Vacancies

We’re undergoing an exciting period of change and growth at OPSS, and there’s never been a better time to join us. Below you can find our current vacancies, which are updated regularly.

Are you ready to step into the world of Operational Policy which helps protect people and places from product-related harm? If so, then this could be the role for you.

We are recruiting for 1 SEO within the Border Delivery team in the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS). This is a new and exciting team which contributes to the UK’s National Quality Infrastructure (NQI). It helps to ensure businesses and consumers can have confidence that products and services they purchase meet regulatory requirements. It will help deliver key work-streams for post EU-Exit UK, against a backdrop of changes and challenges to the GB and NI border.  Specifically, it will support the delivery of market surveillance and regulatory operational procedures and guidance that underpins the OPSS policy of the UK border and inland activities (the checking of products for safety and compliance). The successful candidate will provide robust support for two G7’s in the team. They will provide administrative support alongside bespoke operational policy projects as required to utilise their existing skills and to develop themselves further.

The Regulatory Information and Intelligence Team is a key support function within OPSS sitting in the Targeting Area, responsible for collecting, collating and analysing information and intelligence to produce and disseminate products which help shape and support OPSS regulatory decision-making at all levels.

We are seeking a Senior Regulatory Information and Intelligence Analyst who can add to the diversity and scope of the Unit, and help embed our reporting and intelligence capability supporting the production of intelligence products and data analysis across the team.

This is an exciting opportunity for a focused individual with established skills in intelligence, the management of information and linked reporting, or a regulatory background. The postholder will help keep consumers safe as an integral part of a team supporting OPSS’s key objective of protecting people and places from product-related harm.

As one of six senior leads within the team, you will play a central role in analysing information and intelligence received into the Unit. You will lead the production of products by developing intelligence using established analytical and intelligence techniques, data interrogation and open-source research. A crucial aspect of the role will be supporting the development of the Product Safety Database (PSD), driving forward priority developments with relevant OPSS teams.

The Local Authority Unit is the key point of contact between OPSS as National Regulator, and local authorities (local regulators), responsible for overseeing and coordinating OPSS’s operational relationship with local authorities to enable them to deliver across our core focus regulatory areas.

We deliver a range of activities and products aimed at supporting Local Authorities to deliver their statutory functions including communication and training.  We also help OPSS colleagues to engage more effectively with Local Authorities, whether it is seeking views and input into policy development or OPSS service delivery; or ensuring relevant authorities are kept informed of OPSS regulatory activity.

The work of the team is interesting and varied, and we are involved in almost every aspect of the work of OPSS as national regulator. Given this, we play a pivotal role in identifying synergies and areas of joined up working across OPSS.

We have a strong reputation within the organisation as being a supportive and inclusive team to work in and with.  We work across all 3 OPSS sites and meet as a team once a month, visiting locations in rotation, therefore occasional overnight stays might be required.

The Operational Support Unit (OSU) is the ‘front door’ to the office, and 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 across OPSS, undertaking administrative duties to support our regulatory obligations and delivering our purpose.

We are also responsible for developing, implementing, and supporting processes to underpin multi-functional activities.

Person specification

The successful candidate will be expected to undertake a Business Administrator Apprenticeship (Level 3).

The Business Administrator apprenticeship is a minimum of 12 months and should typically be completed within 18 months. The apprenticeship provides a highly transferable set of knowledge, skills and behaviours, which can be gained working across an organisation and its processes. The apprenticeship is a firm grounding in organisational operations and functional processes, as well as the wider working environment.

The apprenticeship will typically take between 12 and 18 months to complete. If you have not already achieved Level 2 English and Maths, you must do so before taking the end-point assessment.

You can apply for an apprenticeship while you’re still at school but you’ll need to be 16 or over by the end of the summer holidays to start the apprenticeship. Please note if successful you must be 16 or over to undergo the relevant security checks.

Key Responsibilities:

You will support the team across several work-streams, ensuring adherence to service standards, key performance indicators and associated Service Standards (SS).

