105 Policy Jobs

Job summary

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.

This role sits within the Delivery Standards Unit in the Regulatory Compliance Division (RCD) of the Food Standards Agency (FSA). RCD is responsible for setting and maintaining the regulatory standards that food and feed businesses must meet, ensuring compliance through the delivery of official controls, and supporting partners across the system to deliver those standards effectively. These controls are primarily delivered through local authorities, port health authorities and other delivery partners.

As a Delivery Standards Manager, you will play a key role in maintaining and improving the systems that underpin food you can trust. You will contribute to core services such as Primary Authority and Earned Recognition while also supporting programmes such as the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) and food business registration. You will also lead or contribute to the development of new delivery models and regulatory standards to ensure the system remains effective now and in the future.

Job description

This is a flexible and dynamic role where priorities may shift in line with business needs. You may be required to deliver statutory functions, manage core services, or lead project workstreams focused on regulatory reform and delivery improvement. Working collaboratively across the FSA and externally, you will provide technical expertise, influence policy development, and support implementation into the wider regulatory system.

We are looking for a confident and adaptable technical leader with strong stakeholder engagement skills and experience of delivering official food and/or feed controls for a competent authority or leading on delivery of a food management system that was subject to official food and/or feed controls by a competent authority. You will be comfortable working in a matrix environment and able to provide leadership in a fast-paced and evolving landscape. At the point of recruitment, your primary focus will be Primary Authority, Earned Recognition, and Competency and Qualifications.

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 with the vacancy holder before applying.

Person specification

Please read the attached Job Description 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 ‘suitable’ or ‘appropriate qualification as outlined in the Food or Feed Law Codes of Practice, please refer to the following link: Food and Feed Codes of Practice - GOV.UK.

Behaviours

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

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Delivering at Pace
• Leadership

Technical skills

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

• Please provide evidence of how you meet the following Technical criteria. You do not need to follow the instruction to provide your answer in a STAR format

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,596, Food Standards Agency contributes £12,340 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).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, Experience and Technical skills.

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 ‘suitable’ or ‘appropriate qualification as outlined in the Food or Feed Law Codes of Practice, please refer to the following link: Food and Feed Codes of Practice - GOV.UK.

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 criteria.

Essential criteria

Experience

· Lead criteria: Experience of delivering official controls on behalf of a competent authority or delivering a complex food management system that was subject to official controls by a competent authority.

· Experience of managing projects to develop and implement measurable delivery standards on time and to budget.

· Strong influencing and effective personal engagement skills.

· Strong analytical skills, weighing up different sources of information to underpin operational decisions and make clear recommendations to senior

officials.

· Ability to adapt quickly and effectively to a fast-changing environment and show high levels of resilience. This includes the ability to confidently manage different workstreams at once while maintaining a high quality of work.

Technical

· A ‘suitable’ or ‘appropriate qualification as outlined in the Food or Feed Law Codes of Practice, please refer to the following link: Food and Feed Codes of Practice - GOV.UK.

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 Civil Service Behaviours:

Behaviours

· Seeing the Big Picture

· Making Effective Decisions

· Delivering at Pace

· Leadership

Expected Timeline

Advert closes: 26 July 2026

Sift: Expected to take place week commencing 27 July 2026

Final panel interview: Expected to take place week commencing 10 August 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.

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 : Anita Kristensen
• Email : anita.kristensen@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

Job Description Opens in new window (pdf, 220kB)Terms and Conditions as at April 2020 Opens in new window (pdf, 42kB)