Associate Infrastructure Engineer (Identity Access Management) Ref. 3623

Department IT / Information Technology

Location(s) Manchester

£36,408, including a concessionary payment of £2,658. You may also qualify for a skills payment ranging from £4,513 to £9,812 and a recruitment bonus of £2,000, both dependent on technical ability and successful assessment during the interview process.

Flexible working: This role is based on full-time hours (37 hours per week) with flexibility around start and finish times within core working hours. While our preference is for full-time working, in exceptional circumstances we may consider part-time arrangements, subject to business needs. We also offer hybrid working, which includes some remote working, typically one day per week from home with the remainder in the office. This arrangement may vary depending on operational requirements.

GCHQ is an intelligence cyber and security agency with a mission to keep the UK safe. We use cutting-edge technology, ingenuity and partnerships to identify, analyse and disrupt threats. Working with our intelligence partners MI5 and MI6, we protect the UK from terrorism, cyber attacks, and espionage. At GCHQ, you'll do varied and fascinating work in a supportive and inclusive environment that emphasises teamwork.

The role

As an Associate Infrastructure Engineer, you'll play a vital role in keeping the UK safe by ensuring secure access to sensitive systems. Your work will help guarantee that the right people have the right access at the right time, supporting both our organisation and colleagues across our organisation as well as trusted partners in the UK and around the world.

In this role, you'll be actively involved in managing user accounts, resolving access and certificate issues, and monitoring platform health to maintain compliance and reliability. Collaboration with internal teams is key, as you work to understand access requirements and deliver effective solutions, while also contributing to strategic improvements in how identity services are delivered.

You will not be expected to take on complex work immediately; the initial focus will be on learning and building situational knowledge across multiple platforms. There will be a requirement to travel to Cheltenham and London on occasion, with limited opportunities for international travel.

Your responsibilities will include supporting day to day identity operations, such as incident resolution and service requests. You'll also contribute to product development and roadmap planning for identity services, and work with internal and external stakeholders to improve access management across multiple systems. You'll also share knowledge and deliver training to help others adopt and maintain secure access practices.

About you

We're looking for individuals with an infrastructure background and a passion for identity and access management. You should have practical experience with Windows or Linux infrastructure and essential skills in Active Directory. Familiarity with Oracle Identity and Access Management (IDAM) is desirable. You'll need a solid foundation of practical IT experience, gained through real world work in infrastructure or support environments, with enough exposure to confidently apply your skills in this role.

Success in this role requires exceptional interpersonal and communication skills alongside technical ability. Clear written communication for documentation, the ability to explain technical concepts to stakeholders, and effective relationship building across user communities are essential. A collaborative mindset and a proactive learning approach will further support your success.

Learning and development

From day one, you'll be supported by a structured induction and a tailored development plan designed to help you grow into the role. Whether you're new to identity and access management or looking to build on existing expertise, your training will combine practical experience with access to formal learning and mentoring.

• Technical Delivery: managing end to end delivery of cloud platforms and ERP systems, driving digital transformation and operational efficiency
• Product Development: contributing to the roadmap and lifecycle of IDAM services
• Collaboration: engaging with internal teams and external partners across the UK Intelligence Community
• Certification: pursuing qualifications from Microsoft, Linux, CyberArk and more

You'll learn alongside experienced colleagues and have access to workshops, peer led sessions and internal conferences. As your confidence grows, you'll take on more responsibility and begin shaping the future of identity services. Progression from this role to Infrastructure Engineer typically follows a structured path, with opportunities to broaden your product exposure and deepen your subject matter expertise.

Some of our benefits

You will enjoy 25 days annual leave, rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, alongside 8 bank holidays and 2.5 additional leave days (set dates through the year). We also offer a competitive pension, with employer contributions of at least 28.97%, an interest free season ticket loan, and much more. Discover more about our full range of benefits.

Equal opportunities

To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. We welcome and encourage applications from all individuals, particularly those who are currently under represented in our workforce, such as:

• women
• people from ethnic minority backgrounds
• individuals with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions
• those from low socio economic backgrounds

This is part of our commitment to building a culture that is welcoming and inclusive of people with different identities, lived experiences, and perspectives, where everyone has the confidence to bring their whole self to work. Find out more about our commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Offer of Interview

We're also proud to have achieved Leader status within the Department of Work and Pensions' Disability Confident scheme, we aim to ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants who best meet the minimum essential criteria for this position are offered an interview where practicable; this is known as the 'Offer of Interview.'

For this role, the minimum criteria (in order of application process) are:

• Meet the eligibility criteria by completing the initial application form and pre screening questions
• Achieve the minimum pass mark in all three application questions

As part of your application, you can declare if you have a disability or long term health condition and would like to be considered for an 'Offer of Interview'. If you opt into the Disability Confident scheme and successfully complete these stages, you'll be offered an interview; this is our "Offer of Interview". Please note that in situations where we receive a high volume of applications, we may not be able to interview all candidates, including those with disabilities, who meet the minimum criteria.

If you have a disability, are neurodivergent, have a long term health condition or require reasonable adjustments for any other reason, please let us know so we can support you. To learn more about how we can help, read our reasonable adjustments brochure, or visit our how to apply page.

Application process

Our selection process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. You must pass each stage to progress. The Associate Infrastructure Engineer recruitment process consists of:

• An initial online application form, including pre screening questions to ensure you meet our eligibility criteria
• Combined interview stage, which includes a technical interview and skills assessment, followed by a competency based interview. This stage may be delivered virtually or in person
• The entire process can take 9 to 12 months, so if you are currently employed, we recommend staying in your existing role until you receive a final offer

Before you apply

Due to the sensitive nature of our work, you must meet certain eligibility criteria (and we have some recommendations to help your application):

• complete vetting and comply with our no drugs policy. Read more on our vetting process
• familiarise yourself with our guidance on the use of AI in applications, on our how to apply page
• complete your application from within the UK

We'd recommend using a different email address (with no identifying features e.g., first and/or surnames and date of birth) for your contact with us. This helps keep your personal and application correspondence separate and more secure.

You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.

Please note, you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from outside the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.

Right to withdraw statement:

Please be aware that we reserve the right to close applications once a certain number have been received. Please submit your application as soon as possible to avoid missing out.