About the job

Job summary

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!  

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), is 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, recently with the addition of construction products regulation.  

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.  

Job description

We are the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) Development and Capability Team. The Talent and Specialist Skills Development Lead will report into the Assistant Director of Development and Capability. 

The role:

• The post holder will be responsible for ensuring the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has a capable workforce now and in the future. We are a diverse office with a range of technical skills and knowledge.   
• The role has a broad portfolio and includes leading on workforce capability to address skills gaps, creating internal talent development programmes from conception to delivery, succession planning, and defining the talent pipeline to deliver over the next five years. 
• The post holder will be expected to work collaboratively and effectively with stakeholders across all levels, including senior leaders, to create innovative solutions to build capability, talent, and address skills gaps across a multi-disciplined workforce. 
• Responsibility for designing and developing the talent development strategy for the office and contributing to the wider corporate returns.   
• The post holder is responsible for leading a large and multi-faceted team operating in a fast-paced environment. 
• The role is based in Birmingham with flexible and hybrid working but travel to other sites will be required.
• We welcome applications from ambitious individuals who have the energy and drive to make positive change happen. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• ​​Lead and develop a multi-faceted team to achieve organisational success.  
• ​Lead on developing and growing the organisations apprenticeship, diversity and inclusion, and retention strategies. 
• ​Understand specialist skills gaps (technical and softer skills) through evidence-based insights to provide innovative learning solutions.
• Support our succession planning by devising talent development programmes to identify and grow talent for high priority critical roles.  
• ​Lead and deliver organisational objectives through diverse and inclusive programmes and initiatives.
• ​Efficiently manage the learning and development budget to ensure all processes and procedures adhere to official guidance. 

Person specification

Essential criteria 

• Experience and knowledge of talent and development approaches and challenges.  
• Experience of leading multi-faceted teams, with an excellent track record of developing capability.
• Experience of strategic thinking and actions to develop practical and innovative solutions, and recognising opportunities and potential risks. 
• Experience of using evidence-based insights to assess risk and develop solutions that deliver effective and successful outcomes. 
• Possess effective interpersonal skills with the ability to engage and build relationships with stakeholders and senior management.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to work collaboratively, and effectually communicate and present ideas across all levels. 
• Experience of influencing senior leaders to deliver organisation wide change to deliver tangible results.
• Demonstrate resilience and self-awareness to prioritise a varied workload in a multi-faceted fast paced environment. 

Desirable criteria  

• Experience of creating and managing talent development programmes in a regulatory organisation.  
• Experience and knowledge of HR policies and processes.

Qualifications  

• CIPD qualified at level 5 or above or have extensive and demonstrable HR leadership experience in a senior role and be willing to work towards CIPD professional membership.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £53,560, Department for Business and Trade contributes £14,461 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 and desirable 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 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 and desirable 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

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.