Job summary
About OPSS �
Do you care about the safety of products and want to protect people and places? 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 & Trade (Previously the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy). 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 2018 we have been building a positive and creative team that enjoys a position of influence and respect within an organisation that continues to grow, recently with the addition of construction products regulation.�
Our primary purpose is to protect people and places from product-related harm, ensuring consumers and businesses can buy and sell products with confidence. �
Further information can be found on our website �
We recruit by merit on the basis of 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 (DCS) 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 if required to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform crucial job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.�
Job description
The Role and Our Team�
The Government has announced that the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) will host the new national regulator for construction products, driving the improvement of safety and performance standards and ensuring compliance with construction product regulations. �
OPSS has begun operating under existing regulations and is currently transitioning to become fully operational under new legislation. The Business Compliance Team is the team responsible for setting and establishing OPSS� approach to drive business compliance with the construction product industry. We lead on the delivery of high-quality regulation of construction products placed on the UK market.� �
This is an exciting opportunity for a flexible and results-oriented individual with the energy to make positive change happen within and beyond OPSS to join the expanding Business Compliance Team. In this purposeful, and multi-faceted role you will play a part in building our reputation as an exemplar regulator. Candidates will need to be flexible in approach and prepared to lead on a range of tasks.
You will hold specific responsibilities for planning and developing our regulatory capacity, capability and operational approach. You will lead targeted investigations and interventions and take proportionate enforcement action. Currently this role has no line management responsibility but that may change as the team develops with possible responsibility for a small team. �
These roles are based in Birmingham or Teddington only.� However, some travel � possibly to any UK location - is likely to be required.�
The successful candidate will be responsible for:�
1. Supporting the planning, development and delivery of the team�s regulatory capacity and approach to respond effectively to unsafe construction products on the UK market.
2. Leading the investigation of complex cases.
3. Developing and delivering effective working practices with regulatory partners, including the Building Safety Regulator and Local Authority Trading Standards to encourage and implement compliance through proportionate and effective regulatory interventions.
4. Proactively engaging with a range of sector partners to build positive relationships; explain and raise awareness of the organisations� regulatory approach, express sophisticated concepts, resolve issues and explore insights.
5. Initiating and delivering projects which align with the issues and challenges impacting upon UK compliance levels; ensuring that individual projects deliver positive impacts within financial and technical frameworks.
6. Establishing and leading multi-disciplinary cross-office teams to focus on and resolve important problems and regulatory challenges as well as acting as a point of contact to manage expectations, resources, and communications.
7. Possibility of developing and leading a team of officers, including planning, coaching, mentoring, staff development, performance, and issue resolution.
Person specification
Skills and Experience
Essential Criteria�
This is a great opportunity for an individual with the energy to act as a visible, trusted, and professional ambassador for the team. We are keen to hear from people with varying backgrounds, who can demonstrate:
8. Experience of operating within a regulatory compliance environment, including the investigation of suspected non-compliance.
9. Ability to understand and apply technical information in diverse sectors and business types.
10. Ability to scope, plan, and guide the delivery of results-oriented, multi-layered work plans.
11. Strategic problem-solving and analytical skills.
12. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
13. Strong leadership skills, unafraid to challenge, adept at influencing and eager to take ownership.�
We will be hosting a Virtual Open Evening you will be able to hear from various people within the team and department. This will take place on the afternoon of Tuesday 23rd April. Please register your interest for the Open Evening by emailing
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
14. Making Effective Decisions
15. Developing Self and Others
16. Communicating and Influencing
17. Seeing the Big Picture
Benefits
Alongside your salary of �53,560, Department for Business and Trade contributes �14,461 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.
18. Learning and development tailored to your role
19. An environment with flexible working options
20. A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
21. A with an average employer contribution of 27%
We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. 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 we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities
Please refer to the attached candidate pack for further information on our benefits.