Counter-Terrorism Officer

Working at HM Treasury puts you at the heart of government, making a difference to the UK economy and ultimately to people’s lives right across the UK.

Jobs at the Treasury are fast-paced, fun and can offer unparalleled perspective – not least the opportunity to advise Ministers on the decisions which directly determine the UK’s prosperity. Deep in our DNA is a commitment to empowering our people: maximising individual and collective impact, with interesting work no matter your role or seniority.

Day-to-day you could be supporting Ministers to decide the right level of a specific tax or line of government spending; helping maintain the stability of financial markets; analysing the long-term trends impacting the future of the economy; or enabling this work as part of our vital corporate functions.

We are a high-performing department and proud to have outstanding staff from a wide range of backgrounds. We are also a friendly, inclusive and sociable workplace that prides itself on fostering great team spirit. Our two largest offices are 1 Horse Guards Road in London, opposite St James’ Park, and the Darlington Economic Campus, which also contains eight other departments. We work seamlessly across all our sites, including Norwich, Birmingham and Leeds, as one Treasury.

We are both a 1,000-year-old institution and dynamic, forward-looking economics and finance ministry, with a strong direction set by our organisational strategy, the Future Treasury Vision. The 21st century offers huge opportunities and poses new challenges for the UK. Working at the Treasury is your chance to help the country chart the right course.

We are recruiting for a Higher Executive Officer (HEO) in OFSI’s Counter-Terrorism Team. This is an exciting, fast-paced, high-stakes role.

The CT Sanctions Team is responsible for the administration of terrorist asset freezes in the UK. The key CT sanctions regimes implemented in the UK are The ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida (United Nations Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, The Counter-Terrorism (International Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 and The Counter-Terrorism (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. In the CT Team the successful candidates could find themselves undertaking a range of tasks and responsibilities including:

• Assist with the management of CT sanctions designations under the Counter-Terrorism (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 developing an in-depth knowledge of the regime and reviewing designation proposals from partners. The post holder will have input on cases under other CT sanctions regimes. This includes providing concise, accurate and timely advice to support Ministers and senior officials in making sensitive decisions which often carry significant legal risk.
• Keeping senior officials and ministers adequately informed of developments within regimes and keeping a broad watching brief on relevant sanctioned persons and countries.
• Managing and assisting with relevant licensing requests from receipt through to issue where appropriate, working closely with Treasury Legal Advisers on the licensing application process and in assessing the legal risk of granting or refusing licences.
• Leading and assisting with investigative casework in relation to suspected sanctions breaches and decide the most appropriate compliance outcomes, working with the Police where appropriate.
• Providing support to the Head of Litigation when decisions under CT sanctions are legally challenged. This includes working with counsel, Treasury Legal Advisers, the Government Legal Department, and other departments.
• Work closely with HM Treasury & FCDO policy teams on policy and operational implications of proposed new CT sanctions measures, developing and maintaining productive relationships across Whitehall on regime implementation.
• Develop a thorough understanding of the CT Sanctions regimes legal framework and apply this in ad hoc advice to Ministers, members of the public, and external stakeholder groups.

Across the team, strong communication will be a really important part of your role. Every day you will be communicating with different people, internally and externally. You will need to distil complex detail into clear recommendations and be able to explain and defend those recommendations in writing and verbally. This could be as part of casework decisions or in operational policy work. You will be expected to work closely with colleagues in other branches to provide casework input to cross-branch work.

Successful candidates will have the ability to develop and analyse information, think creatively and independently to arrive at supportable conclusions when sometimes data is incomplete. Previous experience of financial sanctions and/or counter-terrorism is desired, but not essential for these roles. Most important is the ability to quickly gain an understanding of a range of competing complex issues and the ability to make evidenced-based recommendations and astute judgements under pressure, deploying evidence and information across a range of sources.

We are looking for a person who has the right set of skills for the role, who demonstrates the values of our organisation, who is motivated to come and work with us, and who can demonstrate an ability to quickly develop an understanding of a complex and sensitive area.

Overall, this role is an excellent opportunity for an ambitious individual to take ownership of high profile, and high risk internationally focussed work, and to develop a large network of stakeholders inside and outside of government.

This is a Darlington based role. This role cannot be worked from any other HM Treasury office. Should you be successful for the role, this will be your contractual office location.

If you would like to speak to the hiring manager informally prior to the closing date for applications to find out more about the job, please email counterterrorism@hmtreasury.gov.uk.

Open to UK nationals only.

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

The reference to Experience above is system generated. For this role, experience is not assessed at any stage. We will ask for some CV details in your application form, but this is for reference only and will not be scored.

Candidate Guidance

Please review the candidate guidance for an overview of the Success Profiles and STAR approach, along with top tips for applications and interviews.

Recruitment Timeline

• Closing date: 1st November 2026 at 23:55
• Shortlisting: w/c 2nd November 2026
• Interviews: w/c 9th November 2026

This timeline is indicative and may be subject to change. We will inform you if there is a substantial change to the recruitment timeline.

If your contact details change at any time during the selection process, please ensure you update your Civil Service Jobs Profile.

Reserve Lists

You will be placed on a reserve list if your application is successful, but we cannot offer you a role immediately. Where more than one location has been advertised, candidates will be posted in merit order by location. You will be asked to provide your location preference on your application form. Please note that a place on the reserve list does not guarantee an offer.

If you are offered a role in your first preferred location and you decline the offer or are unable to take up the post within a reasonable timeframe, you will be removed from the reserve list, other than in exceptional circumstances.

Those on the reserve list may also be approached for similar roles at a lower grade. If you are offered a role at a lower grade and choose to decline, you can remain on the reserve list.

Internal Fraud Database Check

Candidates cannot apply to roles in the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Successful candidates will be subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database. This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This also applies to those who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the database will be refused employment.

National Security Vetting

Everyone working with government assets must complete Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks. Additionally, successful candidates will be subject to National Security Vetting. The level of security vetting required for this role is Developed Vetting (DV). Candidates will be required to undergo Developed Vetting clearance however will join HM Treasury on Security Check clearance in the first instance.

To allow for meaningful checks to be carried out, applicants typically need to have lived in the UK for the past 10 years. You will be asked to provide residency information within your application form, and eligibility for national security vetting will be checked once the advert closing date has passed. In certain circumstances, for example if you have been working abroad on a government posting, a lack of residency would not be a bar to security clearance however the Department will need to consider eligibility on a case-by-case basis once the advert closing date has passed.

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