Policy Advisers

Job summary

Would you like the opportunity to develop your skills and knowledge in a policy role at the Food Standards Agency (FSA)?

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 looking for curious, collaborative and motivated people who can analyse evidence, build strong relationships and turn complex issues into clear, practical advice. You will join a supportive and inclusive organisation with opportunities to develop across a broad range of policy areas, work with influential stakeholders and take the first or next steps in a rewarding career in policy.

We offer amazing benefits and flexible working arrangements – take a look in the Candidate Pack and take a peek at our careers page Working for the Food Standards Agency , Civil Service Careers to find out more.

Job description

You will work closely with colleagues across the FSA and with external partners including devolved administrations, other government departments, local authorities, industry and consumer stakeholders. Depending on the role, you may support policy development, delivery and implementation, contribute to incident response activity, help maintain or reform legislation, and draft briefings or discussion papers for senior managers, the FSA Board and Ministers. All of our posts require flexibility to respond to emerging priorities and business needs.

If you’re excited by meaningful work, professional development and the chance to contribute to the FSA’s mission, we’d love to receive your application.

Senior Policy Manager roles (SEO)

This campaign is to recruit to Policy roles at HEO level. We are also running a campaign to recruit to SEO roles (closing date for applications 1 June 2026 (23:55). Please follow this link to the vacancy advert Senior Policy Managers - Civil Service Jobs - GOV.UK.

Virtual Candidate Information Session

Wednesday 27 May 2026 at 15:00

Please join us for a virtual information session – to give you the chance to find out more about our Policy roles at both HEO and SEO grade.

Meet FSA colleagues, hear about the kind of areas our Policy work covers and the benefits of working at the FSA. We’ll also chat through the application process, explain Success Profiles and share some hints on how to maximise your chances of success - at application and at interview.

This will be an informal session, expected to last about 45 minutes, with plenty of opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have – it won't form any part of the selection process.

Please register to attend this session through this linkFSA Candidate Information Session - Senior Policy Managers (SEO) and Policy Advisers (HEO)

Working pattern guidance

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 before accepting an offer of employment.

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)

Please read before applying

Although we will be able to offer a small number of permanent roles, the majority of the posts are temporary Fixed Term/Loan appointments of varying durations, available due to limited funding for project work. There may be the possibility, but no guarantee, of extension or permanency. Posts will be offered in strict merit order as they become available.

Candidates that are already established Civil Servants or from non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will come to the FSA on a Loan basis and must have permission from their Home Department for the Loan prior to applying for this job.

Successful candidates must be able to commence employment within 6 weeks of conditional verbal offer.

Note for FSA employees

You must seek approval from your substantive manager before applying for any non-permanent vacancy - please refer to the ‘Temporary internal appointments framework’ on the FSA intranet for more details. Please note that if applying for a temporary post within the FSA or elsewhere on promotion, successful appointment will not automatically result in a permanent promotion - you will revert to your current substantive grade at the end of the Fixed Term or Loan period (unless funding has been approved to make the post permanent).

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.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £34,955, Food Standards Agency contributes £10,126 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

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 and Experience.

Full details of the selection process can be found 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.

Ability: You will be asked to complete an online Civil Service Verbal test and, if successful, will continue with your 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 criteria: Experience of analysing and using a range of credible information sources, to identify and assess options or potential to reach sound conclusions and the ability to communicate these clearly to inform decision making.

• Experience of building and maintaining positive relationships and working collaboratively with a range of colleagues and other stakeholders.

• Experience of communicating verbally and in writing to a range of audiences including senior colleagues, consumers and industry stakeholders using different communication methods and tools including experience of drafting briefings or reports.

• Experience of prioritising and managing workloads to deliver quality outputs to agreed timelines.

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 whichwe will assess you against the following Experience requirements of the role and Civil Service Behaviours.

Experience

• Experience of analysing and using a range of credible information sources, to identify and assess options or potential to reach sound conclusions and the ability to communicate these clearly to inform decision making.

• Experience of communicating verbally and in writing to a range of audiences including senior colleagues, consumers and industry stakeholders using different communication methods and tools including experience of drafting briefings or reports.

Behaviours

• Working Together

• Delivering at Pace

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

Note: Criteria are listed in order of priority to help distinguish merit order of joint scoring candidates at both sift and interview.

Expected Timeline

Candidate Information Session: 27 May 2026 (15:00)

Advert closes: 8 June 2026 (23:55)

Sift: Expected to take place from 9 June 2026

Final panel interview: Expected to take place during week commencing 29 June 2026

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. We expect further vacancies to arise – and will look to draw from the Reserve list as positions become available in our teams. Posts will be offered in strict merit order.

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

Recruitment team

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

Further information

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

Attachments

Terms and Conditions as at April 2020 Opens in new window (pdf, 42kB)Candidate Pack - Policy Advisers (HEO) 463320 Opens in new window (pdf, 980kB)