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. 

OPSS works to protect consumers from unsafe products and support businesses through effective regulation. This post sits within our Incident Management Team. 
 
The Incident Management Team is a team within OPSS with responsibility for: 

• Developing and maintaining incident response plans.

• Training and exercising plans and ensuring processes are continuously improved.

• Coordinating responses to national-scale product safety incidents, emergencies and disruptive events.

The team also includes an operational arm, which: 

• Carries out initial assessments of product safety and construction product allegations and handles onward escalation up to incident level.  

• Oversees product safety and noncompliance notifications on the Product Safety Database through the UK Product Safety Contact Point (UKCP) function, publishing product safety alerts, reports and recalls.   

• The UKCP also coordinates with, and reports to, international partners particularly the European Union and OECD, and operates an international monitoring function. 

The vacancy is for an SEO role within the operational arm of the team, focusing on the UK Contact Point and construction product allegations.  

The post holder will be responsible for ensuring that construction product allegations are triaged and coordinated appropriately, in addition to leading on certain workstreams within the UKCP. 

During an incident, the post holder will also assist in the coordination of incident activity, liaising with a range of different functions to deliver an effective incident response. 

Job description

You will: 

• Oversee the triage and coordination function for construction product allegations and enquiries, providing support to the consumer product lead where required.  

• Lead on the operational delivery of certain UK Contact Point workstreams, ensuring product safety notifications are reviewed, processed and actioned.  

• Prepare Product Safety Reports and Product Recalls for publication on Gov.uk and the OECD Global Recall Portal, ensuring that notifications are validated, quality assured and actioned within the service level agreement.  

• Support exchange of information with overseas partners, particularly for products sold online and available internationally.  

• Participate in internal and external meetings relating to the UKCP function disseminating information and building appropriate contacts and relationships.  

• Act as an escalation point within the team, problem solving and using initiative to resolve issues and respond to enquiries and allegations. 

This list is not exhaustive; there may be a need to flex and change for business needs. During a live product safety incident, the post-holder may also be required to support the incident response, which may involve working additional hours. 

The role will include direct management of a team comprised of Higher Executive Officers in addition to functional management of other staff within the wider Incident Management Team. 

The role may require some travel throughout the UK for which travel and subsistence allowances will be available. 

Person specification

Essential Criteria 

• Strong digital skills, and the ability to quickly gain competence using a variety of digital platforms and systems to deliver operational functions.  

• Strong interpersonal and written communication skills.

• Strong time management skills and the ability to contribute towards multiple workstreams concurrently.  

• Ability to deliver at pace, remain calm under pressure and adapt well to consistently changing environments.  

• Ability to analyse complex information and form appropriate recommendations or advice. 

Desirable Criteria  

• Experience using Microsoft applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Visio.

• Knowledge and understanding of product safety or construction products, particularly product safety notifications and associated systems.  

• Previous experience in product safety, incident management or risk management. 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £39,384, Department for Business and Trade contributes £10,633 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:    

1. 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. 

1. 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. 

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.