You will work in conjunction with your colleagues to:

  • Support the undertaking and processing of all work-streams that the team deliver on behalf of OPSS.
  • Respond to, triage or resolve all enquiries received to OPSS via email inboxes, letters and telephone calls.
  • Record all enquiries onto the Electronic Case Management system (ECM).
  • Follow procedures for the handling of evidence received for testing and be willing to undertake a forklift truck licence course to support this task.
  • There will be some requirement to handle large items (such as white goods) where appropriate to support with evidence handling.
  • Be willing to attend other required courses such as Manual Handling, Red Snapper (Evidence Handling) and telephony training.
  • Undertake all administration tasks associated with work-streams.
  • Ensure all work is completed within Service Standards escalating issues if required.
  • Develop knowledge of key work-streams to enable you to become a subject matter expert to support colleagues.
  • In conjunction with your daily role there is a requirement to work towards completion of the Business Administrator Level 3 apprenticeship.
  • Chairing and management of the administration of Team Meetings.
  • Leading on own development in line with the OSU Skills and Development Matrix.
  • Providing support to Major Incidents across OPSS in a reactive manner.
  • Undertaking general office support duties such as post, collation of statistics and a small amount of IT related technical support.

The Role and Our Team:

  • OPSS is organised into four Impact Areas: Enabling; Evidence; Policy and Regulation. This role sits within the Enabling Impact Area, supporting it’s Deputy Chief Executive and the Legal Director.
  • Enabling provides a wide range of key support services, including legal, financial, recruitment, learning and development, organisational planning and strategic support to teams across OPSS, as well as directly supporting the Chief Executive’s Office.
  • The Executive Assistant to Deputy Chief Executive role plays a vital role within the senior leadership support team, providing administrative and logistical support, facilitating the timely flow of information and support the smoothly running of the Enabling Impact Area and the senior leaders’ responsibilities.
  • The role will also include working with the Strategy Team, working on organisational strategy, reporting, and governance as well as providing the Secretariat for a number of high-level strategic Boards.

Person specification

Key Responsibilities:

This role is varied and challenging with common sense, organisation and the ability to respond quickly and positively to a wide range of tasks and activities being key for success.

Key responsibilities include:

  • Ensuring the Deputy Chief Executive is fully prepared for meetings and discussions, with administrative support supplied in a timely manner.
  • Proactively anticipating requirements by understanding the needs and approach of the senior leaders. Using initiative and judgement to ensure that the senior leaders’ meetings are booked appropriately and with the correct attendees and complete information on the purpose of the meetings, including agendas and necessary documentation, as required.
  • Proactively managing the Deputy Chief Executive’s correspondence and diary, including reviewing, flagging and sorting incoming emails and meetings to a level that suits the Deputy Chief Executive.
  • Supporting the Strategy team in achieving it’s aims and priorities, including producing the OPSS Delivery Report, the OPSS Strategy, and working with colleagues across OPSS address organisation challenges and opportunities.
  • Working with the Impact Area Coordinator to provide support for routine business support functions, internal projects, and external facing pieces of work as required.

This post is wide-ranging and acts as a fantastic introduction to a fast paced, dynamic and exciting part of the Civil Service. This role offers great potential for personal development, and successful candidates will find support to progress their careers. As a learning organisation, at OPSS we are supportive of a wide range of Learning & Development opportunities.

The Role and Our Team:

The OPSS Legal Advice and Practice team is a highly regarded team from a mixture of public sector and private practice backgrounds.  The team provides legal advice across all of OPSS’s functions. This is an exciting opportunity for a highly motivated lawyer with strong interpersonal skills who is able to work well within a team.

You will work closely with teams across the OPSS to provide pragmatic, solution-focussed and high-quality legal advice. The scope of the role, reflecting the breadth of OPSS’s functions, is broad. We do not expect applicants to have existing expertise in all areas of OPSS’s work but you must be willing to advise on a wide range of matters including our enforcement across a range of civil and criminal legislation, statutory decision-making, development of policy, and data transformation programme. In doing so, you will liaise with both DBT and other government departments’ legal advisors (Government Legal Department) as well as other regulators and commercial entities as appropriate.

Person specification

Key Responsibilities:

You will have responsibility for a stimulating, wide-ranging portfolio of work which includes:

  • Providing timely and high-quality legal advice to colleagues on a wide range of issues relating to OPSS’s operational activity, both in respect of discrete requests for legal assistance and on larger matters.
  • Managing, with appropriate supervision, your own caseload and working collaboratively with others on larger matters.
  • Providing strategic legal advice when OPSS is considering, or has committed to, taking on new regulatory functions on behalf of other Government departments.
  • Advising on our data transformation programme and data protection and FOI issues.
  • Understanding policy perspectives and confidently presenting delivery solutions.
  • Highlight to senior colleagues any significant legal risks, particularly in your practice areas, on a timely basis.
  • Liaising with legal teams/advisors of stakeholders and other government departments/regulators as appropriate.
  • Contributing to the learning and development of the OPSS Legal Advice and Practice team, as well as to OPSS more broadly.