About the job

Job summary

The mission of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is to ensure that food is safe, what it says it is, and increasingly healthy and sustainable. We work proactively across many areas to ensure this is the case, from inspections at food business facilities to the development of policy that will keep the UK’s food laws robust against new developments in the industry. But a significant part of the FSA’s work will always be reactive, working to respond efficiently and effectively to emerging threats.

The FSA has exciting openings for Incidents Advisers who can provide vital support to the team, as well as playing a significant role in keeping the nation’s food safe. Coordinating and supporting the investigations into threats to the safety or quality of what we eat, you will work to ensure unsafe food is removed from the market as quickly as possible.

Job description

You will work in close collaboration with colleagues across both the FSA and wider government on a range of areas, drafting food alerts, investigating the root causes of incidences, and working to support our management of food borne illnesses. These roles will offer plenty of variety as you seek to ensure that food is safe for consumers.

Working in a fast-paced environment, you will undertake a range of duties to allow the team to offer a holistic solution to emerging issues. Making evidence-led decisions and participating in an out-of-hours rota to ensure round-the-clock responsiveness, the role will focus on doing the work necessary to protect food in the UK.

With the team’s work being so time sensitive, you should be able to make effective decisions in a timely manner, delivering quick but correct responses that will benefit the public. Working with colleagues and external stakeholders alike to garner efficient results, leadership and communication skills are a must. If you are excited to play a role in keeping food safe, and believe you are a strong fit for this position, apply today.

Please read before applying

This post is a temporary Fixed Term/Loan/Secondment appointment until 31st March 2025 with the possibility, but no guarantee, of extension or permanency.

Candidates that are already established Civil Servants or from non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will come to the FSA on a Loan basis and will need to request permission from their Home Department for the Loan prior to applying for this vacancy.

Note for FSA employees

You must seek approval from your substantive manager before applying for any non-permanent vacancy, this includes applying for a new post during an existing temporary posting. Please note that if applying for a temporary post within the FSA or elsewhere on promotion, successful appointment will not automatically result in a permanent promotion - you will revert to your current substantive grade at the end of the Fixed Term or Loan period (unless funding has been approved to make the post permanent).

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 £32,505, Food Standards Agency contributes £9,417 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 and Experience.

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.  

You will then be asked to complete an application which will be used to assess you against the following essential and desirable criteria. (Desirable criteria will only be assessed in the event of a tie between candidates).

Essential criteria

Experience

• Lead criteria: Operational experience in food/feed enforcement, operational experience in public health, trading standards or a role leading food safety decisions in the food industry sector.
• Experience of investigating and making effective evidence-based decisions, including, difficult and unpopular decisions, inviting and effectively handling challenge, at pace in rapidly changing environments.
• Experience of working under pressure, in a fast-paced environment, including the ability to give clear instruction whilst managing conflicting priorities.
• Experience of communicating effectively to internal and external stakeholders by engaging in discussions, presenting to others and providing accurate and concise briefings.

Desirable criteria (Desirable criteria will only be assessed in the event of a tie between candidates).

Experience   

• Use of IT including Microsoft confidently.
• Experience of reviewing of procedures or systems with input from teams and wider stakeholder groups to deliver and embed improvements with buy-in
• An understanding of current UK/European Food Legislation and its application in maintaining food safety

Technical

• Educated to diploma level or equivalent in a food safety discipline

Lead Criteria An initial sift may take place on just the identified Lead Criteria indicated.

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 Civil Service Behaviours Level 3

Behaviours

• Making Effective Decisions
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together

Full details of the positive indicators being assessed for each Behaviour can be found in the Candidate Pack.

Expected Timeline

 Advert closes: 13/05/24

Sift: Expected to take place 14/05/24

Final panel interview: Expected to take place w/c 03/06/24

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.

Candidates that do not pass the interview, but have demonstrated an acceptable standard may be considered for similar roles at a lower grade.

Visa Sponsorship

Please note that the FSA does not hold a licence to sponsor any visa applications.

Security Clearance

Although basic checks are required to begin the role, the successful candidate must be willing to work towards SC clearance at a later date.

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.