Job Title: National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) Investigative Support Officer (366)
Salary Range: £42,612 - £45,765
Work Location: Stirling, Scotland with agile/home working available
Hours per week: 30 hours per week; Monday – Friday with flexible office hours
Contact Type: Temporary 2-year Fixed Term Contract
Closing date: Sunday 16th August 2026 at 23:55 hours
Interview: Week commencing 31st August – likely 1st / 3rd or 4th September
About NWCU
The National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) is a national police unit, hosted by Hampshire Constabulary. There is a main office in Scotland and the team may be supported to work from home. We work on behalf of all forces to assist in the prevention and detection of wildlife crime.
The NWCU has three strategic work-streams of intelligence, analysis and investigative support. Find out more via www.nwcu.police.uk
Our culture and work environment aim to ensure that everyone feels included and valued. We invest in our people so that they can thrive, realise their potential and enjoy coming into work.
We are looking for an experienced individual to join us as an Investigative Support Officer, within a national policing unit.
Flexible working requests will be considered for this vacancy. The successful applicant must work a minimum of 30 hours, across 4-5 days. Working hours can be discussed at interview.
More about the role
The role of Investigative Support Officer (ISO) will entail taking responsibility for supporting wildlife crime officers on the front line and enhancing the service they give. As an ISO you will impart your specialist knowledge around complexed areas of wildlife crime and support investigations varying around:
- UK based priorities
- National operations
- International wildlife crime policing
- As well as identifying and supporting emerging trends within our area of business.
ISO’s will support our operational objectives by gathering and submitting intelligence to support our strategic work streams and will be tasked to bridge intelligence gaps.
ISO’s build and maintain effective and productive partnership relations that work towards achieving the NPCC strategy.
ISO’s will bring the services of the unit into the local policing arena. They will upskill and raise the knowledge of wildlife crime officer’s across the UK and promote the work of the TDGs and raise awareness of the operational tool kits available to assist investigations.
ISO’s will influence investigations by providing specialist knowledge on wildlife crime. Assist in the planning and conducting of searches and enforcement, and also being prepared to assist Police and enforcement agencies with interviews, case file preparation and giving evidence at court.
Candidates should note that this role requires regular travel which may involve overnight stays. The role holder must be able to meet travel requirements so therefore possess a valid passport for travel outside of the UK and have access to a reliable system of transport where required. A valid driving licence is also required.
The post holder may need to work occasional unsocial hours to respond to operational demands.
For further information about the role please review the role profile in the advertisement.
What’s on offer?
As NWCU is hosted by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary you will have access to a wide benefits package*, including but not limited to:
- A hybrid working environment with flexible working hours
- Family friendly policies supporting those with caring responsibilities
- Generous annual leave entitlement starting at 24 days (pro-rata for part-time workers) in addition to public holidays, rising to 29 after five years’ service.
- Access to a wide range of learning and development opportunities
- Local Government Pension Scheme
- Retail, holiday and leisure discounts through Hampshire Police Leisure and Sports Club or Blue Light Card
- Excellent wellbeing support including onsite wellbeing rooms and access to Employee Assistance Programme
- Staff representation groups and inclusion network
Application and interview
If you have not completed a competency-based application or interview before, make sure you read each competency or value in detail, research the STAR (situation, task, action, result) format and use it when giving evidence.
The recruitment competencies identified on the role profile can be used interchangeably throughout the selection process. It is recommended you make a note of them when starting your application.
Please note you do not need to add a CV or covering letter, and these documents will not be reviewed when considering your application.
Essential Qualifications
- Educated to QCF level 5 OR work experience deemed to have brought the role holder to a comparable level.
Essential Experience
- Substantial working knowledge of applying UK wildlife crime law
- Experience on leading and managing investigations, including interviewing suspects and casefile preparation.
- Experience of delivering evidence in court.
- Operational knowledge of the UK Priority delivery groups objectives.
- Proven ability to foster and maintain, successful partnerships.
- To be computer literate and competent keyboard user.
Competencies and Personal Qualities
When applying, you will have the opportunity to talk to us about your background and experience, especially when providing evidence against our competency and values framework (CVF).
The CVF provides clear expectations for everyone working in policing. It describes the behaviours required by you as a member of police staff to be effective in your role. Please ensure you view the role profile to see which ones are relevant to the role, so you have a deeper understanding of the requirements for each CVF
Contact details for an informal discussion
The ACRO People Services Team can be contacted by email at acropeopleservices@hampshire.police.uk or by phone on 02380 451651.
To discuss the role in confidence, or for guidance on the recruitment process, please contact Sue Eddy on sue.eddy@nwcu.police.uk
*note some benefits are subject to a minimum service requirement.
Please note that the email address you supply when submitting an application will be used for contact throughout the full lifecycle of that vacancy. You will not be able to amend your contact details. You should therefore ensure that you choose an appropriately accessible email address, being mindful that the process may take several months for some roles.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary is an inclusive employer and strives to have a workforce representative of the communities we police and serve. We recognise that we are not fully representative and are working to address this imbalance through a variety of initiatives.
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary is an equal opportunities employer that positively promotes flexible working, enabling officers and staff to achieve a healthy work-life balance whilst meeting operational requirements of the constabulary. We actively encourage applications to be made on a full time, part time or flexible working basis.
The Equality Act 2010 allows us to promote equality within Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary by adopting Positive Action to support people from under-represented groups. Our aim is to recruit talented people with a diverse range of skills and experience and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our Positive Action team are available to provide support through the application and assessment process by contacting: positive.action@hampshire.pnn.police.uk
The Disability Confident campaign aims to remove barriers, increase understanding and ensure that people have opportunities to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations. We will accommodate requests for reasonable adjustments where possible throughout our recruitment and promotions processes and encourage anyone requiring reasonable adjustments to disclose this at the earliest opportunity.
