Head of Governance

Job summary

The Food Standards Agency (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.

As part of a much wider programme of change to make sure that we have the skills and capabilities we need to manage in a complex and challenging world, the FSA is strengthening organisation-wide oversight, coordination, decision-making and assurance across all governance arrangements. This new role, which will be a key part of a new Division, will create a single point of accountability, providing enhanced assurance to the Chief Executive and Board while ensuring governance operates effectively across the organisation.

This position plays a critical role in building resilience across governance functions and ensuring a consistently high-quality service is delivered to the Board, Executive Management Team (EMT) and key committees. The postholder will lead the Private Office and Secretariat teams supporting the EMT, the FSA Board and the Scientific Advisory Committees.

This is a high-profile and influential role requiring great leadership, excellent judgement and the ability to operate with confidence in a complex environment. The successful candidate will bring significant experience of governance, stakeholder management and delivering high-quality corporate services at a senior level.

We are looking for someone who is comfortable engaging at senior levels and motivated by making a real difference behind the scenes—someone who takes pride in enabling high-quality decisions and strong organisational performance.

Job description

As Head of Governance, you will oversee the delivery of a high-quality private office and secretariat service to senior leadership, Board and committee members, ensuring professionalism, efficiency and continuous improvement across all areas. You will work closely across the organisation and with committee Chairs to ensure that governance structures focus on the right issues at the right time, supported by a robust forward look and high-quality papers.

The role holder will be the key interlocuter for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) Sponsorship team on public appointments as well as FSA strategy, performance and delivery, in line with DHSC Framework documents which sets out how DHSC works with its agencies and public bodies.

You will lead the development and implementation of a coherent and effective governance framework for the FSA, ensuring alignment across the Board and its committees. You will also ensure that advice and briefing provided to the Chief Executive, Chief Scientific Adviser and Chair are of the highest standard, both in writing and in person.

A key aspect of the role is identifying emerging cross-organisational issues and ensuring these are joined up effectively, supporting the Chief Executive and senior leadership team to deliver a well-functioning organisation. You will provide expert advice and guidance to Board and committee members on governance responsibilities, best practice and relevant regulatory changes, while ensuring members are appropriately inducted and trained.

You will ensure that all Board and committee meetings are conducted in line with governance best practice and that the organisation maintains strong and effective relationships with key stakeholders, including the Cabinet Office Public Appointments team, the Department of Health and Social Care Public Appointments team and ministerial offices.

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 Job Description to discover further details about the role.

We look forward to receiving your application and wish you every success.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £68,767, Food Standards Agency contributes £19,921 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

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 Ability and Experience.

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.

Ability: You will be asked to complete an online test and, if successful, will proceed to the rest of the application.

You will then be asked to complete an application which will be used to assess you against the following essential criteria:

Essential criteria

Experience

· Lead criterion: Significant experience leading governance and secretariat functions in a complex organisation.

· Proven track record of designing and implementing governance frameworks at Board and Committee level.

· Experience of providing high-quality advice and briefing to senior leaders (CEO, Board, Ministers or equivalent), including on sensitive or high-risk issues.

· Strong experience of working with Boards, non-executive directors, and senior stakeholders, supporting effective decision-making in complex and ambiguous environments.

· Experience of building and maintaining effective internal and external relationships and networks.

Lead Criterion An initial sift will take place on the Lead Criterion.

In the event that we receive a large number of applications, the minimum pass mark for the Lead Criterion 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:

Experience

· Proven track record of designing and implementing governance frameworks at Board and Committee level.

· Experience of providing high-quality advice and briefing to senior leaders (CEO, Board, Ministers or equivalent), including on sensitive or high-risk issues.

· Strong experience of working with Boards, non-executive directors, and senior stakeholders, supporting effective decision-making in complex and ambiguous environments.

· Experience of building and maintaining effective internal and external relationships and networks.

Assessment exercise

As part of the interview process, you will be asked to prepare a seen presentation on the following Lead Essential Experience Criterion: Significant experience leading governance and secretariat functions in a complex organisation. Further information will be provided to you in the invitation to interview email.

Expected Timeline

Advert closes: 02 July 2026

Sift: Expected to take place week commencing 06 July 2026

Final panel interview: Expected to take place week commencing 03 or 10 August 2026

Please note that indicated dates may be subject to change.

We are planning to conduct assessments and interviews face to face in London.

Regrettably we are unable to refund travel costs if candidates attend an interview for the vacancy.

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 offer visa sponsorship and cannot provide advice on visa applications

Making a complaint

The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.

If you feel your application has not been treated fairly in accordance with the principles, and you wish to make a complaint, you should email the FSA’s Director of People at jo.bushnell@food.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response, you can contact the Civil Service Commission.

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.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 : Nicky Allen
• Email : nicky.allen@food.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : hr.recruitment.campaigns@food.gov.uk

Online test instructions

The CS Verbal test is not timed

Further information

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

Attachments

Head of Governance (G6) JD Opens in new window (pdf, 253kB)Terms and Conditions as at April 2020 Opens in new window (pdf, 42kB)