Deputy Director for Criminal Enforcement Unit

The CEU’s approach gives equal weight to preventative and criminal justice-focused interventions - reflecting a clear understanding that long-term threat reduction requires a ‘wholesystem’ response beyond prosecution. The unit works in cross-sector partnership at home and abroad to protect the public and maintain regulatory integrity.

The CEU’s mission is to prevent offending where it can, disrupt offending where it cannot, and to bring offenders to justice where it should. It does this by maintaining an accurate understanding of the nature and dimensions of the threat, and leading, supporting and

coordinating innovative and impactful interventions to reduce it.

The CEU has seven teams, split between its Intelligence and Investigations Commands. The heads of Command report directly to the postholder as head of the unit.

The purpose of the role is to provide strategic leadership for the unit, ensuring the Agency has an effective, intelligence-led and proportionate capability to address the most serious criminal breaches of medicines and medical devices regulations. The postholder is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the unit, ensuring its activity supports the Agency's wider regulatory objectives and contributes to protecting public health.

The role leads a multi-disciplinary team, fostering a culture of professionalism, continuous improvement and high performance, while ensuring that decision-making across the unit is robust, evidence-based and aligned with the Agency's priorities. The postholder represents the MHRA at senior levels across government, law enforcement and the wider regulatory community, building effective partnerships to strengthen the UK's response to criminal threats.

As head of the CEU, the Deputy Director for Criminal Enforcement is accountable to the Executive Committee and ultimately to the Agency’s Board for the unit’s overall delivery and performance.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

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

Candidates will be subject to UK immigration requirements as well as Civil Service nationality rules. Further information on whether you are able to apply is available here.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Any move to the MHRA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. Individuals appointed on level transfer will retain their existing salary and are responsible for ensuring they fully understand the financial implications of any potential move and the impact (if any) on their terms.

Staff joining on promotion will receive up to a 10% increase of their current basic salary, or the pay band minimum, whichever is the greater. The individual will not retain any allowances paid by the former department/Agency, unless there are special circumstances, such as a reserved right to those allowances on transfer.

Successful candidates may be subject to annual Occupational Health reviews dependent on role requirements. If you have any queries, please contact careers@mhra.gov.uk.

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