About the job

Job summary

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is a small government department with a big mission: to keep food safe, ensuring that it is what it says it is, and that it is increasingly healthy and more sustainable. In carrying out this remit, it’s vital that we are driven by analytical, evidence-led thinking. Through independent research and the work of our advisers across the FSA, we can help guide Britain’s food systems and create a robust, safe environment that will protect the nation for decades to come.

Economic Advisers play a big role in the endeavour, using their analytical skills and wider understanding to help us shape both food and regulatory policy, and the way we operate at the FSA.

This role will see you lead our team offering expert economic analysis that supports major change programmes across the FSA. Commissioning and delivering high-profile research projects, you will ensure that our teams seeking to improve the FSA’s delivery of its services are informed by high quality analysis.

Job description

You’ll be able to communicate findings in a way that promotes the understanding of our work, and of the application of economics across the FSA, strengthening our approach and ensuring we make the best decisions possible.

You will need to be a strong communicator, capable of forming conclusions based on high-quality analysis, and sharing these conclusions with stakeholders from across the FSA and beyond. Strong organisational skills will help you juggle the responsibilities of the roles, and an ability to work collaboratively as part of a wider team will be vital to drawing the best out of your colleagues, guiding the policies and decision-making of the FSA. You’ll be a role model to the wider team, including an economist and apprentice economist that you will provide line management to.

This is a fantastic opportunity to help make a real difference to our work at the FSA, powering our teams to make the right decisions. If you are excited to use your skills to help inform our work and protect the nation’s food, apply today to join us as an Economic Adviser.

Person specification

Please read the attached Candidate Pack to discover further details about the role, our organisation, who we are looking for and the criteria we will assess against during the selection process. We look forward to receiving your application and wish you every success.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £54,404, Food Standards Agency contributes £15,179 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.

Full details of the selection process are detailed in the attached candidate pack. 

Application and shortlisting

You will be asked to provide personal details (not seen by the Panel) and to confirm your eligibility to apply for the role.  

Technical: You will be asked a question to confirm that you meet the Technical requirements of the role. 

• Member of the Government Economic Service (GES) or eligible to join on appointment (first or 2:1 in economics or joint degree with at least 50% in economics, or master’s in economics and/or equivalent relevant work experience).

 If you cannot answer yes to this question – you will not be able to proceed further with your application.

You will then be asked to complete an application which will be used to assess you against the following essential criteria.

Experience

• Experience in applying economics techniques such as cost-benefit analysis to solve complex problems and influence evidence-policy in government.
• Experience in managing resources, including research and analytical projects, balancing competing demands to support evidence-based policy.
• Experience of building relationships with stakeholders to achieve corporate priorities.

In the event that we receive a large number of applications, the minimum pass mark for the Lead Criteria may be raised at shortlisting stage. Candidates who apply under the DCS, GPTW or RIS schemes and meet the minimum requirements will be unaffected by the pass mark raise.

Interview

If successful at shortlisting stage, you will be invited to a final interview in which we will assess you against the following Technical requirements of the role and Civil Service Behaviours Level 4

Behaviours

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Working Together

Technical:

• Government Economic Service Technical Framework – Effective Communication (Level G7)
• Government Economic Service Technical Framework – Analysis of data (Level G7)
• Government Economic Service Technical Framework – Application of Knowledge (Level G7)

As part of the interview process, you will be asked to deliver a seen presentation. Further information will be provided to you on the invite to interview email.

Expected Timeline

Advert closes: 18th February

Sift: Expected to take place from 19th February

Final panel interview: Expected to take place from 28th February

Interviews will be held remotely via MS Teams. (If you do not have the Microsoft Teams application installed on your computer, you can join on the web without installing the application.)

Please note that indicated dates may be subject to change.

The FSA is dedicated to a policy of equal opportunity for all.

Being truly reflective of our society and building a culture where everyone can perform at their best is critical to the work of the FSA. We are looking to recruit from the widest possible talent pool and encourage candidates to apply from a diverse range of backgrounds. We are proud to be an inclusive, equal opportunities employer and are committed to ensuring that all candidates are treated fairly throughout the recruitment and selection process and beyond. All appointments are made on merit.

Please be assured that diversity or socio–economic information requested during the course of your application plays absolutely no part in our selection processes and is not seen by anyone assessing applications.  Any information provided is anonymised and used for statistical purposes only.

We actively review the deployment of talent on a periodic basis in the interests of optimising personal development and the achievement of business plans.

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to the Food Standards Agency from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare.

Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

Reserve List

A reserve list will be held for a period of up to 12 months from which further appointment may be made.

Visa Sponsorship

Please note that the FSA does not hold a licence to sponsor any visa applications and we are unable to provide any advice about visas.

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.