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. 

Job description

About the Team

The Operational Support Unit (OSU) is the ‘front door’ to the office, and we are a high-demand front-line team. We deliver outstanding customer service to both our internal and external customer base, providing reassurance and building confidence through our response to enquiries and everyday engagement with colleagues.

We work diligently to support other functional teams across OPSS, undertaking administrative duties to support our regulatory obligations and delivering our purpose.

We are also responsible for developing, implementing, and supporting processes to underpin multi-functional activities.

The successful candidate will be expected to undertake a Business Administrator Apprenticeship (Level 3).

The Business Administrator apprenticeship is a minimum of 12 months and should typically be completed within 18 months. The apprenticeship provides a highly transferable set of knowledge, skills and behaviours, which can be gained working across an organisation and its processes. The apprenticeship is a firm grounding in organisational operations and functional processes, as well as the wider working environment. 

The apprenticeship will typically take between 12 and 18 months to complete. If you have not already achieved Level 2 English and Maths, you must do so before taking the end-point assessment.

Key Responsibilities

You will support the team across several workstreams, ensuring adherence to service standards, key performance indicators and associated service level agreements.

You will work in conjunction with your Senior Administration colleagues to:

• Receiving, handling, and cataloguing of products in line with agreed evidence handling protocols with the need to work cross site on occasion.
• Support the Operational Management, of OSU workstreams.
• Undertake the role of Task Manager by proactively supporting the delivery of administrative tasks across all work streams.
• Undertake senior level administrative tasks to ensure the effective delivery of OSU work-strands.
• Act as the first critical issue point across all work-strands, problem solving and using initiative to support and guide colleagues, raising issues as vital and where appropriate ensuring that prior scrutiny and challenge is given prior to issue.
• Undertake Quality Assurance on all workstreams, reporting results to provide complete visibility.
• Undertake the collation and reporting of statistics for all OSU workstreams.
• Develop team processes and procedures to ensure they reflect the current working environment.
• Ensure service standards and all SLAs are adhered, utilising resource and work allocation to support the requirements of the team
• Leading your own development in line with the OSU Skills and Proficiency Matrix and attend courses including but not limited to Forklift Licence Training, red snapper, and manual handling training.
• Support Major Incidents across OPSS in a reactive manner.
• Work closely with OSU management and colleagues across the Office to support the developments and refinements of IT platforms in place.
• Active attendance, to all relevant meetings which will enable the effective management OSU work-strands.
• Provide reassurance and information to increase consumer confidence.
• Utilise all resources available ensuring that work being undertaken is completed at the most appropriate level.

Person specification

Skills & Experience

We are looking for an excellent communicator with the ability to adapt your communication skills to suit all situations and individuals. 

You will:

Essential criteria

• Listen and understand needs through open, structured and productive conversations.
• Be experienced in priority setting and working within a reactive environment and experience of crafting, implementing, and developing processes with shown benefits to optimise efficiency whilst reducing risk and where possible, cost.
• Be resilient, inventive, always maintaining a calm and professional manner.
• Bring out the best in your colleagues through confident and broad interaction with a desire to maintain morale across OPSS.
• Be willing to handle large products such as white goods so that they are catalogued and securely stored and attend the Teddington and Birmingham offices where there is a business need to support this work.
• Have a willingness to undertake any training vital to your role including but not limited to red snapper, forklift licence training and manual handling training.
• Have the confidence to actively seek and set solutions to issues prior to customer concern, chipping into suggestions to problem seek if advancing is vital.
• Remain hardworking and positive to the wider team, carefully challenging in an appropriate manner and forum so as not to cause disengagement throughout the team.

 Desirable criteria

• Experience working in a customer service environment where you have maintained positive working relationships at all levels.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable adjustments to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform crucial job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £27,329, Department for Business and Trade contributes £7,378 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.

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.

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 500 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. 

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

Who can start an apprenticeship?

To start an apprenticeship, you’ll need to be:

• 16 or over
• living in England
• not in full-time education

You can apply for an apprenticeship while you’re still at school but you’ll need to be 16 or over by the end of the summer holidays to start the apprenticeship. Please note if successful you must be 16 or over to undergo the relevant security checks.

• 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

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.