Shh, don’t tell anyone but Mi5 is currently recruiting for a number of roles in Manchester and it could be the perfect chance for a 2020 career change.
Are you looking for your next career opportunity? Fancy switching paths? Can you keep a secret?
Mi5 has recently published a number of job specifications for a varied range of roles online, which can be worked from either the central London or Manchester office, and are listed are within in the IT, Science & Technical department.
Salary is also reflected depending on the location of the role.
According to the gov.uk website, the UK’s domestic counter-intelligence and security agency – which also includes MI6 and GCHQ – is “responsible for protecting the UK from threats to our National Security” and is dedicated to “keeping our country safe”.
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It’s the responsibility of the Mi5 to “ensure the safety and prosperity of our country” by “countering threats from terrorism and espionage” and anyone who applies for a role within the service must hold these values in the highest regard.
Day in day out our people help to keep the country safe.
Our Director Jeremy Fleming outlines the role we play.
Want to play your part in our mission? Explore the wide range of careers available at GCHQ
Are you intrigued then? Here’s a few of the Manchester-applicable roles on offer.
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Software Engineer
Mi5 is looking for experienced Software Engineers who can take more of a senior role in their team.
The successful candidate will be providing technical direction to their products and mentoring more junior colleagues, as well as sharing collective responsibility to keep the country safe and striving to develop your team.
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The job description states that “it’s important that you’re able to communicate and share your knowledge”.
As a more senior engineer, the successful candidate will be expected to:
Take ownership of large problems, break them down and work with the team to deliver new features through the whole engineering lifecycle.
Support products owned by the team, providing on-call if necessary, working with users to identify and fix defects.
Build automated tests to maintain the assurance of our continuous integration pipelines.
Support and mentor junior colleagues, helping them to understand what great software engineering looks like.
Participate in guilds and cross-organisation initiatives to build our community of engineers.
The salary for this role is: Manchester – £48,932 – £54,232 or London – £53,140 – £58,314.
The closing date for applications is 31/12/2020 at 11pm, and you can find out more or to apply here.
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Senior Software Engineer
Similar to the above, successful applicants to the Senior Software Engineer role will need to “share our collective responsibility to keep the country safe and be keen to constantly improve yourself and your team”. The job description states that “our teams work closely with each other and with mission customers, so it’s important that you’re prepared to communicate and share your knowledge”.
As a Lead Engineer, you’ll be expected to:
Lead the development across a small number of teams or take responsibility for a particular technical specialism where you will act as a subject matter expert.
Support decision making and risk taking within teams using your experience and technical knowledge.
Coach and mentor junior colleagues to help develop their skills, bringing on their engineering thinking.
Promote best practice and help to set standards across the organisation.
Participate in guilds and cross-organisation initiatives to build our community of engineers.
As a technical role, Mi5 is looking for a software engineers who have experience of working with a broad range of technologies, leading engineering teams and taking responsibility for making technical decisions.
The salary for this role is: Manchester – £59,824 – £64,558 or London – £63,097 – £69,630.
The closing date for applications is 31/12/2020 at 11pm and you can find out more or apply here.
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Application Architect
If strategy is your thing, then how about the role of Application Architect? This role is about gathering and interpreting requirements from the business and technical teams.
The job description states that as an application architect, you’ll be expected to:
Work with Dev Ops teams and fellow architects to identify and design end to end architectural solutions, advising on and contributing to the implementation of application architecture and system/component interfaces.
Contribute to system roadmaps and future visions to help stakeholders understand where and how technology benefits them.
Use your experience, as well as industry best practice and emerging trends, to initiate new ideas and conduct options analysis to recommend optimum solutions.
Design interface specifications, writing high level design and detailed design for chosen solutions.
Be involved in the implementation of new technologies and methods.
Successful candidates for this role should be “passionate leaders in the technology world who are excited to take the initiative, be creative and drive engineering change across the intelligence agencies.” and you should also have experience of successful application design and integration in large scale enterprise organisations.
The salary for this role is: Manchester – £63,091 – £67,677 or London – £66,276 – £71,081.
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The closing date for applications is 31/08/2020 at 11pm, and you can apply or find out more here.
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Didn’t really find a path that suits you?
For alternative roles and more information, you can visit the Mi5 – The Security Service website here.
Trending
John Bishop announces latest Manchester gig arena tour dates
Danny Jones
Beloved British comedian John Bishop has announced another massive Manchester gig on his latest run of arena tour dates.
The well-known veteran of the North West and national stand-up scene at large is heading back to the region next year for his fresh batch of live stand-up shows.
