Head of Local Authority Delivery

Food Standards Agency

Apply before 11:55 pm on Tuesday 24th September 2024

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Details

Reference number

369426

Salary

£54,404

£54,404 (National) £58,646 (London) (2024/25 pay award pending) Salary will be pro rata for if working as part of a job share partnership. If applying on a job-share basis, the expectation is that you are already in an established job-share partnership. 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.

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Job grade

Grade 7

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

FSA - UK and International Affairs - Local Authority Partnerships

Type of role

Operational Delivery
Policy

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Homeworking, Job share, Compressed hours

Location

We offer great flexible working opportunities, and have offices in Belfast, Cardiff or 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.

About the job

Job summary

Are you passionate about ensuring food safety and protecting public health?

Join the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in Wales as a key member of our senior management team, where you'll play a crucial role in safeguarding the interests of consumers.

As the Head of Local Authority Delivery, you'll lead a dedicated team that works closely with Local Authorities and other delivery partners to ensure food and feed services meet the highest standards of safety and compliance. Your leadership will be instrumental in managing key FSA priorities, including the regional feed delivery model and the review of the Food Law Code of Practice. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to vital national and regional policies, support Local Authorities with bespoke training, and help shape the future of food safety in Wales.

Job description

In this leadership role, you will be responsible for the Local Authority Partnership team within the FSA in Wales. You will work closely with another Head of Local Authority Delivery to maintain strong relationships with Local Authorities and ensure that food and feed services comply with legislative requirements and the Food Law Code of Practice. Your team will provide crucial support and accurate advice to Local Authorities, including developing and implementing specialised training packages.

As a leader, you will provide direction across multiple teams, driving the successful delivery of key objectives and managing complex projects that require both strategic insight and operational execution. Your responsibilities will also include building a positive team culture, fostering professional development, and managing workload and resources effectively. You will engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including Welsh Government and Local Authorities, to deliver shared objectives and ensure that the interests of Wales are well-represented in UK and devolved policies. Your role will be dynamic, requiring flexibility and a proactive approach to adapting to changing circumstances in the external operating environment.

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 recognised professional qualification that satisfies the requirements of the Food Law Code of Practice (Wales) for performing official controls.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

Seeing the Big Picture
Making Effective Decisions
Leadership
Communicating and Influencing
Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £54,404, Food Standards Agency contributes £15,760 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.

Technical: You will be asked a question to confirm that you meet the Technical requirements of the role.

· A recognised professional qualification that satisfies the requirements of the Food Law Code of Practice (Wales) for performing official controls.

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: Proven experience of working at a senior level within a local authority or other regulatory body, and a detailed understanding of the local authority landscape in Wales.

Comprehensive knowledge of food/feed law, its implementation and the delivery of official controls in Wales.

· Experience of building relationships with stakeholders to achieve corporate priorities.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills including experience in briefing senior stakeholders such as Ministers, Boards or Executive Management teams.

Excellent analytical and decision-making skills with the ability to gather and collate evidence and present complex findings, clearly & succinctly, to a range of different audiences.

Desirable criteria (Desirable criteria will only be assessed in the event of a tie between candidates).

Experience

· Experience of leading and motivating teams in a fast-paced environment to deliver corporate or Ministerial priorities.

· Ability to communicate effectively in Welsh to strengthen the Agency’s commitment to providing a bilingual service across all teams

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 Experience requirements of the role and Civil Service Behaviours Level 4.

Behaviours

· Seeing the Big Picture (Assessed via Seen presentation)

· Leadership (Assessed via Seen presentation)

· Making Effective Decisions

· Communicating and Influencing

· Delivering at Pace

Full details of the positive indicators being assessed for each Behaviour can be found in the Candidate Pack.

Experience

· You could be assessed against any of the sift criteria during your interview.

Assessment exercise

As part of the interview process, you will be asked to prepare a seen presentation. Further information will be provided to you on the invitation to interview email.

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: 24th September

Sift: Expected to take place from 25th September

Final panel interview: Expected to take place from 3rd October

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.

Mae ein pecyn i ymgeiswyr yn manylu ar y buddion a gynigir gan yr Asiantaeth Safonau Bwyd. Cyfeiriwch hefyd at y datganiad Telerau ac Amodau sydd ynghlwm.

If you wish to raise a complaint then please email hr.recruitment.campaigns@food.gov.uk in the first instance.

Os ydych am wneud cwyn, anfonwch e-bost at hr.recruitment.campaigns@food.gov.uk yn y lle cyntaf.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

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.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.