Senior Digital Forensic Specialist (Headquarters, Chelmsford)

Location of Role: Chelmsford 

Advert Closing Date: 13/11/2024 

Starting Salary: £45,546.00 (pro-rata for part-time vacancies)

Part/Full Time: Full Time 

Contract Type: Permanent 

Working Pattern: Other (see advert text) 

Weekend/Evening Working: Yes 

Kent Police & Essex Police have recently transformed their digital service to adapt and take advantage of the latest technology and infrastructure available. An exciting opportunity has arisen for an individual to undertake the role of Senior Digital Forensic Specialist within Kent & Essex Digital Services based at Essex Police HQ.

The new Digital Services’ structure has been designed to provide the best possible career progression and Continuous Professional Development framework to ensure you will have the tools and necessary experience to carry out first class digital forensic investigations.

Digital devices and information communication technology are present in almost every investigation the Police Service undertakes. These range from complex computer platforms, games consoles, and digital CCTV systems, to satellite navigation. As digital devices continue to evolve, it will be critical that you are able to adapt and learn new emerging technologies to meet the requirements of the role. 

We are looking for an enthusiastic and dynamic individual who can demonstrate technical ability across a range of digital devices. You will have been educated to A Level standard or have at least 2 years’ recent experience within a Digital Forensic service provider (law enforcement or private sector), to include experience of the leading digital forensic tools currently employed nationally.

The role involves the day-to-day supervision of a team of digital forensic practitioners to ensure service delivery against published Service Level Agreements in support of investigations, ensuring compliance with Internal Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) standards, including:

• Managing the submissions by developing digital forensic strategies for examination, allocating cases and balancing workloads, to ensure the efficient and effective processing of cases cognisant of risks and quality assuring the work of the team.

• Supervising, coaching, and motivating the team, managing collective and individual performance, participating in recruitment and selection, undertaking staff appraisals, addressing initial welfare, capability, and discipline issues, advising on personal development to enable consistent high-quality performance and ensure that a professional and efficient service is provided at all times.

• Effectively utilising the quality management framework including audits, dip checks and peer review to enable the sharing of good practice and continual improvement of the Digital Forensic function.

• Undertaking a personal caseload, providing expert advice performing the role of Digital Forensic Senior Specialist, preparing and presenting evidence in court including the production and presentation of bespoke complex technical reports in support of the criminal justice process.

• The collection and extraction of digital evidence using standard operating procedures in support of criminal investigations.

• Providing advice and assistance to officers and staff concerning the proportionate extraction of digital data.

This role requires you to utilise streamlined, targeted extraction techniques or triage capability of sized digital devices to enable faster charging decisions.

You will have an understanding of the quality standard ISO 17025 and how this affects the role. You will be required to develop and maintain your competence under these requirements ensuring best practice is shared amongst colleagues. It is expected that you will update your technical knowledge of specialised Digital Forensic procedures and advancements within the Digital Forensic field.

To balance these technical attributes, you will need to be a highly motivated team player with good interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing. You will have the ability to manage a high caseload and be able to utilise coaching methods to provide an environment that is both supportive and constructive to other members of the team.

In this role you will be dealing with highly sensitive and distressing information which requires you to have a high degree of emotional resilience. You will also be required to work to tight deadlines and be able to multi-task, dealing with competing demand and court requests.

The Senior Digital Forensic Specialist role is shift based, you will be working a 6-week pattern where you will be required to work 1 weekend in 6.

The shifts are detailed below:

• AM shift: 0700 – 1500
• PM shift: 1200 – 2000
• Weekend shift: 0800 – 1600

You will also be part of the Bank Holiday on Call Rota (between 0800 and 2000).

Please complete in full the reason for application, in regard to the following areas:

• Technical ability, knowledge of computer and/or mobile phone hardware, software, and operating systems.
• Recent experience within a digital forensics’ environment.
• A good understanding of ISO 17025.
• Communication and interpersonal skills both verbally and written.
• Experience of leading a team and managing its competing demands. 

This recruitment process consists of 2 stages which involves a presentation and a competency-based interview.

Management Vetting (MV) & Security Check (SC) is required for this post.

Interested applicants are encouraged to contact Andrew Richards or Andrew Marbrow for further information regarding the role on 01622 654783 or 01245 49149 ext 489201 or via email at andrew.marbrow@essex.police.uk. 

For the full Essex job description please click here.

For the full Kent job description please click here.

Kent Police and Essex Police have separate salary grading systems therefore the salary for this position will be dependent on which home office force you are appointed to. This will be discussed with the successful applicant before a final offer is made.

Your application is shortlisted on the content provided within the 'reason for application' section, which is limited to 9000 characters. Within your answer please refer to the criteria stated in this job advert and include any experience, skills and abilities you feel you have that will make you suitable for the role. Please ensure you provide as much detail as possible as insufficient information may mean that you do not meet the shortlisting criteria. 

All of our posts require a level of vetting and security clearance.  During the recruitment process you will be sent vetting information forms to complete. 

Kent Police and Essex Police welcomes applications regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, sex, or employment status.

Please let us know if you require extra support at any stage of the application process, or for further information regarding this position, please email us at recruitment.business.services@ecis.police.uk stating ‘Application Support and Adjustments’ in the title of your email. Alternatively, you can call us on 01245 452833.

Where appropriate we will make adjustments to the selection process, working arrangements and/or the working environment provided it is reasonable in all the circumstances to do so.

This post is open to:

• British Citizens.

• Members of a European Economic Area (EEA) state who hold settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.  

• Commonwealth citizens or foreign nationals (who are not British citizens or European Economic Area (EEA) state members) who have leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom for an indefinite period that is free from restrictions.

All applicants (except those who have been serving abroad with the British Armed Forces) must have lived in the UK continuously for the past three years.

Essex Police and Kent Police are an equal opportunities employer. Communications may be recorded for monitoring purposes.