Britain’s Civil Nuclear Constabulary has landed a place on the RAD Awards shortlist for its ‘Relocate to Dounreay’ recruitment push, which pitches the Caithness lifestyle to potential officers. The entry is a finalist in Creative Idea, with winners due on 29 January 2026 at Grosvenor House, London.

Published on GOV.UK on 13 November 2025, the CNC confirmed the work was developed with Penna and will compete alongside campaigns from Nando’s, Asda, Ford and Aegon. For a specialised police force to be named with major consumer brands shows how far public sector employer branding has moved.

The creative choice is simple: sell the place. The campaign foregrounds what Caithness offers-wide beaches, mountain trails and the Northern Lights-and targets people who prefer time outdoors to city living, according to the CNC release on GOV.UK. For remote roles, location can be the deciding factor when communicated clearly.

Authenticity carries the message. Dounreay officers acted as recruitment ambassadors and were photographed enjoying their own pastimes, shifting the feel from a glossy advert to peer‑level testimony. That kind of proof tends to lift consideration because it shows life beyond the shift pattern.

Context helps. The CNC is the UK’s armed police service for civil nuclear sites, employing more than 1,600 officers and staff across England and Scotland, according to its ‘About us’ page. Dounreay is its northernmost site near Thurso, with an Operational Policing Unit and a dedicated firearms training facility, per the CNC careers site.

Training investment has also moved north. In November 2024 the CNC ran its 100th Initial Foundation Programme for new Authorised Firearms Officers at Dounreay-an 18‑week residential course typically held at Culham or Bisley-supporting the case that relocation comes with development on site.

CNC Senior Manager for Talent Acquisition Dani Whiting framed the shortlisting as a credit to the recruitment team, thanked the officers who fronted the campaign and highlighted project lead Emma Lindsay’s role-useful insight into the internal coordination needed for place‑based hiring.

For HR and recruitment leaders, the takeaway is practical. If a role asks people to move, make the location the star and let employees tell the story. The RAD Awards will name winners on 29 January 2026; we’ll see whether CNC’s approach turns recognition into silverware.