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

The Head of Incident Management is a key functional team leader role within the Targeting branch of the Evidence Impact Area. 

The role leads a busy, friendly and highly supportive team, comprised of two closely related functions. 

A readiness and resilience arm prepares OPSS to respond to national-scale incidents, emergencies and disruptive events. They develop and exercise a range of incident response plans and related procedures and ensure processes are continuously improved considering lessons arising from exercises or incidents. 

An operational arm carries out initial assessments of product safety and noncompliance notifications, publishing product safety alerts, reports and recalls on publicly available websites and working internationally to report product safety issues and to monitor for product safety issues that might impact the UK. 

This role also leads on the coordination of incident activity, liaising with a range of OPSS and wider functions to ensure an effective incident response is delivered 

Key Responsibilities: 

​​As the Head of Incident Management, you will: 

• ​Use effective visible leadership to translate OPSS strategy into clear and meaningful objectives and building a team environment in which everyone can and does contribute effectively. 
• ​Act as a role model, providing visible and strong leadership within the IMT and wider OPSS. 
• ​Oversee the triage and assessment function for product safety notifications and work, identifying and implementing improvements. 
• ​Lead the UK Contact Point function, validating and publishing alerts, coordinating with other countries. 
• ​Lead the coordination of Incidents across OPSS providing flexible leadership and support to the response and/or help maintain normal team readiness, resilience and operational activities. 
• ​Oversee the development and implementation of appropriate national and local level incident management plans, procedures, and exercises. 
• ​Lead post-exercise / post-incident evaluations and take ownership of relevant lessons identified to embed improvements into business practice. 
• ​Build relationships with key internal and external stakeholders and tailor your communication to their needs. 
• ​Line management of four G7 workstream leads. 

​There will be a requirement to participate in the IMT on-call rota, triaging and responding to enquiries as required.  In the event of an incident, this may involve working additional hours.  The role will require some travel throughout the UK for which Travel and Subsistence allowances will be available.​ 

Person specification

Essential criteria

We would love to hear from you if you can demonstrate the following essential attributes. 

• ​Be an excellent people manager, able to build capability and develop a successful and motivated team. 
• ​Leadership of an operational team in a fast-paced environment.  
• ​Collaborative yet decisive leadership, including leading teams through change. 
• ​Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, able to develop and manage professional relationships across organisational boundaries working collaboratively to achieve outcomes. 
• ​Strong problem solving, analytical and time management skills. 
• ​Knowledge and awareness of contingency planning principles such as the Civil Contingencies Act or Project/Programme coordination skills. 
• ​Proven ability to remain calm under pressure and adapt well to consistently changing environments.​​ 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £64,432, Department for Business and Trade contributes £17,396 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 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.

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.

Vetting

The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.  

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting

Feedback

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). 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.