Financial Investigator Civil Recovery (NEROCU)

Salary: Band 8, £34,611 - £39,372 (If Confiscator Accredited a Market Supplement £5,937 applies)

Location: Sunderland

Hours/Contract: 37 Hours, FTC Until 31 March 2029

(We’re pleased to advertise this funded opportunity, with the appointment expected to be confirmed following the finalisation of funding.)

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

The North East Regional Organised Crime Unit is one of ten 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.

Learn about our full benefits package

The role

Are you ready to play a pivotal role in disrupting serious and organised crime? We're looking for a driven and detail-oriented individual to join our team in conducting high-impact financial investigations that directly contribute to tackling the most harmful offenders. This is your chance to make a real difference—working on time-critical cases that support our mission to protect communities and uphold justice. This role is for a Financial Investigator (FI) to conduct Civil Recovery alongside Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and our Senior Financial Investigator (SFI) to expand non-conviction based asset recovery.

In this role, you'll use your expertise to unravel complex financial data, interpret technical terminology, and apply relevant legislation to build robust evidence files. Your work will be instrumental in supporting criminal justice procedures, leading to the prosecution of offenders, the dismantling of criminal networks, and the recovery of illicit assets.

What you’ll do

Lead complex financial investigations into serious and organised crime, using a range of legislative powers—including confiscation, forfeiture, account freezing, and asset seizure and the civil recovery of assets—to disrupt criminal enterprises and recover illicit assets.
Gather and present evidence by preparing and executing investigative orders, analysing financial data, and producing high-quality documentation for use in both criminal and civil court proceedings. You’ll also represent the organisation in court and liaise with the Crown Prosecution Service.
Develop intelligence and build networks by conducting interviews, interrogating specialist databases, and working closely with financial institutions, crypto exchanges, and law enforcement partners—locally, nationally, and internationally.
Drive innovation and knowledge sharing by staying ahead of emerging financial crime trends, delivering training and tactical advice to colleagues, and influencing the adoption of new tools and legislation across the organisation.
Maintain integrity and subject matter expertise in handling sensitive intelligence and complex topics such as cryptocurrency and blockchain, ensuring investigations are lawful, ethical, and effective.

Sound interesting? For further information, and to support your application, please view the job description.

What you’ll bring

Essential:

Qualified to a degree level or demonstrate work experience at an equivalent level.
To have or be willing to attain National Crime Agency (NCA) accreditation to use powers of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) as a Financial Investigator.
Understanding of Cryptocurrencies
To demonstrate by example the ability to deal successfully with confrontation situations.
Ability to prepare and present case material to an acceptable standard including recording and retaining material.
Ability to effectively prioritise and manage workload, identifying critical tasks working to essential deadlines.
Ability to follow processes, apply investigative methods and use investigative tools in line with thorough knowledge of current legislation to impact tactical decision making.
Adopt a creative and problem-solving mind set to progress financial investigations, directing / influencing partner agencies, to create a comprehensive disruption plan.
Willingness to travel throughout UK – Full UK Driving licence required.

Desirable:

Complete upskilling exams and training provided by the NCA Proceeds of Crime Centre.
To have a knowledge of Police and Criminal Evidence Act and Police Conduct Regulations.
To be able to demonstrate a sound awareness of relevant legislation, evidential and disclosure issues.
Open source trained.

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.

Interested to learn more? For further information about the role please contact careers@northumbria.police.uk.

What we offer

26 days’ leave (increasing to 30 days for 5 years+ service) plus 8 bank holidays
NHS Fleet Solutions Car Lease Scheme
Enhanced maternity, shared parental and adoption leave
Flexi time - allowing you to fit your working hours around your individual needs
Flexible working (we are happy to discuss options such as compressed hours)
Fantastic market-leading public sector pension scheme with up to 16% employer contribution
Corporate travel schemes – local rail, bus services and metro discounts
Access to private healthcare and eye test vouchers
Discounts on shopping and eating out thanks to the Blue Light Card and Blue Light Tickets
We’ve invested in extensive paid sick leave, trained mental health first aiders on-site, an employee advice service for the times you need that additional support.
Access to gyms in some stations
Sports & Social Club – join our thriving sports scene at Team NP and enjoy further exclusive discounts on days out and travel
Cycle to work scheme
Opportunity to volunteer in local community

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 Investigator (Civil Recovery) 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. Just so you know, you can save your application and come back to it any time prior to the closing date on the advert.

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) You can get in touch with us via careers@northumbria.police.uk for any support regarding the application process. 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 Management Vetting and 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.

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’re pleased to advertise this funded opportunity, with the appointment expected to be confirmed following the finalisation of funding.

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.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.