Contents Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information Location We offer great flexible working opportunities, and have offices in Belfast, Cardiff and York. Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not overseas. Travel within the UK will be required on an occasional basis, possibly with overnight stays. You would be expected to travel to London and the other offices to meet up with members of the team, team meetings etc to meet business needs. This may be more in the initial months to support induction and training. About the job Job summary Do you have excellent communication skills with experience of leading diverse and highly motivated teams in a fast paced environment? Are you looking for a pivotal and rewarding role in ensuring food safety? If so, this is an exciting opportunity to join the FSA as our Senior Incidents Officer, and wed love to hear from you The FSA is a non-ministerial department of over 1400 people. Having left the EU, 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. Job description The Incidents and Resilience Unit works in partnership with internal and external stakeholders to contribute to the delivery of the FSAs strategic objectives and corporate priorities to ensure delivery of food we can trust. The Unit exists to: Provide an effective incident response capability on behalf of / or in support of the UK Government where there are concerns about actual or suspected threats to the safety or quality of food and / or feed that require intervention to protect consumers interests. Coordinate the investigative response with internal and external stakeholders for incidents notified to the FSA and obtain information from multiple stakeholders externally to inform FSA decisions, assessments, prevention and enforcement strategies Ensure that the FSA has the capacity and capability to effectively lead or play its part in an incidents, multiple incidents, emergencies and crises regardless of scale or complexity; and to Ensure that FSA makes an effective contribution to UK wide resilience planning, including leading on food defence matters. In parallel with the above, consumer protection colleagues in FSA Wales and FSA Northern Ireland, and colleagues in Food Standards Scotland lead on incidents where they occur within the boundaries of those nations. Where such incidents become more UK specific, lead responsibility for management of that incident may transfer to the Incidents & Resilience Unit. If you would like to read more about the role and its responsibilities then please refer to the attached candidate pack for further information. Please read before applying This post is a temporary Fixed Term appointment until 13/02/26 with the possibility, but no guarantee, of extension or permanency. Candidates that are already established Civil Servants or from non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will come to the FSA on a Loan basis and will need to request permission from their Home Department for the Loan prior to applying for this vacancy. Note for FSA employees You must seek approval from your substantive manager before applying for any non-permanent vacancy, this includes applying for a new post during an existing temporary posting. Please note that if applying for a temporary post within the FSA or elsewhere on promotion, successful appointment will not automatically result in a permanent promotion - you will revert to your current substantive grade at the end of the Fixed Term or Loan period (unless funding has been approved to make the post permanent). 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. Behaviours We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: Seeing the Big Picture Communicating and Influencing Delivering at Pace Benefits Alongside your salary of £40,800, Food Standards Agency contributes £11,819 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. Our candidate pack details the benefits that the FSA has to offer. Please also refer to the attached Terms and Conditions statement. Things you need to know Selection process details This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience. 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. You will then be asked to complete an application which will be used to assess you against the following essential and desirable criteria. (Desirable criteria will only be assessed in the event of a tie between candidates). Essential criteria Experience · Lead criteria : Operational experience in food safety enforcement, public health, incident management, or the wider food industry sector in a role critical to managing and delivering food safety compliance. · Experience of leading a team in making evidence-based decisions, under pressure, to deliver multiple activities at pace in a rapidly changing environment. · Experience of investigating and making effective evidence-based decisions, including difficult and unpopular decisions, inviting and effectively handling challenge, at pace in a rapidly changing environment. · The ability to communicate effectively to internal and external stakeholders by engaging in discussions, delivering formal presentations and providing accurate and concise briefings to senior managers. Desirable criteria (Desirable criteria will only be assessed in the event of a tie between candidates). Experience · Experience of managing and motivating self and others remotely so that delivery is timely and consistent and in an inclusive approach Technical · Educated to diploma level in a food safety related discipline or similar and/or has significant relevant work experience in a food safety management systems related discipline or similar Lead Criteria An initial sift will take place on the Lead Criteria. 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 Civil Service Behaviours. Behaviours · Seeing the Big Picture · Communicating and Influencing · Delivering at Pace Full details of the positive indicators being assessed for each Behaviour can be found in the Candidate Pack. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) You must ensure that any evidence submitted as part of your application or used during interview, including your CV and any statements or examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note that plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own. Expected Timeline Advert closes: 19/01/25 Sift: Expected to take place w/c 20/01/25 Final panel interview: Expected to take place w/c 03/02/25 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. As UKSV SC is required for this role, please confirm you have been resident in the UK for a minimum of 3 of the last 5 years (or have extenuating circumstances e.g. have been serving abroad with HM Armed Forces). 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. Diversity and Inclusion 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 (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window). Apply and further information This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative. Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records. Contact point for applicants Job contact : Name : Rajwinder Ubhi Email : rajwinder.ubhifood.gov.uk Recruitment team Email : hr.recruitment.campaignsfood.gov.uk Further information If you wish to raise a complaint then please email hr.recruitment.campaignsfood.gov.uk in the first instance. Attachments Senior Incidents Officer - Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 1172kB) Terms and Conditions as at April 2020 Opens in new window (pdf, 42kB) Share this page Print Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn GMail