and stick an application in here.
The main hub of the over 100-year old security and intelligence organisation is based in Cheltenham / Credit: GCHQ
Senior and Lead Software Engineer
Salary – £37,639 – £59,210 (depending on skills, experience and job role – package includes basic salary and concessionary payment).
Role – According to the job description on the GCHQ website, successful candidates will be passionate about developing software, have a curiosity for new technology and new ways of solving problems, thrive working in diverse teams with other highly capable software engineers, have potential to be a future leader on technology, design, feature development or teams, and be interested in a role that gives them space to innovate and learn new skills.
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“You’ll be central to our work to keep the country safe.”
You can find more information about the role of Senior and Lead Software Engineer, and stick an application in here.
European Language Graduate
Salary – £30,831 (which includes a concessionary payment).
Role: According to the job description on the GCHQ website, successful applicants will be talented, flexible, and committed individuals from all backgrounds with a 2:1 degree in at least two languages – French, German, Italian, Portuguese, or Spanish – and a linguistic ability of a very high order to carry out the duties of transcription, translation, analysis and research.
The role is available to graduates who are “keen to use their existing language skills and for those interested in learning a new language.”
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You can find more information about the role, and stick an application in here.
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Haven’t found a role suitable for you?
GCHQ is offering Mancunians the chance to register interest for a variety of roles that will become available in our region over the upcoming months, with the organisation’s website stating that “it doesn’t matter where you are in your career, as long as you’re interested in learning or have experience of working in a more technical role.”
We employ people with a variety of experience, skills and qualifications in a wide range of roles, from project management and finance to HR and procurement.
The roles that GCHQ will be hiring for in upcoming months are:
Infrastructure Engineer
Network Engineer
Information Assurance
Software Developer and Engineers
You can keep your eye out and register your interest via the GCHQ website here.
Featured Image – GCHQ
UK News
Rare picture of David Bowie’s legendary one-off gig in Stockport unearthed
Danny Jones
A rare picture taken from the night of the late, great David Bowie’s legendary one-off gig in Stockport has been unearthed by a local whilst digging through his loft.
Imagine having that kind of history just squirrelled away in an attic…
As revealed by Stockport Music Story, after being supplied with the image by David Maynard, the snap was shared more than half a century on from the much-mythologised moment in Greater Manchester music history.
In fact, it was put on display and posted on social media quite literally 56 years to the day since Bowie played his only Stopfordian set on 27 April, 1970.
Maynard himself is featured in the newly discovered photograph (second from the left) and was one of the select and lucky few who were in the room for that very special show.
Organised by a group of teens on behalf of the Stockport Schools’ Students’ Union, the performance took place at the long-gone Poco a Poco music venue and club over in Heaton Chapel.
The storied space hosted many big names over the years – Gerry Marsden, Freddie Starr, Hank Marvin and more – but sadly closed in May of 1987 following a fire.
It went on to become the popular Hinds Head pub, which still serves punters to this day, but once had the honour of hosting a true artistic great and British icon.
For anyone wondering, this is indeed the same night on which David Robert Jones (yes, that’s Bowie‘s full birth name) missed his train home and had to sleep on the railway platform.
Here’s a BBC segment covering the tale back on its 55th anniversary in April 2025.
It may be a small and somewhat curious claim to fame, but native love the legend of it all nonetheless.
As for the other individuals pictured alongside him, Stockport Music Story (SMS) said: “The names of the people we know are David Maynard (2nd left), Roz Wood (3rd left), David Bowie, Bill Frost (2nd right), Stewart Rigby (right).”
They go on to add: “It would be amazing to find out who the other people in the photograph are and what they remember from that night.” We sincerely hope they do.
You can now see the plaque up close and personal at Stockport Station for yourselves and as for SMS’s growing archive of the region’s creative culture, you can find out tonnes more about other pieces of SK heritage right HERE.
Featured Images — David Maynard via Stockport Music Story/Stockport Council
UK News
Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua fight FINALLY booked
Danny Jones
It seems like it’s official: Tyson Fury is finally set to fight Anthony Joshua – and it sounds like it’s happening this year.
Put it this way, it better be worth all the hype after all this time.
Arguably one of the most anticipated all-British bouts of the last few decades, the boxing match between Fury and Joshua is one that fight fans, and even those only occasionally interested in the sport, have been waiting to be booked for ages.
It got to a point where we almost started to think we’d never get to see it come to fruition whatsoever, but now promoter Eddie Hearn has confirmed that it’s all locked in.
As you can see, putting things in the simplest terms possible, the Matchroom Boxing boss said on social media: “Signed, sealed, delivered! AJ v Fury is on!”
This comes after a previous post, in which he wrote: “The biggest piece of business we’ve ever done, but more importantly, the one we’ve always wanted.
“Biggest year of AJ’s career coming up, the comeback is on.”
Tagging the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (GEA) and co-founder of Zuffa Boxing, Turki Al-Sheikh, the government official looks to have recently held a major event in which he hosted several big sporting names.
It was already heavily expected that any potential clash would take place in the Middle East, and it now looks like nailed on that it will be part of the country’s annual ‘Riyadh Season’.
Although things have been relatively tight-lipped on Fury‘s side, ‘The Gypsy King’ did share a little reaction of his own online…
Still more of a teaser on his end than full verification, we hope they’re not going to lead us down the garden path on this one; boxing heads have waited long enough for this one.
The 37-year-old Manchester-born boxer returned to the ring after yet ANOTHER ‘retirement’ earlier this month, winning comfortably against Arslanbek Makhmudov.
Meanwhile, Joshua, now 36, will be making his own comeback of sorts against Kristian Prenga on July 25 – this will also be taking place in Riyadh.
The Manc -
30th June 2021 
