Description

Job Description

Senior Intelligence Analyst / Watch Officer

Global intelligence operations center • Santa Monica, California

Location

On-site - Santa Monica, California

Employment type

Full-time, non-exempt (hourly). Dedicated to one client account.

Pay range

$52.00 - $56.00 per hour

Entity

M1 Global - part of the Specialized family of brands

The Role

You run the watch floor and you are the last read before anything reaches the client. Two analysts work the shift with you. You review what they produce, decide what publishes, what returns for rework and what is held, and you answer for the quality of the shift rather than of any single product.

You carry no routine collection queue. That is deliberate: review and supervision have to hold when volume climbs, which is exactly when they are hardest to protect.

You also carry the escalation call, and you take intelligence coordination authority on a declared incident. Developing analysts is part of the job, done in writing and in the moment rather than at review time.

Key Responsibilities

Release Gate and Product Review
• Read every product before it goes to the client. Publish it, return it, or hold it, and be able to defend the call.
• Review against the published analytical standard - source grading, fact and assessment separation, confidence language, client relevance, recommended action and writing quality.
• Keep release gate cycle time inside target without letting the standard slip to get there.

Watch Floor Supervision
• Supervise two Intelligence Analysts on shift, maintaining the one-to-two ratio at all hours.
• Set shift priorities, balance collection load, and reassign when something develops.
• Run the shift handover so the incoming watch inherits an accurate picture, not a list of open tabs.

Escalation and Incident Coordination
• Own escalation decisions on shift and make them on defined criteria rather than on instinct.
• Assume intelligence coordination authority on a declared incident and produce rolling situation reports at the cadence the client sets.
• Own the intelligence side of the handoff into physical security operations, and confirm it landed.

Analyst Development
• Coach on structured analytic technique, source evaluation and analytical writing, continuously and in writing.
• Document development activity so progress is visible rather than asserted.
• Contribute to the analytical standard, templates and procedures as gaps surface in review.

Required Qualifications
• Experience: Six or more years in intelligence analysis, including two years supervising or formally reviewing the written work of other analysts.
• Review: Demonstrated product review against a defined written standard, and the judgment to hold a product back under time pressure.
• Tradecraft: Everything required of an Intelligence Analyst - structured analytic technique, bias mitigation, source evaluation and grading, open-source collection, and executive analytical writing. A written product sample is required at interview.
• Incident coordination: Practical experience coordinating analytical support during a live incident or crisis.
• Education: Bachelor's degree in a related analytical discipline - or equivalent military or government intelligence experience.
• Availability: Able to work any shift in a 24/7/365 operation, including nights, weekends and holidays.
• Eligibility: Authorized to work in the United States. Able to pass background, drug and client-required security screening.

Preferred Qualifications
• Certifications: IALEIA Criminal Intelligence Certified Analyst (CICA). ATAP membership or Certified Threat Manager.
• Background: Military or government intelligence followed by watch supervision in a corporate global security operations center.
• Standard setting: You have written or materially shaped an analytical writing standard or scoring rubric that others were held to.
• Specialization: Regional expertise or professional working proficiency in a second language.

Key Competencies

Product Review

Watch Supervision

Escalation Judgment

Analytic Tradecraft

Incident Coordination

Analyst Development

Analytical Writing

Intellectual Honesty

Composure Under Load

Work Environment
• On-site at a client security operations center in Santa Monica, California. This is an embedded role - you work inside the client's operation, in their systems and their workspace, under M1 Global.
• 24/7/365 operation on eight-hour shifts, three per day on a rotating cycle. Shift assignment includes nights, weekends and holidays.
• You supervise two Intelligence Analysts on shift. The one-to-two ratio is maintained at all hours and is not flexed to cover a gap.
• Shift product quality is sampled monthly against a published rubric, and you participate in quarterly blind calibration against that rubric.
• Schedule construction, call-out coverage and relief staffing are handled by M1 Global's Fusion Centers, which support every M1 Global contract. You are not asked to find your own relief.
• M1 Global is the employer of record. You are assigned to a single client program and work on no other M1 Global account.
• Employment is contingent on background, drug and client-required security screening. Authorization to work in the United States is required; visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Certification Requirements After Hire

M1 Global funds and schedules these credentials. Each is a condition of continued assignment once its clock expires. Candidates who already hold them are preferred.
• Protective intelligence case management platform - foundation credential within 90 days.
• Mass notification and visual command platform operator certification within 90 days.
• IALEIA Basic Analyst Classification within 180 days.
• CPR, First Aid and AED certification before first unsupervised shift, maintained current.
• Protective intelligence case management platform - advanced credential within 12 months.
• IALEIA Criminal Intelligence Certified Analyst within 18 months, where eligible.

Compensation

$52.00 - $56.00 per hour

The posted range is the pay scale M1 Global reasonably expects to pay for this position, published in accordance with California Labor Code section 432.3. Actual placement within the range depends on experience and credentials held at hire. This position is non-exempt and eligible for overtime under California law. Compensation includes M1 Global's standard employee benefits package.