About OPSS 

Do you care about the safety of products and want to protect people and places? Can we use your skills, knowledge and experience to enable UK business to thrive? If the answer is yes, then we would like to hear from you! 

We are the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), part of the Department for Business & Trade (Previously the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy). We are here for the purpose of making regulation work to deliver real world impact. Regulation is a powerful Government tool to address market failures, influence behaviour and promote positive action. Crafted and delivered well, regulation can be an enabler of growth, innovation and efficiency. 

Since early 2018 we have been building a positive and creative team that enjoys a position of influence and respect within an organisation that continues to grow, most recently with the addition of construction products regulation planned. 

Our primary purpose is to protect people and places from product-related harm, ensuring consumers and businesses can buy and sell products with confidence. 

Further information can be found on our website here 

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. We embrace diversity and promote equality of opportunity. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. There is a guaranteed interview scheme (DCS) for people with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. 

We are Inclusive 

We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible and recognise how important inclusivity is to achieve the best outcomes. We hope to attract applications from all underrepresented groups. 

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation if required to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform crucial job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

The Role and Our Team:

The team

The Science Team provides access to robust and relevant scientific advice and novel research for the development of policy, and the delivery and enforcement of product safety regulations across the OPSS remit, including toys, cosmetics and construction products. We work closely with other evidence teams including those in engineering, research, analysis and testing. It is a multidisciplinary team covering specialisms including analytical chemistry, materials science and toxicology. The team is also responsible for chemical risk assessment advice and leads the Offices access to independent scientific experts in the space of chemicals and materials.

The role

We require a science specialist to join our team efforts in providing chemical science advice and commissioning research with respect to our product safety responsibilities. This desk-based role will predominantly be focused on the chemicals utilised in cosmetics, toys, general products and more, on the UK market. You will support the work of other Science team members, working closely with policy, enforcement and other teams within the Office, for the effective delivery of UK product safety regulations.

The role will also involve offering chemical science technical support during ad-hoc incident responses across the various product areas we regulate.

You will need to be confident in drawing together, interpreting and communicating your findings to a lay audience as well as technical members of the team. You will provide support to cross-cutting research programmes, collaborating with testing, engineering, and analysis teams, and our laboratory facilities, to deliver key evidence to support OPSS strategic priorities.

The below is a list of characteristics which may be helpful in this role. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but are laid out to help candidates understand more about the role.

This role would generally suit someone who;

Key Responsibilities:

• Assess and interpret scientific and technical documentation relating to the safety of chemicals in consumer products.
• Contribute to and lead on research and evidence gathering activities to understand new developments in the field of consumer products and chemicals safety.
• Collaborate with engineering and technology, analysis, and testing teams on multidisciplinary projects.
• Respond to ad-hoc technical enquiries, inclusive of providing incident response support.
• Manage contracts with external contractors to ensure timely delivery of high-quality science and regulatory advice.

Skills & Experience:

Essential Criteria

• A degree in chemistry (or a closely related field), or 3+ years relevant experience in industries such as chemical, pharmaceutical, consumer goods e.g. cosmetics etc.

Desirable Criteria

• Ability to multi-task and priorities workloads.
• Effective at engaging with stakeholders and suppliers.
• Track record in working collaboratively in cross-functional teams.
• Confident in communicating scientific subjects to both expert and lay audiences, verbally and in writing.

Our AI Usage Guidelines

We welcome the use of AI tools during your application process, as they can assist you in crafting your CV and personal statement. However, it is crucial that all submitted information is factually accurate and genuinely represents your own ideas and experiences. 

Your application may be rejected, and you could face disciplinary measures if plagiarism is detected. Plagiarism includes presenting others ideas and experiences, or content generated by artificial intelligence (AI), as your own.

The information in your CV and personal statement will be verified during both the sift stage and your interview.

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

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

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

• Applying Technical Knowledge

• 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%

We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.

Please refer to the attached candidate pack for further information on our benefits.

Job contact :

• Name : Jas Chahal
• Email : [email protected]

Recruitment team

• Email : [email protected]