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. 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 

We are the Regulation Team of OPSS. We are made up of three Deputy Director areas, each with a unique regulatory focus, Products and Sectors Regulation, Construction Products and Online, we all work closely together in order to deliver effective enforcement that helps protect people and places and enable businesses to thrive.  

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Products and Sectors Regulation Team.  You will be working either within Product Regulation - Eco Design or within Energy Supply with Electric Vehicle Smart Charge or Public Charge Point focus. We are looking for a flexible and results-oriented individual with the energy to make positive change happen. In this purposeful, and multi-faceted role you will play a part in building our reputation as an exemplar regulator. Candidates will need to be flexible in approach and prepared to lead on a range of tasks. 

We want to hear from candidates that can contribute innovative regulatory approaches to deliver our objectives.  

The roles will suit people who are confident, analytical, decisive and can develop relationships and networks quickly, with experience of operating within a compliance environment: for example, either as an Environmental Health Officer, Trading Standards Officer, or other compliance officer ensuring goods, services or systems meet regulatory standards. 

Application Process 

You will apply through this generalised campaign, which includes all of the roles detailed below. Should you be successful in the application process, you will be required to give your preference for the role wish to undertake and the location. This will then be taken into consideration based on a merit order determined during the application process. Please note that we may allocate outside of merit order to allow us to fulfil roles most efficiently. If we offer you a position that you do not wish to accept, you should not expect to be offered a further role in this case.  

Please also note, that if you narrowly miss out on securing an offer for one of these positions, you may be eligible to be offered a position in another, similar role. However please bear in mind that there is no guarantee that this will be possible.  

About the Roles: 

The roles can be based in Teddington or Birmingham. 

Product Regulation - Eco-Design x 2 

You will be based in the Product Regulation Team focusing on Eco-design and Energy Information law. You will ensure that certain products are designed and manufactured to meet strict energy efficiency criteria and that any accompanying energy efficiency label is accurate and not misleading. You will engage with businesses to provide guidance on legal requirements, responding to enquiries, test purchasing products for examination and testing, reviewing technical documents, and requiring corrective action on any deficiencies identified. You will also conduct criminal investigations into any offences identified during your work, in line with the enforcement policy. 

We are a large team and cover a wide range of topic areas including Outdoor Noise, Legal Metrology, Lifts, Large Domestic Appliances, and Product Internet Security; which presents plenty of opportunity to collaborate with other team members and gain experience of other areas of law. 

Energy Supply - Public Charge Point x 1/Electric Vehicle Smart Charge Points x1 

The Energy Supply Team sits within the wider Energy and Products Enforcement Team. As a team, we enforce a range of environmental and energy efficiency regulations covering public and private electric vehicle (EV) charge points, alternative fuel labelling and heat networks. We are working towards providing a regulatory environment in which businesses have the confidence to invest and grow, and consumers are protected. We do this by taking a risk-based and proportionate approach to our regulatory activities, in accordance with the Regulators’ Code.  

OPSS enforce The Public Charge Point Regulations 2023, intended to support the transition to EV’s by ensuring the experience of consumers using public charge points across the United Kingdom is consistent and positive.  

We are looking for an Enforcement Team Leader to join an established team responsible for supporting businesses, assessing and increasing the compliance of public charge points, and taking appropriate enforcement action where necessary. 

In this role you will work closely with multiple teams and departments to support our strategic objectives, playing an instrumental role in building our reputation as an exemplar regulator, and improving transparency and accountability to the businesses we regulate and the citizens we serve.  

The scope of the role is broad, and the area of work is developing, so you can craft the role to deliver our new Public Charge Point Regulations (PCPR) enforcement activity in line with your skills, experience, and aspirations. A key requirement for this role will be to understand and communicate the evolving requirements of the new regulations to stakeholders, to assess, encourage compliance and manage a program of market surveillance across the UK.  

OPSS enforce the Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021, which were introduced to help manage the increase in electricity demand from the transition to electric vehicles, ensuring charge points used at home and in the workplace are smart and secure.  

We are looking for an Enforcement Team Leader to join an established team responsible for supporting businesses, assessing, and increasing the compliance of home and workplace charge points, and taking appropriate enforcement action where necessary. 

In this role you will work closely with multiple teams and departments to support our strategic objectives, playing an instrumental role in building our reputation as an exemplar regulator, and improving transparency and accountability to the businesses we regulate and the citizens we serve.  

A key requirement for this role will be to understand and communicate the evolving requirements of the regulations to stakeholders, to gather and assess evidence on to encourage compliance, and manage a program of market surveillance. 

Key Responsibilities: 

You will be responsible for a wide-ranging portfolio of work which includes: 

• Undertake both proactive and reactive enforcement work to ensure products placed on the UK market are compliant.
• Take the lead on your own enforcement investigations, provide support to multi-officer investigations, and supervise your team’s casework. 
• Provide guidance and support to businesses and business sectors to enable greater compliance within the industry.  
• Develop specialist understanding and knowledge of the legislation you enforce, and the industries and sectors you regulate. Ensure the team has plans in place to develop and maintain the required expertise, skills and resources required to deliver against our objectives, collaborating with colleagues across OPSS and supporting reporting requirements between delivery and policy officials.
• Undertake regulatory activities in accordance with the Regulators’ Code and OPSS’ Enforcement Policy.
• Actively build and maintain relationships across teams within Enforcement and across the office to identify opportunities to add value to your work, ensuring that our approach to regulation is consistent.
• Develop and build relationships with relevant professional and trade bodies, , developing open and proactive channels of communication with a wide array of new and existing stakeholders.
• Adopt our programme of market surveillance, monitoring the market, undertaking checks on sellers, and following up with non-compliant sellers. This will include reviewing and refreshing the existing market mapping processes. 
• Deliver business as usual activities, which may include answering enquiries within agreed service standards, drafting briefing for Ministers and Officials, and supporting policy sponsors in multiple government departments with the development of existing and new legislation.
• Posts may have line management responsibility. The post holder may be encouraged to undertake further recruitment and line management of staff as appropriate.  

Person specification

Essential Criteria 

This is a great opportunity for flexible and ambitious individuals with the energy to make positive change happen within and beyond OPSS.  We are keen to hear from people with varying backgrounds, who can demonstrate the following Essential Criteria:  

• Level 4 qualification or equivalent knowledge and experience in an investigatory role in any of the following fields: regulation, enforcement, or compliance. 
• A full valid driving licence is required for these roles. If you do not hold a driving licence because of a protected characteristic, please speak to recruitment manager to let them know and this will be considered.

Personal Attributes & Skills

• Problem-solving and analytical skills with attention to detail. 
• Ability to scope, plan, and guide the delivery of results-oriented, multifaceted work plans. 
• Flexible, proactive with the ability to clearly set priorities in what can be a changing environment. 
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. 
• Ability to research, understand assess and apply technical information, filtering, and prioritising data to assist in understanding its relevancy in the investigative process.  
• Dedication to developing yourself and those you lead to support the success of the team and wider organisation.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £39,384, Department for Business and Trade contributes £10,633 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, Strengths and Experience.

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.

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 (750 words) explaining your motivation for applying for this role and explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential criteria.

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.

In the event of a large number of applicants, an initial short sift will be conducted on the Personal 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:

• 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 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.