Continuous Improvement Support Officer

Job summary

Are you passionate about leading change and improving customer service?

Do you want to help strengthen the services we provide to the food and farming industry and make a positive difference for rural communities through continuous improvement?

If you do, then why not join the Rural Payments agency and be a part of our Customer and Innovation Team as a Continuous Improvement Support Officer?

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is an executive agency of Defra and delivers more than £2 billion each year to farmers, landowners and rural businesses. As an Operational Delivery organisation, most of our people work directly with customers and stakeholders to provide essential services that support a healthy and sustainable rural economy.

Further information about the RPA and our work can be found at Rural Payments Agency - GOV.UK

Job description

As a Continuous Improvement Support Officer within Rural Payments Agency, you will be responsible for gathering suggestions for improvement and helping to assess and develop opportunities to enhance our processes.

Responsibilities:

• Support and lead small improvement and change activities across Service Delivery and wider RPA, helping to deliver better services for customers
• Act as the voice of the customer by using feedback and evidence to shape improvements and ensure changes meet customer needs
• Run and support continuous improvement workshops and problem‑solving sessions, using data and insight to identify issues and develop practical solutions
• Work closely with colleagues in customer contact teams and other improvement teams to share good practice and deliver consistent customer service
• Communicate clearly with colleagues, stakeholders, and Senior Managers, using different methods to share progress, key findings, and recommendations
• Help ensure new processes and ways of working are understood, adopted, and embedded into day‑to‑day delivery, offering subject‑matter input where needed
• Make sound, evidence‑based decisions, escalating issues when required and helping to resolve problems in line with policy and guidance
• Identify and manage risks, working to tight timescales while keeping accurate records and preparing any required guidance or documentation
• Handle sensitive information appropriately, following legislation, policy, and data protection requirements
• Work flexibly and adapt to changing priorities to deliver good outcomes for the Agency and its customers
• Contribute to a culture of continuous improvement and lead by example. Where applicable, support others through guidance or line‑management duties
• Take responsibility for ongoing learning and development to maintain and improve professional skills and knowledge

Person specification

Essential Criteria

You must be able to demonstrate the following skills and experience:

• Experience using continuous improvement tools, methods, and approaches to support service and process enhancements
• Ability to analyse customer feedback and interaction data, including the use of Natural Language Processing (NLP) to identify key themes and sentiment trends
• Skilled in grouping and interpreting patterns in customer insight, using databases and Power BI to track, present, and share findings
• Strong relationship‑building skills, with the ability to work collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders and customers
• Good analytical and problem‑solving skills, using sound judgement and initiative to make informed decisions
• Effective at organising workloads, prioritising tasks, and adapting quickly when priorities change
• Confident using standard IT packages, with the ability to learn and adapt to new technologies and software

Behaviours

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

• Changing and Improving
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Changing and Improving

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £29,715, Rural Payments Agency contributes £8,608 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

Application Process

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete the following:

• A 500-word personal statement demonstrating how you meet the person specification and essential criteria detailed in the advert
• A 250-word statement on the behaviour Changing and Improving

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form

Sift

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the Personal Statement.

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to interview.

Interview

If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on your Behaviours and Strengths.

Behaviour Questions

During the interview, you be asked to provide examples of when you have demonstrated the following behaviours:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing

For more information on behaviours and to help you prepare please click here

Strength Questions

You will be asked a number of strength-based questions. These explore what you do well, do regularly and what motivates you. The questions are shorter, and the panel will be interested in your first response and the information or reasoning to support this.

For more information on strengths including the strengths dictionary to help you prepare please click here

Interviews will take place via MS Teams

Sift and Interview dates to be confirmed

Location

As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s)

Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both RPA’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.

Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.

The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.

Salary

New entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to RPA 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; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

Near Miss Candidates

Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in RPA which may be at a lower grade but have a potential skills match.

Merit Lists

Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be appointed in merit order by location.

Criminal Record Check

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Internal Fraud Database Check

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Visa Sponsorship Statement

Please take note that RPA does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship.

Feedback

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 theCivil 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.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : RPA Recruitment Team
• Email : RPARecruitmentAdmin@rpa.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : DefraRecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: here

Attachments

Candidate Pack EO Continuous Improvement Support Officer 455545 Opens in new window (pdf, 1577kB)