Serving as the follow-up to his critically acclaimed hour from 2025, with these dates also serving as another opportunity for fans who missed out last time to see at least some of that material, John Bishop is no stranger to selling out Manchester arenas.
Returning to Co-op Live once again after his first two visits there this past autumn, Manc crowds can look forward to more of his usual scouse charm.
Confirming the new 2027 UK tour dates online this Friday, 23 January, Bishop said: “So excited to announce I’ll be heading back out on tour next year with my brand new show…. ‘Let’s Go Round Again'”
As he goes on to write, he’s set to play “some of the biggest venues across the UK and Ireland in April and May 2027”, simply adding, “Come and join me for a night to remember…”
The 59-year-old will be coming to Co-op Live on Sunday, 2 May.
His Co-op Live debut last October went down a storm, so it’s no surprise that we cousins down the Mersey were one of the first cities to be named on the new tour.
Bishop is enjoying a little bit of added renaissance at the moment, amid being at the centre of a Hollywood film starring Will Arnett and Bradley Cooper.
You can see the duo talking about the recent release down below.
Bradley Cooper and Will Arnett allowed themselves to be vulnerable when adapting John Bishop's life story 🎬 pic.twitter.com/B5DYBfDfJ8
The Everton-born comic was already 35 when he first started live stand-up, turning up at the Frog and Bucket comedy club on the edge of the Northern Quarter and choosing to go up on stage during an open mic night rather than paying the entry fee.
Already a successful salesman in the pharmaceutical industry, he chose to switch careers just before his 40th birthday and hasn’t looked back since.
It’s part of this real-life story that inspired the movie, Is Thing On? – which finally premieres here in the UK at the end of this month – and continues to make him a hugely popular touring UK comedian.
For anyone who fancies going along to see his new tour, you can sign up for early access through his mailing list or via the venue’s pre-sale for official Co-op Members.
Those windows open on Wednesday, 28 January from 10am; general admission will be available from the same time on the following Friday (30 Jan). You can get ready to grab yours HERE.
You can watch the trailer for the aforementioned motion picture here.
Casemiro is leaving Manchester United at the end of the season
Danny Jones
Manchester United player Casemiro has confirmed that he will be leaving the club when his contract expires at the end of the season.
The veteran CDM and European footballing legend joined Man United back in 2022 for around £70 million from his former team, Real Madrid, where he won everything over the best part of a decade.
Now, Old Trafford fan favourite ‘Cas’ (full name, Carlos Henrique José Francisco Venâncio Casimiro) is set to leave United following the expiration of his current and highly lucrative deal this summer.
Announcing his pending departure in an emotional video, the seasoned Brazilian midfielder admitted that he feels the time is right to leave the club – but not before giving his “everything” in the remainder of the current campaign.
Writing in the caption of the social media post, Casemiro said: “Knowing when stages come to an end. Knowing when to say goodbye when you feel that you will be remembered and respected forever.
“Four months to give my all for this badge and for our goal. Eternal respect and affection for Manchester United and its wonderful fans. Forever Red Devil.”
Responding underneath the partnered post, the club simply wrote: “Once a Red, always a Red.”
Now 33 years old and already being accused of being ‘over the hill’ even when he first landed in Manchester, Casemiro had an impressive first season under Erik ten Hag and quickly became a crucial cog in the squad; arguably, overly relied upon, some would say.
On the other hand, given his age and the fast pace of English football, it’s fair to say he’s done well to keep up with the most competitive league on the planet.
He is also one of the well-paid talents in the Premier League, so while the majority of supporters will be gutted to see him go, the board will still be relieved to see his estimated £350,000-a-week wages taken off the books.
Nevertheless, he is now regularly subbed off around the hour mark for Man United, and it’s not exactly a surprise that he is now preparing to move on. INEOS and their recruitment already look to be searching for reinforcements in the middle of the park.
They are looking to bolster their options as they chase down Champions League qualification
Bringing a wealth of experience and leadership to ten Hag, Ruben Amorim, and now Michael Carrick‘s setup for what’s left of the 2025/26 term, he’s a big presence that will no doubt be missed in the dressing room and on the pitch.
Having scored 21 times in 146 games so far, he will finish the season with more than a century of appearances, and we wouldn’t be surprised if you see him chip in with a few more goals before hanging up his red shirt.
Besides being a serial throughout pretty much the rest of his career, the midfield remains a key point of contention at United, and his departure will no doubt mean more talent will need to be brought in at least by the summer.
You can see more of his farewell announcement video down below.
💬 “I will always carry this club with me. I will always be a Manchester United fan.”