About the job

Job summary

About OPSS

Do you care about the safety of products and want to protect people and places? Can we use your skills, knowledge and experience to enable UK business to thrive? If the answer is yes, then we would like to hear from you!

We are the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), part of the Department for Business & Trade (Previously the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy). We are here for the purpose of making regulation work to deliver real world impact. Regulation is a powerful Government tool to address market failures, influence behaviour and promote positive action. Crafted and delivered well, regulation can be an enabler of growth, innovation and efficiency.

Since early 2018 we have been building a positive and creative team that enjoys a position of influence and respect within an organisation that continues to grow, most recently with the addition of construction products regulation planned.

Our primary purpose is to protect people and places from product-related harm, ensuring consumers and businesses can buy and sell products with confidence

Further information can be found on our website here.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. We embrace diversity and promote equality of opportunity. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives and skills. There is a guaranteed interview scheme (DCS) for people with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

We are Inclusive

We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible and recognise how important inclusivity is to achieve the best outcomes. We hope to attract applications from all underrepresented groups.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation if required to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform crucial job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

Job description

About the Team 

The Analysis Team comprises around 26 analysts and provides analytical support for all the Office’s activity. OPSS is a growing organisation, and we have recently taken on responsibility for construction products. Now is an exciting time to get involved and join a rapidly growing team to help craft our thinking around using data to develop new insights into product safety. We have a strong commitment to learning and development and are not afraid to try new and innovative approaches.

About the Role 

You will report to and work closely with the Senior members of the team, as well as having the opportunity to lead on certain projects to build your leadership, management, and user engagement skills. You will deliver analysis on a variety of established and ad hoc topics, such as product safety, ports and borders enforcement and legal metrology. Ambition, fresh ideas in the development and use of data, and training in statistical and data science techniques are all actively encouraged! You will help OPSS become a data-led organisation, investigate new data sources and techniques, and champion the use of robust pipelines to deliver reproducible outputs.

Key Responsibilities 

• Working with the Senior Team members in supporting a wide range of high-profile analytical projects.
• Leading on a small number of projects; handling partners and ensuring evidence is efficiently fed into operational policies and reports.
• Deliver data science solutions by applying your skills to a variety of product safety datasets.
• Harness the benefits of an internal cloud-based platform to develop analysis, statistical and machine learning models, host interactive visualisations, and collaborate with Git. Applying meticulous Quality Assurance, documentation and Reproducible Analytical Pipeline principles to both your own work and others’.
• Applying Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning techniques on structured and unstructured data sets to extract information and create predictive models.
• Supporting the wider office in analytical requests, being a source of expertise on the most appropriate data sources and statistical techniques to apply to ad hoc and longer-term projects.
• Develop both your own and wider coding and data science capability across the department through training and community events

Government Statistical Service:

Applicants who are not already members of the Government Statistician Group (GSG) will be required to do an online statistical test and a dissemination exercise as part of the application process to join the GSG.  

Once you have submitted your application and the application has closed, you will be emailed during standard working hours inviting you to complete the GSS online multiple-choice test. This is a timed test and must be completed within 48 hours for you to be considered for the next stage of the process. You are encouraged to try the test attached to the advert before attempting the real test. Please ensure you inform us ahead of the test if you require any reasonable adjustments to be considered. 

Please note: If you are already a member of the GSG, you are exempt from sitting the online test. To prevent your application being rejected please email dbtrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as you apply to notify us. Once confirmed you will be moved onto the next stage by our recruitment team. 

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process: 

• From the Government Statistician Group competency framework:
  - Presenting and Disseminating Data Effectively 
  - Acquiring Data/Understanding Customer Needs 
  - Data Analysis 

https://gss.civilservice.gov.uk/policy-store/competency-framework-for-the-government-statistician-group-gsg/ 

Government Operational Research Service:

For GORS candidates, in the interview you will be asked to complete a problem structuring exercise.

The purpose of this exercise is to assess how you:

• approach problems
• produce and communicate workable ideas
• structure and plan an analytical project

You have 45 minutes to prepare a 5-minute presentation and 10 mins of follow up questions. You must not prepare visual aids, but you can make your own handwritten notes. You should explain your answers clearly but can assume some technical knowledge of your assessors.

http://www.operational-research.gov.uk/recruitment/competencies/

Person specification

Essential criteria: 

• Are a badged member of the Government Statistical Service or Government Operational Research professions, or meet the eligibility requirement for one of these professions.
• Enjoy using your analytical skills to solve problems.
• Have good technical skills in appropriate programming languages (for example Python, SQL)
• Have experience applying Machine Learning techniques on various data sets.
• Have experience of working in teams which shape and deliver analytical projects.
• Are comfortable communicating analytical outputs to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Desirable criteria: 

• Project experience of Natural Language Processing
• Experience in dashboard/web application development with frameworks such as Streamlit or QuickSight 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £32,858, Department for Business and Trade contributes £8,871 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-person interviews by exception.

Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.

It is likely that the sift will take place 1-2 weeks after the closing date and interviews 3-5 weeks after the closing date, though this is subject to change.

To apply for this post, you will be asked to complete the following as part of the online application:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Provide employment history that relates to the essential criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 2 x A4 pages.
• A Personal Statement of up to 750 words, explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential criteria.
• A Technical Skills Statement of up to 250 words. For GSG: on Data Analysis. Framework available here. For GORS: on Knowledge and application of OR skills and techniques. Framework available here. ​

In the event of a large number of applicants, an initial short sift will be conducted on the Technical Skills Statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Reasonable Adjustments

We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to our process. In order to request an adjustment: 

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section on the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. 

Alternatively contact the Government Recruitment Service at DBTrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.  

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Candidate Support

You may want to join a virtual Candidate Support Session. These sessions include helpful tips and advice on the recruitment process, from application to interview.  

Please see attached Candidate Pack for further information on: Diversity and Inclusion; Benefits; Learning and Development; Working Patterns and what we deliver as a department. 

Further Information

Existing Civil Servants and applicants from accredited NDPBs are eligible to apply, but will only be considered on loan basis (Civil Servants) or secondment (accredited NDPBs). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.

• A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made. Reserve Lists will be for each location and appointments made in merit order based on location preferences.   
• Any move to the Department for Business and Trade from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments.
• The Department will not consider sponsoring a visa or issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship. We are unable to offer advice on any Visa and Immigration cases.  
• New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.  
• Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty. Any applicant who has details held on the IFD will be refused employment.   
• A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.  
• Terms and Conditions are attached.  Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.
• Please note – the successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 18 months before being released for another role.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading. 

Feedback

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.