Trainee Procurement Officer (Government equivalent: Trainee Commercial Officer)

Job summary

MI5 keeps the country safe from serious threats like terrorism and attempts by states to harm the UK, its people and way of life. We carry out investigations by obtaining, analysing and assessing intelligence, and then work with a range of partners, including MI6 and GCHQ to disrupt these threats. Through our protective security arm, we provide advice and guidance to government, businesses and other organisations about how to keep themselves safe. A role in MI5 means you’ll do unique and challenging work in a supportive and encouraging environment, making a real difference to UK national security.

Job description

As a Trainee Procurement Officer, you’ll start your career in procurement, helping to deliver the goods, services and infrastructure that enable critical national security work.

You’ll join a structured two-year development programme, gaining a strong foundation in how procurement operates within a complex organisation. Working as part of a team, you’ll contribute across the full procurement lifecycle – from understanding business needs and engaging with suppliers, through to running sourcing activities, awarding contracts and supporting contract management.

From early in the role, you’ll contribute to live projects, gaining experience in areas such as tendering, supplier relationship management and contract performance. As your confidence grows, you’ll begin to take ownership of your own work, building practical experience across a wide range of projects and procurement activities.

You’ll work with stakeholders across the organisation and suppliers across industry, learning how to balance cost, risk and value to achieve the right outcomes. The variety of work means you’ll gain exposure to different commercial challenges, helping you develop a broad and transferable skill set.

As you progress, you’ll take on increasing responsibility, moving from supporting delivery to contributing directly to commercial decisions and managing your own areas of work as you develop into a Procurement Manager.

Person specification

You don’t need prior experience in procurement, but you’ll have an interest in how organisations buy and manage goods and services. This will be supported by a minimum of 2 A levels or BTEC equivalent or minimum of 12 months in a commercial role. Whether you’re early in your career or exploring a new direction, you’ll bring a willingness to learn and a structured approach to your work.

You’re organised and able to manage your workload, with the confidence to communicate clearly and work with others to deliver shared goals. You may have experience in a team-based or customer-focused environment and will be comfortable working to deadlines and contributing to tasks that support wider projects.

You’re adaptable and comfortable taking on new challenges, even when things are unfamiliar. Most importantly, you’re motivated to build your skills and develop a long-term career in procurement, with the commitment to grow into a role where you take ownership of your work and contribute to commercial decisions.

Benefits

You’ll receive a starting salary of £40,428 (London) or £37,723 (Cheltenham/Manchester) plus other benefits including:

• 25 days' of annual leave, automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, and an additional 10.5 days of public and privilege holidays
• opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme
• a dedicated development budget
• an interest-free season ticket loan
• an excellent pension scheme
• a cycle to work scheme
• facilities such as a gym, restaurant and on-site coffee bars (at some locations)
• paid parental and adoption leave

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

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 (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:

1. An initial online application form including pre-screening questions to ensure you meet our eligibility criteria
2. Online Situational Judgement Test (SJT) in which you rate the appropriateness of responses to a series of short scenarios
3. Full online application form
4. An interview, which will include competency questions and further exploration of your motivation to work for the intelligence services
5. If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment and then proceed to the vetting stage

Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 to 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer. This role has two planned intake points in 2027 and 2028. As a result, the recruitment process may take longer than usual.

Equal opportunities

At MI5 diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce such as women, those from an ethnic minority background, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.

Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our website.

We’re Disability Confident

MI5 is proud to have achieved Leader status within the Department for Work and Pensions' 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. As a Disability Confident Leader, we aim to ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants who best meet the essential minimum criteria for this position, will be offered an interview, if it is practical for us to do so. (This is known as the Offer of an Interview.) To secure an interview for this role, the minimum criteria (in order of application process) are:

1. You'll be required to reach the minimum pass mark for the online Situational Judgement Test (SJT), which assesses criteria important for all roles in our organisation
2. Achieve the minimum pass mark for motivational questions - assessed at application sift
3. Demonstrate the ability to manage your workload, communicate clearly and work with others to deliver shared goals - assessed at application sift

There is a wide range of extra support available throughout the recruitment process to enable you to do your best, see our website for information on reasonable adjustments we can offer.

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