Senior Risk Assessors x 2
Food Standards Agency
Apply before 11:55 pm on Monday 6th May 2024
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About the job
Job summary
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is a small government department with a big mission: to keep food safe, ensure that is what it says it is, and that it is increasingly healthy and more sustainable. Our risk assessment teams play a key role in delivering this remit, providing vital insight into anything that might pose a threat to the safety of food and animal feed in the UK.
We are looking for Senior Risk Assessors to provide maternity cover while taking responsibility for a key function within the team. Your work will ensure that responses to requests for microbiological risk assessments or expert advice are dealt with as efficiently as possible.
Job description
You will carry out a range of duties that empower the team to deliver their best work, for the drafting and reviewing of risk assessments and policy-influencing papers to the provision of briefings for senior colleagues across the FSA.
Collaboration will be key to your success in this role, as you work alongside a range of stakeholders to ensure our risk assessments deliver valuable insights that will impact the way we protect public health. You’ll also offer line management to members of your team, seeking to empower your colleagues to deliver their best work.
If you are a skilled scientist and talented team-worker who is excited by the opportunity to make a tangible impact on public health and food policy, don’t hesitate and apply for one our fantastic roles at the heart of the FSA’s risk assessment teams.
These posts are advertised as a temporary appointment until 11/04/25 & 23/03/25 with a possibility of 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 job.
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.
Qualifications
A relevant post graduate qualification and/or significant experience working in a position with responsibility for risk assessment or food safety
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Delivering at Pace
- Working Together
Benefits
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.
- A degree in an appropriate life science (e.g. epidemiology, microbiology) or a food production discipline, or equivalent relevant experience (e.g. critical assessment of scientific literature, basic quantitative analysis, and scientific writing skills)
- A relevant post graduate qualification and/or significant experience working in a position with responsibility for risk assessment or food safety.
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 and desirable criteria. (Desirable criteria will only be assessed in the event of a tie between candidates).
Essential criteria
Experience
Lead criteria: Evidence of applying a deep specialism, such as microbiology or epidemiology, to understanding safety risks in a relevant field, e.g. food safety, animal health or public health.
- A history of effective team-working
- Experience co-ordinating projects requiring inputs from a range of different parties.
- Evidence of communication – both verbal and in writing, of complex scientific information to specialist and non-specialist audiences
Desirable criteria (Desirable criteria will only be assessed in the event of a tie between candidates).
Experience
- Experience of line management
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 and Civil Service Behaviours Level 3
Behaviours
- Making Effective Decisions
- Delivering at Pace
- Working Together
Full details of the positive indicators being assessed for each Behaviour can be found in the Candidate Pack.
Experience: You may be assessed against any of the Experience criteria (used at sift) for your interview.
As part of the interview process, you will be asked to prepare a seen presentation. Further information will be provided to you on the invite to interview email.
Expected Timeline
Advert closes: 6th May
Sift: Expected to take place from 7th May
Final panel interview: Expected to take place from 20th May
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
Nationality requirements
Working for the Civil Service
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).
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Anthony J. Wilson
- Email : Anthony.J.Wilson@food.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : hr.recruitment.campaigns@food.gov.uk
Further information
