Financial Intelligence Officer in Sunderland

Location: Sunderland

Hours/Contract: 37 Hours, Fixed Term Contract/Internal Secondment Until 31 March 2029

Working for: North East Regional Organised Crime Unit ("NEROCU")

The North East Regional Organised Crime Unit is one of nine Regional Organised Crime Units ("ROCU") in England and Wales who lead the regional response to tackling serious and organised crime whilst supporting local and national delivery. The ROCU network continues to expand and Home Office funding through police officer uplift and increased police staff capacity presents exciting opportunities to further enhance service delivery and positively impact on our partners and the public.

The Home Office Serious and Organised Crime Strategy defines ROCU as leading the regional fight against Serious and Organised Crime and NEROCU have a critical role in leading, connecting and co-ordinating delivery across our region in all four P’s of the strategy:

• Pursue – prosecuting and disrupting people engaged in serious and organised criminality.
• Prevent – preventing people from engaging in serious and organised criminality.
• Protect – increasing protection against organised crime.
• Prepare – reducing the impact of serious and organised crime where it takes place.

NEROCU comprises of specialist teams delivering across intelligence, operations, investigations, cyber, economic, technical and digital capabilities.

The role

We have two exciting opportunities to join our team as Financial Intelligence Officers. In this role, you will play a vital part in tackling serious and organised crime by conducting detailed financial intelligence research and utilising specialist financial applications to support investigations across the Regional Economic Crime Unit (RECU). The work is fast-paced, intelligence-led, and often time-critical, helping to identify and disrupt the highest-harm offenders.

You will be responsible for collecting, collating and presenting complex financial data and intelligence, maintaining accurate records on relevant databases, and supporting supervisors and Financial Investigators to prioritise and progress their cases. Through your work, you will directly contribute to the pursuit, prosecution and disruption of criminal enterprises and the recovery of illicitly obtained assets.

What you’ll do

• Work closely with Supervisors, Financial Investigators and Police Officers to develop plans, agree joint objectives, and determine how financial intelligence will best support investigations.
• Receive, record, balance and categorise banking material using the Altia Financial Investigation Toolkit (FIT) to enhance understanding of financial activity linked to serious and organised crime.
• Complete and maintain Financial Intelligence Officer (FIO) accreditation, if not already qualified, through ongoing Continuous Professional Development.
• Conduct pre-order and Tournier Rule enquiries with financial institutions, integrating this information with other data sources to support applications for and acquisition of financial orders.
• Receive, record and sanitise financial intelligence in line with the National Intelligence Model and the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 to support financial and wider criminal investigations.
• Use powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, along with other legislation, gateways and partner agencies, to develop intelligence packages that support financial and other investigations.

What you’ll bring

• NCA‑accredited Financial Intelligence Officer (FIO), or willing to obtain and maintain accreditation.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team.
• Experience or knowledge of the Altia Financial Investigation Toolkit (FIT), including its use in analysing and simplifying banking information.
• Experience or knowledge of the Financial Intelligence Gateway (FIG) and Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs).
• Proven ability to obtain, collate, and present financial intelligence, with accurate recording and retention of material.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to plan, prioritise and manage workloads to meet strict deadlines.
• A flexible and adaptable approach to changing demands, with the ability to apply investigative processes, methods and tools in line with current legislation.
• High levels of self‑motivation and professionalism, with the ability to build strong working relationships across the organisation and with partner agencies.
• Confident communication skills, able to clearly convey complex information both verbally and in writing and engage credibly at all levels.

We know it's important for you to feel that you're not only part of a great team, but part of a community. We welcome applications from suitably qualified people from all sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. Harnessing these differences creates a productive environment in which everyone feels valued, and their talents are fully utilised. Appointments are based on merit alone.

Just so you know

Our application form will help us understand how your work, education and life experience has prepared you for the role of a Financial Intelligence Officer with #TeamNP. To help support your application research what makes us tick here at Northumbria, the role you’re applying for and the values and behaviours that contribute.

Use of AI in Applications: At Northumbria Police, we embrace innovative technologies to enhance our recruitment process. We understand that candidates may use AI tools to assist with their applications. While AI can be a valuable resource, we encourage applicants to ensure their submissions accurately reflect their personal qualifications, experiences, and skills. Our selection process includes thorough evaluations to verify the authenticity and suitability of all applications. We value genuine and thoughtful responses that showcase your unique strengths and perspectives.

The recruitment process will consist of the initial application form followed by a face to face interview. Interviews are expected to take place in September.

We are proud members of the Business Disability Forum, with whom we collaborate with to improve the lives of disabled employees. We are also a Disability Confident Employer, therefore if you demonstrate that you meet the minimum criteria for this role as stated in the advert, we will progress your application and offer you an interview. If you tell us that you have a disability, we can make adjustments to support you through the recruitment process (for example we can arrange extra time for tests or provide a sign language interpreter) Please provide us with plenty of notice so we can ensure your visit goes smoothly.

If your application is successful, we’ll ask you to complete a Security Clearance (SC) form, therefore you must be a resident of the UK for a minimum period of 5 years to ensure vetting checks can be successfully performed. A job offer will be dependent upon vetting clearance, medical information, and references.

Terms of appointment

This is a fixed term role subject to a six-month probationary period. If you are successful in your application, you will have a six-month probation period with us where you will be unable to apply for any other post advertised internally or externally. Internal applicants should normally have completed six months in their current role. Where this requirement is not met, approval must be sought through the Careers mailbox and will be considered by the relevant policy/process owner.

Please note if you are a current NEROCU/Northumbria Police employee interested in applying for this role as a secondment opportunity, please discuss this with your Line Manager and gain agreement prior to applying.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role.