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 and 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 2019 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 the regulation of construction products planned for 2022.

Our mission: To be a trusted product regulator for the UK.

Our goal: To be a leader of good regulatory practice and a champion of local regulation.

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 (GIS) for people with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Role and Our Team

The Energy Supply Team enforces a range of product, environmental and energy efficiency regulations across a wide variety of product types in a number of different sectors. We are working towards providing a regulatory environment in which businesses have the confidence to invest and grow whilst ensuring that consumers and the environment are protected. We do this by taking a risk-based and proportionate approach to our regulatory activities, in accordance with the Regulators’ Code. We are continuing to build our regulatory capability, our ways of working, and our staff’s expertise.

We enforce the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014, intended to drive energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions from heating, thereby helping the UK reach its climate targets.

We are looking for a Senior Enforcement Officer to join an established team responsible for ensuring heat networks are regulated in a consistent and positive manner, and taking appropriate enforcement action where necessary.

In this role you will work closely with teams across the Office to support our strategic objectives, playing an instrumental role in building our reputation as a trusted regulator.

You will support the improvement of transparency and accountability to the businesses we regulate and the citizens we serve.

The post reports directly to the Heat Networks Team Lead, who reports to an Enforcement Manager within the Energy Supply Team.

Job description

As Senior Enforcement Officer, you will be responsible for a wide-ranging portfolio of work which includes:

• Undertake both proactive and reactive enforcement casework to ensure the compliance of heat networks.   
• Take the lead on your own enforcement investigations and provide support to multi-officer investigations. 
• Create, maintain, and manage communication with businesses, trade bodies and other organisations as appropriate, to deliver clear, supportive, and effective advice.        
• Develop specialist knowledge, to help provide the national enforcement perspective to OPSS colleagues in different teams, policy sponsors and other partner agencies.
• Undertake regulatory activities in accordance with the Regulators’ Code and OPSS’s Enforcement Policy.
• Review market information and other documentation across a range of legislation, handling material to the evidential standard where appropriate. 
• Actively build and maintain relationships within the Energy Supply team and across OPSS to identify opportunities to add value to your work.
• Actively develop yourself as regulator and enforcement officer; with your team, identify and explore innovative ways to increase our regulatory capability and our positive impact, and develop OPSS as an exemplar regulator. 

Person specification

Essential Criteria

You must ensure the successful candidate meets your specification entirely, so do not put expectations that are not vital.

This is an exciting opportunity for 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:

• They hold a level 4 Regulatory Compliance Officer Apprenticeship qualification or equivalent level qualification, or have a reasonable expectation of achieving that qualification within the next two months. (The candidate must be able to formally evidence that they are qualified or studying towards this qualification). 
• Experience in an investigatory role in any of the following fields: regulation, enforcement, or compliance. 
• Ability to readily assimilate the complexities of technical legislation and communicate effectively at all levels, within both Government and a variety of organisations in the enforcement and policy sectors. 
• Being able to analyse data and make appropriate decisions and recommendations using standard Microsoft Office software to produce reports and briefings that communicate sophisticated information clearly and concisely. 
• Ability to develop and maintain positive working relationships at all levels, including confidence when dealing with a range of partners, using your technical knowledge to support those we regulate. 
• Attention to detail, problem-solving skills, and an aptitude for long term thinking.
• A flexible, proactive approach with the ability to take ownership and prioritise work without supervision.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £32,858, Department for Business and Trade contributes £8,797 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 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 only. 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:  

• 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.