Career Lessons From Two Women At The Top Of Their Game

Career Lessons From Two Women At The Top Of Their Game

Emily and Vicky are something of an anomaly in the civil service. Both mothers, they share the role of deputy director for counter terrorism at GCHQ – the government’s ultra-secretive spy agency – and are the first two women to hold the title. Here, they share the advice they’ve learnt along the way – and why their work is so rewarding.
Photography: CROWN COPYRIGHT

Find Purpose In Your Job

“Vicky and I are deputy directors responsible for the entire counter terrorism mission at GCHQ – that means we’re responsible for several different teams that produce intelligence and teams that provide the support functions to enable us to gain access to terrorist communications. We use that intelligence in conjunction with our partners such as MI5, MI6 and Counter Terrorism Policing to stop terrorist attacks and keep the UK and its allies safe. It’s such a rewarding job and something that makes you feel like you’re making a contribution to the country.” – Emily

“The best aspect of our job is easily the huge sense of pride in knowing that we are collectively making a difference to national security and providing a genuine service to the public. It’s the shared accountability, motivation and momentum that feels very special. The toughest part of the job relates to that too: the responsibility for the way in which we conduct our work and knowing our teams can feel the weight of personal guilt, grief and failure for real-world events outside of their control.” – Vicky

Don’t Worry If This Wasn’t Your Dream

“I can’t say I ever dreamt of or imagined myself working for GCHQ – I studied music at university! In fact, I’d never heard of GCHQ before I applied as part of the Civil Service Fast Stream to work at the Foreign Office and then was interviewed by the agency. It was all serendipity at the end of the day.” – Emily

“After university, where I studied chemistry, I definitely had a good idea of what I didn’t want to do rather than what I did. The GCHQ mission intrigued me, and coupled with the public service opportunity, I felt very lucky when I successfully responded to the Intelligence Analyst recruitment campaign. In truth, I was a little hesitant too as I really didn’t know what the role would involve.” – Vicky 

Expose Yourself To As Many Things As Possible

“As part of the Civil Service Fast Stream, I worked in a variety of roles in the defence sector before joining GCHQ on its graduate scheme. I was able to work in a variety of areas across the mission: everything from looking at the government policies that impact our work to cyber security – ultimately, everything was about helping the UK be the safest place it could be to live and work online. Going through the program gave me great insight into the organisation, I’m so glad I did it.” – Emily

“I joined GCHQ as a new graduate. I had no idea what to expect from a career in intelligence, but I’ve been incredibly privileged to work in many different areas across the agency like Emily. I’ve worked in several multi-faceted roles including intelligence production, policy and communications. I’ve also been seconded into No. 10 and the Cabinet Office, Foreign Office and Home Office in roles that represent GCHQ’s interests and its most important partnerships and priorities in Whitehall and America.” – Vicky

Getting the most out of the talented people around me and helping them to succeed is probably the best part of the job. There is an amazing feeling of total trust and friendship among the team that I have never witnessed anywhere else.

Learn From Those Around You & Help Each Other

“The people I work alongside are world class and their innovation astounds me. Getting the most out of the talented people around me and helping them to succeed is probably the best part of the job. Because the work we do is so high pressure and high stakes, there is an amazing feeling of total trust and friendship among the team that I have never witnessed anywhere else. The hardest is not being able to speak that much about the amazing work they do. Some of the best work they’ve ever done will never be heard about because it’s secret.” – Emily

Know What You Have To Offer

“It’s a huge privilege but we hope this is just the beginning for women across GCHQ at all levels. Whether it’s for motherhood or other circumstances, flexibility at work is an expectation in a modern workforce and we are so pleased to have pushed through that glass ceiling. By job-sharing, Vicky and I have created a shift in mindset. We’re two mothers sharing a role of such importance to keep the country safe. We hope it’ll serve as a signal to other areas and industries. Counter terrorism is a national priority and is being served well with this arrangement. We are bringing a shift in perspective and want to be role models for a new age of national security leadership.” – Emily

“Hopefully, what we’re doing will make it easier for those who come after us. If we can do this role job-sharing, why not have many other roles set up like this? I hope we’ve made some sort of contribution to normalise work-life balance.” – Vicky

Ditch The Idea Of A 9-5

“As you might expect, counter terrorism isn’t something that only happens between 9am and 5pm – it isn’t how our targets operate. New threats may be found, an attack may happen anywhere, anytime, so we have to run a 24/7 operations centre to ensure we have staff responding around the clock to keep UK citizens safe. Whether that’s monitoring intelligence, exploring new leads or talking to a partner who’s located somewhere else in the world. Sometimes our job spikes in need, sometimes our home life spikes in need. By having a job-share we can be flexible around those requirements.” – Emily

Vicky and I have been job-sharing for nearly a year and what I love about it is the partnership we have. Vicky was on maternity when we were first promoted to this job – a physically and mentally challenging time – so having someone else who understood was so important.

Enjoy The ‘Pinch Me’ Moments

“The three years I spent working as a senior liaison officer in the US were full of ‘pinch me’ moments. I was working with White House officials on US policy and the American intelligence agencies, and we were at the heart of conversations and thought leadership around a pivotal subject. The breadth of work you can do working for the intelligence services is astounding. I was really humbled by the experience.” – Emily

“The range of jobs and genuine ‘I can’t believe I’m here’ moments have been plentiful. From representing the UK at the UN; leaving the White House on a hot summer’s day; lecturing university students on UK foreign policy; securing access to an impossible-to-access target; helping get a complex and contentious piece of legislation through Parliament to support UK national security; embassy parties; influencing Congress… The list is endless and still entirely bewildering when I think about it.” – Vicky 

Embrace Teamwork

“Vicky and I have been job-sharing for nearly a year and what I love about it is the partnership we have. Vicky was on maternity when we were first promoted to this job – a physically and mentally challenging time – so having someone else who understood was so important. My children are a little bit older so we both understand each other’s positions. I held Vicky’s baby who was just eight weeks old when she needed to come into the office for part of the recruitment process for this role, while Vicky had my back when my son was only getting two hours a day at school during the pandemic. It’s a true partnership.” – Emily

Do What You Love

“I can’t think of a day when I’ve woken up not looking forward to work – yes, there are more difficult days than others, but the jobs and the opportunities are incredible. The responsibility naturally increases as you move up any organisation, so if you don’t enjoy what you do then you’re unlikely to succeed.” – Emily

 

Visit GCHQ-Careers.co.uk to apply for the Intelligence Analyst scheme.

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