About the job

Job summary

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) in Northern Ireland acts as a microcosm for the wider Agency, providing all of the same services specifically for the benefit of Northern Ireland. As well as these responsibilities, the team looks after additional devolved areas including the delivery of aspects regarding both nutrition and dietary health policy.

Our aim is to improve nutrition for consumers in Northern Ireland by enabling healthy food choices by making healthier mainstream food products readily available and through the improving of knowledge and understanding amongst the general public.

We are looking to hire a Nutrition Intern who can work alongside the Dietary Health team, gaining experience in a number of policy areas including nutrition surveillance, nutrition standards and food poverty, as well as projects such as Calorie Wise and the Making Food Better programme.

This is a fantastic opportunity to get first-hand experience in the country’s leading food regulator, and to learn more about how the government seeks to monitor and develop nutritional aspects of its food policy, as well as how it offers guidance to consumers.

Job description

Working with colleagues, the successful candidate will undertake a wide variety of tasks from analysing nutrition-related reports to creating content and resources. You’ll help to organise and participate in internal and external meetings as well as working to help put together the annual All Island Food Poverty Conference. There will be opportunities to attend seminars, workshops and events, and to meet with and work alongside colleagues from across the Agency.

If you are a strong communicator who is excited to take the opportunity to work within the FSA and make the most out of it, apply today for this exciting internship opportunity.

This post is advertised as a 12-month Fixed Term appointment.

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 £22,956, Food Standards Agency contributes £6,106 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

Join us for one of our two exclusive Nutrition Intern Open Sessions that could be your gateway to a fulfilling career in the dynamic field of nutrition! Discover exciting opportunities to grow and learn within our innovative team, dedicated to promoting health and well-being. This event offers a unique chance to interact with the team, gain insights into our company culture, and explore the enriching experiences our interns undergo. Don't miss out on the chance to network, ask questions, and envision your future with us. Secure your spot now by registering through one of the Eventbrite links below.

Friday 12th January 2024 13:00 – 14:00

Wednesday 17th January 2024 18:00 – 19:00

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. 

1. You must be a second-year undergraduate nutrition student studying in Northern Ireland in order to apply. Examples of degrees that will be accepted include Human Nutrition, Food and Nutrition, Food Quality Safety and Nutrition.

You will be provided with a 250-word text box to demonstrate how you meet the criteria lead technical criteria.  Please provide details of your degree course, year of study and name of the University/College. If you do not meet this criteria, the remainder of your application will not be assessed.

You will then be asked to complete a CV, which we will ask you to demonstrate your experience of the following essential criteria.

Experience

• Experience of communicating effectively with peers and/or colleagues to deliver a project or piece of work.
• Experience of delivering a project or assignment on time and to a high standard.

In the event that we receive a large number of applications, the minimum pass mark 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 1

Behaviours

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• 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: 28th January 2024

Sift: Expected to take place w/c 29th January 2024

Final panel interview: Expected to take place w/c 12th February 2024

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.