Deputy Director for Criminal Enforcement Unit
This position is no longer accepting applications (closed Oct 27, 2026).
Description
- Job grade: SCS Pay Band 1
- Contract type: Permanent
- Business area: MHRA - Safety and Surveillance Group - The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the UK’s sovereign regulator for medicines, including biological medicines, medical devices, and blood products. Our primary purpose is to ensure that products intended for the UK market ar
- Type of role: Investigation, Operational Delivery
- Working pattern: Full-time
- Number of jobs available: 1
Location
About the job
Job summary
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.
Job description
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.
Person specification
Please refer to the attached Candidate Information Sheet
Essential Criteria
Significant senior leadership experience within the law enforcement or intelligence professions, preferably within an organisation with national and international responsibilities
Extensive experience of developing and delivering strategic priorities, balancing operational effectiveness with organisational, legal and reputational considerations.
Substantial experience at communicating to multiple audiences with preferably demonstrable experience of representing an organisation at senior level as a media spokesperson and communicating confidently through television, radio and print media. [Desirable]
Experience of advising senior officials or executives on complex or highly sensitive issues, including the preparation of appropriate briefings and evidence
Experience of leading the strategic response to complex, high profile or sensitive criminal threats, exercising sound judgement in politically and publicly sensitive environments.
Benefits
- Learning and development tailored to your role
- An environment with flexible working options
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
- A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
Things you need to know
Artificial intelligence
Selection process details
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.
As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.
Security
See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
Nationality requirements
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
Working for the Civil Service
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
Diversity and Inclusion
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : The Resourcing Team
- Email : Careers@mhra.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : Careers@mhra.gov.uk
Further information
Attachments
| Candidate Information Sheet - Deputy Director CEU Opens in new window (docx, 138kB) |
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