About the job

Job summary

About OPSS  

Do you care about the safety of products and want to protect people and places? Is your passion to empower consumers to make good and informed choices and 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:  

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-for-product-safety-and-standards 

We recruit by merit based on 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.  

We are Inclusive. 

We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible and recognise how important inclusivity is to achieve the best outcomes. We hope to attract applications from all underrepresented groups. 

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform crucial job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation. 

Job description

About the Team  

The Operational Support Unit (OSU) is the ‘front door’ to the Office. We are a high-demand front-line team. We deliver outstanding customer service to both our internal and external customer base, providing reassurance and building confidence through our response to enquiries and everyday engagement with colleagues.  

We work diligently to support other functional teams, undertaking administrative duties to support our regulatory obligations and delivering OPSS purpose. We are also responsible for developing, implementing and supporting processes to underpin multi-functional activities. 

Key Responsibilities 

You will work in conjunction with two fellow HEO colleagues to provide managerial support to the team across a number of workstreams, ensuring adherence to service level agreements, service standards and key performance indicators.   

You will: 

• Lead on the operational delivery of all OSU workstreams. 
• To develop an in depth understanding of all workstreams in accordance with OSU responsibilities, supporting the team's delivery and outputs. 
• Line Management responsibility of AO/EO cohort, ensuring the delivery of outputs are to the highest standards across all workstreams. You will competently and authoritatively challenge poor performance whilst recognising and celebrating high performance. 
• Drive our Quality Assurance processes, ensuring tasks are reflective of the current working environment, disseminated appropriately and completed in a timely manner. 
• To take forward and review the compilation of all statistics which will be disseminated across wider OPSS, providing accurate reporting for other colleagues.  
• Add support and constructive feedback to the maintenance of the OSU Risks and Issues Register. 
• Reactively support Major Incidents across OPSS. 
• Build on existing processes and procedures, considering the need for change where appropriate and ensuring they are aligned to present our working environment. 
• Active attendance and contribution, to all relevant meetings to enable the effective management of OSU work-strands. 
• Act as the team resolution point, problem solving and using initiative to guide and support colleagues. 
• To receive, process and oversee all evidence handling within our Teddington site, supporting the wider team in conjunction with our set standards. 
• To undertake full training to support the effective management of evidence, such as Forklift Truck licence, Red Snapper and manual handling.  

Person specification

An excellent communicator, able to adapt your communication skills to suit both the situation and individual: 

You will:  

• Have strong leadership skills and be eager to support your own team and other colleagues across OPSS as required. 
• Can listen and understand needs through open, structured, and productive conversations. 
• Be experienced in priority setting and working within a reactive environment. 
• Have a shown understanding of crafting, implementing and developing processes with shown benefits to optimise efficiency whilst reducing risk and where possible, cost. 
• Be resilient and inventive, bringing out the best in colleagues through confident and expansive interaction with a desire to maintain morale. 
• Have a willingness to undertake vital training necessary to keep up to date with the requirements of the role. 
• Prior experience of performing in a customer service environment and maintaining positive working relationships at all levels. 
• Have the confidence to encounter issues and challenges whilst providing suggestions for problem solving or to present a solution prior to escalation, if required. 
• Remain hardworking and positive to the wider team, raising challenge where appropriate in the correct forum so as not to cause disengagement throughout the team. 
• Minimum of two days per week office attendance required to support the ongoing operational need. Please note there will be an expectation to travel to our Birmingham office once a fortnight as part of the line management responsibility will be Birmingham based.   

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform crucial job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £32,858, Department for Business and Trade contributes £8,871 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.

After the closing date 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. 

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 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.   

In the event of a large number of applicants, an initial short sift will be conducted  based on Personal Statements only. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.   

The role will be based in either Teddington or Birmingham. You will be asked to express a location preference during the application process.  

Please be aware that this role can only be worked from within the UK and not overseas.  

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.