About the job

Job summary

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is a non-ministerial department of over 1500 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.

We are a small government department with a big mission: to keep food safe, ensure that it is what it says it is, and that it is increasingly healthy and more sustainable. With so much on our plates, it’s important that we make sure that we’re operating as we should.

We’re looking for a Standards and Casework Manager who can help us ensure the effective delivery or our advisory and oversight services, while supporting the way we use case experience to empower the learning within our organisation.

Job description

From leading our Complaints and Transparency function to fronting the delivery of internal counter fraud, corruption and bribery efforts within the FSA, your work will play a fundamental role in ensuring the organisation is achieving the highest standards.

You will advise on case-handling strategy and risk mitigation and where needed, undertake complex investigations.. By engaging with colleagues and external stakeholders, you will work to shape best practice and help the FSA seize opportunities to learn.

Our effectiveness as an organisation is closely linked to this position, and you will support colleagues as we seek to ensure our annual business plan is delivered to time and within budget. Your experiences in HR or external complaints casework will be invaluable to us, and your voice will inform decision making throughout the organisation.

This is a real opportunity to have a tangible impact in an important government department. If you are driven by a desire to bring about improvement and change, and can help us be the best version of the FSA, apply today to join us as our Standards and Casework Manager.

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 £54,404, Food Standards Agency contributes £15,179 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

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.  

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

• Associate Membership (or above) of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)

or

• Level 5 CIPD qualification (or above)

or

• Willing to commence Level 5 CIPD qualification within 6 months of arriving at the FSA

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.

Essential criteria

Experience

• Lead criteria: Experience of identifying causes of organizational failure and developing remedial actions.   
• Experience of leading either a HR or external complaints casework service,
• Experience of conducting and overseeing complex HR or external complaint investigations producing reports for senior management with recommendation for remedial action.
• Experience of assessing against organizational-level standards and devising actions to ensure compliance.

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.

Experience

• Experience of identifying causes of organizational failure and developing remedial actions.
• Experience of leading either a HR or external complaints casework service,
• Experience of conducting and overseeing complex HR or external complaint investigations producing reports for senior management with recommendation for remedial action.
• Experience of assessing against organizational-level standards and devising actions to ensure compliance.

Assessment exercise

As part of the interview process, you will be asked to complete an assessment exercise / case study. Further information will be provided to you on the invitation to interview email.

Expected Timeline

Advert closes: 10 March 2024

Sift: Expected to take place during week commencing 11 March 2024

Final panel interview: Expected to take place during week commencing 25 March 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.

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. 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.