Commercial Officer
Food Standards Agency
Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 26th January 2025
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Location
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.
About the job
Job summary
The FSA is a non-ministerial department of over 1600 people. 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.
We are a relatively small government department, but we carry out a lot of important work. In order to deliver our vast remit, we engage with a wide range of partners, spending over £80m each year on external contracts. These contracts enable us to carry out vital research and scientific projects, bring in external support to help our teams across the Agency, and generally ensure that the FSA is always in the best position possible to keep the nation’s food safe.
We are looking for a Commercial Officer to be involved with every element of our work, supporting the procurement cycle, identifying opportunities to improve our approach, and developing the way we work. The role can be challenging but is immensely rewarding. Flexibility is often key in an environment that has peaks of activity and tight deadlines to work to. If you are keen on finding a role that makes a real difference, this could be the position you are looking for. As our Commercial Officer you will see the results of your work in action and will share with the team a great sense of achievement.
Job description
You will need to be an excellent team worker who can juggle priorities to ensure that work is completed in a timely and impactful manner. It will be vital, too, that you are a confident communicator who will be able to use these skills to ensure the FSA gets the best out of external contractors
This role will enable you to achieve the Member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (MCIPS) qualification, an industry-recognised standard that is held in high regard and will be a firm foundation upon which to further build a career in procurement.
If you believe you will be a strong fit for this role, apply today. We look forward to hearing from you!
Working pattern guidance
If applying as a job share partnership you should both complete separate application forms on Civil Service Jobs but should make it clear that you are applying as job sharers. Further details on job sharing can be found here JSF – What is the recruitment process for job sharers? , Civil Service Careers (civil-service-careers.gov.uk)
Applicants who wish to work compressed hours are welcome to apply - however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.
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
• Working towards MCIPS
or
• willing to commence study to obtain MCIPS within the first 6 months of joining the FSA.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Changing and Improving
- Communicating and Influencing
- 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.
- Working towards MCIPS
or
- willing to commence study to obtain MCIPS within the first 6 months of joining the FSA.
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: Experience of using excellent organisation and planning skills to prioritise work and achieve work objectives, whilst ensuring attention to detail.
- Experience of effectively building and managing stakeholder relationships to achieve work goals.
- Experience of collating and analysing a variety of datasets, presenting key findings both verbally and in writing.
- Making an impact in continuous improvement, including taking ownership for diagnosing and solving problems.
Desirable criteria (Desirable criteria will only be assessed in the event of a tie between candidates).
Experience
- Experience of commercial services including procurement and contract management
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
- Changing and Improving
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
- Working Together
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: 26 January 2025 (23:55)
Sift: Expected to take place during week commencing 27 January 2025
Final panel interview: Expected to take place during week commencing 17 February 2025
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.
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).
Diversity and Inclusion
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Joshua Pearcy
- Email : joshua.pearcy@food.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : hr.recruitment.campaigns@food.gov.uk
Further information
