Senior Operational Intelligence Liaison Officer

Location: Predominantly West Africa and other complex operating environments, with periodic UK‑based time for planning, governance, and handover.

Overview: Prevail is seeking a Senior Operational Intelligence Liaison Officer to act as the primary forward‑facing interface between Prevail and host nation military, security, law enforcement, and intelligence stakeholders in West Africa and other complex operating environments. This is a predominantly deployable role. The post holder will build and maintain trusted relationships, receive and shape host nation requirements, and ensure UK‑based intelligence support is prioritised, realistic, and operationally relevant. The role requires a credible and professionally mature individual capable of engaging confidently with senior officials and ministers, while also operating effectively at working and operational levels in austere environments. This is not a command or analytical role. It sits at the intersection of forward engagement, stakeholder management, requirement shaping, and disciplined intelligence tasking. This role requires frequent international travel and extended deployments in West Africa, balanced with UK‑based planning, governance, and coordination periods. The successful candidate must be comfortable operating independently for extended periods while maintaining close coordination with a UK‑based team.

Key Responsibilities

• Stakeholder Liaison and Relationship Management
  • Act as Prevail's primary forward‑facing liaison with host nation military, security, law enforcement, and intelligence stakeholders.
  • Build, maintain, and leverage trusted relationships across senior, operational, and tactical levels.
  • Engage credibly with senior officers, officials, and ministers, as well as working‑level counterparts.
  • Represent Prevail in sensitive engagements requiring discretion, judgement, and political awareness.
  • Ensure clarity of intent, scope, and expectations in all stakeholder interactions.
• Requirement Shaping and Tasking
  • Receive and interpret host nation requirements and translate them into clear, structured, and prioritised tasking.
  • Work closely with the UK‑based Intelligence Manager and delivery team to ensure requirements are actionable and aligned to capability.
  • Support stakeholders in understanding what is realistic, deliverable, and within scope.
  • Prioritise competing demands and escalate where appropriate.
  • Challenge or push back on requests that are unrealistic, inappropriate, or outside mandate.
• Forward Presence and Operational Judgement
  • Operate effectively in austere, dynamic, and politically sensitive environments.
  • Exercise sound judgement on engagement posture, movement, and operational visibility.
  • Identify and escalate operational, political, legal, compliance, and reputational risks to the UK team.
  • Maintain high standards of personal security awareness, professionalism, and discretion at all times.
• Contextual Insight and Continuity
  • Provide clear and structured feedback on stakeholder intent, context, and informal tasking.
  • Maintain continuity of understanding between forward deployment and UK‑based support periods.
  • Contribute to handovers and continuity management to support institutional knowledge.
  • Ensure the UK team retains an accurate and current understanding of local dynamics and priorities.
• Governance and Professional Standards
  • Operate strictly within Prevail's mandate, governance, and legal frameworks.
  • Exercise appropriate judgement in line with delegated authority and escalate where required.
  • Ensure all activity aligns with compliance, ethical, and reputational standards.
  • Uphold Prevail's standards of integrity, discretion, and delivery discipline in all engagements.

Essential Experience

• Significant experience in defence, intelligence, security, government, or closely related operational environments.
• Demonstrable experience engaging with senior military, security, intelligence, or government stakeholders.
• Experience operating in hostile, austere, or high‑pressure environments.
• Strong understanding of intelligence processes and support to operations.
• Proven ability to operate independently, build relationships, and exercise sound judgement under pressure.
• Professional working French (mandatory).

Strongly Preferred

• Military background or equivalent operational experience within government or security environments.
• Experience in liaison, advisory, attaché, or relationship‑focused operational roles.
• Experience working in West Africa or Francophone regions.
• Experience supporting counter‑terrorism, national security, or related operations.
• Familiarity with military or law enforcement organisational culture.

Skills and Attributes

• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• High levels of judgement, discretion, and political awareness.
• Ability to operate across strategic, operational, and tactical stakeholder levels.
• Comfort working in ambiguity and evolving operational contexts.
• Strong personal resilience and situational awareness.
• Ability to balance forward engagement with governance and compliance requirements.

Candidate Guidance

Applicants should clearly demonstrate experience aligned to:

• forward liaison and stakeholder engagement.
• intelligence support to operational environments.
• engagement with military, law enforcement, intelligence, or government stakeholders.
• operating in complex, austere, or high‑risk environments.
• exercising judgement within governance, legal, and compliance frameworks.

Additional Information

Due to the nature of this role, candidates must have the right to work in the UK without restriction or requirement for visa sponsorship. The role requires regular international travel and deployment, and candidates must be able to travel freely to and from West Africa and other operating environments. Candidates must be willing and able to spend extended periods in challenging environments, subject to Prevail's duty of care obligations, internal risk assessment processes, and operational requirements. All travel and in‑country activity will be approved in advance and supported by appropriate security, medical, and insurance arrangements.