About the job

Job summary

The FSA is a non-ministerial department of over 1600 people. We play a critical role in protecting public health and consumers’ wider interests in food across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Our vision is an important one - to drive change, delivering “food you can trust” and working towards a healthier and more sustainable food system.

The National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) provides the FSA’s law enforcement capability, seeking to create as hostile an environment as possible for those seeking to involve themselves in food crime in the UK. Identifying, disrupting and deterring serious food criminality, the NFCU works with key internal and external stakeholders to protect the nation’s food.

The unit has an opening for Senior Investigator (Birmingham), which will play a vital role in investigating activity endangering the nation’s food. The successful candidate does not need to be geographically based in the Birmingham area – but regular travel to the Birmingham office will be required.

The successful post holder will have experience of working at decision-making level in an investigation or intelligence development investigation, in a criminal, civil, regulatory or food environment.  You will enjoy working as part of a team and engaging with stakeholders to achieve desired outcomes.

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.

Job description

As the successful applicant, you will work as an integral part of the NFCU’s Investigations team, conducting and supervising all areas of investigations and intelligence development activities in compliance with relevant legislation, guidelines and best practice.

You will manage a team of Investigators ensuring they all have the support that they need to undertake their duties through effective communication, managing performance, reward and recognition, the championing of FSA ASPIRE values and by fostering an inclusive culture in the team and wider Unit.

There will be a requirement for the post holder to travel to various FSA office and other locations as part of the role to carry out investigations and the responsibilities of the role.  You will be expected to attend national events and conferences where appropriate to represent the NFCU and to present evidence in court when required.

If you are enthused by the opportunity to join a diverse national law enforcement unit, who have a unique and developing mission statement and make a real and tangible difference to food safety. And you have the ability to communicate and collaborate with others, often on challenging matters, to ensure that vital work is done efficiently and effectively, we look forward to receiving your application.

Please read before applying

As this is an investigatory / intelligence role we need to be aware if any of our employees have any of the following: any misconduct or gross misconduct findings or where proceedings are not complete. You will be asked to complete a declaration form covering the above if offered a role with the FSA.

You must declare to the best of your knowledge:

• Any disciplinary finding of guilt / failure to meet the appropriate standard of conduct relating to your employment you have ever had
• Any charge of a disciplinary offence / notification of a failure to meet the appropriate standards you have ever had where the case has not yet been concluded

The disclosure of this information will not automatically disbar you from this role but we need to be aware of any event or issue which could impinge on your credibility if questioned in court.

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 £39,611, Food Standards Agency contributes £11,475 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

You will be asked to provide personal details (not seen by the Panel) and to confirm your eligibility to apply for the role.

Essential criteria

Technical (Licence): You will be asked a question to confirm that you meet the Technical (Licence) requirements of the role. 

• Full Driving Licence (Manual or Automatic) for category B vehicles

If you cannot answer yes to this question – you will not be able to proceed further with your application.

You will then be asked to complete an application which will be used to assess you against the following essential criteria.

Experience

• Lead criteria: Experience of working at decision-making level in investigation or intelligence development, in a criminal, civil, regulatory or food environment.
• Experience and knowledge of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, The Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996, The Fraud Act 2006 and The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000/Investigatory Powers Act 2016.
• Proven experience of managing a team, involving complex workloads, prioritising tasks, and working to deadlines in investigation or intelligence development, in a criminal, civil, regulatory or food environment.
• Experience of drafting and writing documents, and articulating and presenting findings verbally, to a wide range of audiences, including senior, internal and external partners.

Technical (Qualification or equivalent experience)

• Must hold Investigator PIP2 qualification or equivalent experience

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 Experience requirements of the role and Civil Service Behaviours Level 3.

Behaviours

• Making Effective Decisions
• Leadership
• Developing Self and Others

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

Experience

• Experience of managing a team, involving complex workloads, prioritising tasks, and working to deadlines in investigation or intelligence development, in a criminal, civil, regulatory or food environment.
• Experience and knowledge of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, The Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996, The Fraud Act 2006 and The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000/Investigatory Powers Act 2016.

Expected Timeline

Advert closes: 9 June 2024 (23:55)

Sift: Expected to take place during week commencing 10 June 2024

Final panel interview: Expected to take place during week commencing 1 July 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.

United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) Requirements (SC)

Appointment will be subject to the candidate having, or being able to achieve, National Security Vetting at Security Check (SC) level.

All security clearances require you to provide evidence of your UK footprint where you have been physically present in the UK.

The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years (although there are some exceptions e.g. if you have been serving abroad with HM Armed Forces).

Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.

Checks will be made against:

• a departmental/company records check which will include, for example personal files, staff reports, sick leave returns and security records
• a check of both spent and unspent criminal records
• a check of credit and financial history with a credit reference agency
• a check of Security Service (MI5) records
• exceptionally, if there are any unresolved security concerns about the individual, or if recommended by the Security Service, the individual may also be interviewed
• in the event of any unresolved financial concerns, the individual may also be required to complete a separate financial questionnaire so that a full review of personal finances can be carried out
• checks may extend to third parties included on the security questionnaire.

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 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. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). 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.