Senior Intelligence Liaison Officer (West Africa)

Prevail Partners Limited; Greater London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Visa sponsorship

Pension schemes

Job summary

A leading intelligence firm is seeking a Senior Intelligence Liaison Officer for West Africa. This role involves acting as the primary liaison with military and intelligence stakeholders, ensuring that UK intelligence is relevant and operational. Candidates should have significant experience in intelligence or defense roles and be proficient in French. The position requires strong communication skills, discretion in politically sensitive environments, and the ability to operate independently in high-risk situations. Comprehensive benefits are offered, including health insurance and pension schemes.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in intelligence, defense, security, or government roles.
• Demonstrated engagement with senior military or intelligence stakeholders.
• Experience operating in hostile, austere, or high risk environments.
• Strong understanding of intelligence support to operations.
• Proven ability to operate independently under pressure.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary liaison between Prevail and host nation military and intelligence stakeholders.
• Engage with senior officers and officials, maintaining professional relationships.
• Produce light analytical products and support intelligence dissemination.
• Maintain high standards of personal security discipline and situational awareness.

Skills

Excellent verbal and written communication skills

Strong judgement and discretion in politically sensitive environments

High levels of personal resilience

Job description

Overview

The Senior Intelligence Liaison Officer (West Africa) is responsible for acting as the primary forward facing intelligence liaison between Prevail and host nation military and intelligence stakeholders in West Africa and other complex operating environments. The post holder will provide senior level engagement, contextualise intelligence requirements, and ensure that UK based intelligence delivery is relevant, prioritised, and operationally useful. The role is predominantly deployable in nature, with periods spent forward in operational environments balanced by rear team coordination and governance activity. The role operates in close coordination with the UK based delivery team, balancing forward engagement with continuity, oversight, and compliance.

Key Responsibilities

• Intelligence Liaison and Stakeholder Engagement
• Act as the primary liaison between Prevail and host nation military and intelligence stakeholders.
• Engage credibly with senior officers and officials, maintaining trusted professional relationships.
• Participate in sensitive verbal briefings and engagements, handling political nuance and discretion appropriately.
• Represent Prevail professionally in all forward engagements, ensuring clarity of intent and expectation.
• Ensure that any commitments made in forward engagement align with agreed scope and approved delivery parameters.
• Tasking, Prioritisation and Contextualisation
• Receive intelligence requirements from host nation stakeholders and shape them into clear, prioritised tasking.
• Contextualise requirements for the UK based intelligence delivery team to ensure relevance and impact.
• Exercise judgement in prioritising tasking in consultation with the UK delivery lead and Contract SRO. Where appropriate, challenge or push back on unrealistic or inappropriate requests, escalating as required.
• Intelligence Support and Light Analytical Contribution
• Provide contextual insight and feedback to improve the quality and applicability of UK produced intelligence outputs.
• Produce light analytical products, situational assessments, or verbal summaries where required. Support the secure dissemination of intelligence products in line with agreed protocols and governance.
• Forward Presence and Risk Judgement
• Operate predominantly in austere or challenging operating environments, exercising sound judgement regarding movement, visibility, and engagement.
• Make real time decisions related to personal security and operational posture, escalating concerns as appropriate.
• Maintain high standards of personal security discipline, situational awareness, and discretion at all times.
• Coordination and Continuity
• Maintain close coordination with the UK based intelligence delivery team to ensure continuity of understanding and intent.
• Support a rotational model between forward engagement and rear team support as operational requirements evolve.
• Ensure institutional knowledge, context, and relationships are retained and shared appropriately within the team.
• Professional Standards, Mandate and Governance
• Exercise sound professional judgement at all times, recognising limits of authority and escalating issues appropriately.
• Operate strictly within Prevail's approved mandate and governance frameworks and not represent themselves as acting on behalf of any host nation authority. Ensure all engagement and activity aligns with Prevail's legal, compliance, ethical, and reputational standards.
• Uphold Prevail's reputation for integrity, discretion, and delivery excellence in all interactions.

Career Development

This role represents a senior operational pathway within Prevail's intelligence and operations function. It provides exposure to forward engagement, complex stakeholder environments, and high consequence intelligence delivery. As delivery matures, the role may evolve to include greater responsibility for mentoring, continuity management, and rotational team leadership.

Requirements

Required Experience

• Significant experience in intelligence, defence, security, or government roles.
• Demonstrated engagement with senior military or intelligence stakeholders.
• Experience operating in hostile, austere, or high risk environments.
• Strong understanding of intelligence support to operations rather than operational command.
• Proven ability to operate independently and make judgement calls under pressure.

Language Requirements

• Professional working French required. Fluent or native proficiency highly desirable

Technical and Professional Skills

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong judgement and discretion in politically sensitive environments.
• Ability to balance forward engagement with governance, compliance, and delivery discipline.
• Comfort operating with ambiguity and evolving requirements.
• High levels of personal resilience, professionalism, and security awareness.

Desirable Attributes

• Experience working in West Africa or other Francophone environments.
• Military operational experience with intelligence exposure, or intelligence experience with military operational literacy.
• Previous liaison, advisory, or attaché style roles.
• Experience supporting counter terrorism or national security related activity.

Candidates are asked to tailor their cover letter specifically to this role. Please clearly address how your experience aligns with the mandatory and desirable criteria set out in the job description, with particular reference to forward intelligence liaison, international intelligence sharing, legal and compliance considerations, and operating in complex environments. Applications that do not address the role specific criteria may not be progressed.

Benefits

Comprehensive Benefits: Access to a range of benefits including health insurance, visa sponsorship, pension schemes, and more.