Year-In Industry Placement Programme

Details

Reference Number

456444

Salary

£27,962 - £32,372

National Salary: £27,962 London Salary: £32,372

Job Grade

Administrative Officer

Contract Type

Fixed term, Loan, Secondment

Length of Employment

12 months

Business Area

DBT - CMRR - Office for Product Safety and Standards

Type of Role

Operational Delivery

Working Pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

Number of Jobs Available

6

Location

Offices in London, Birmingham and Teddington

About the Job

Job Summary

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. 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.

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

Job Description

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) Year-In Industry Placement programme is aimed at students who are in their penultimate year of university.

As a placement student, there will be exciting opportunities for you to collaborate with specialists, undertake research and contribute to a range of different projects that have real world impact. This may include testing products, drafting briefs, undertaking literature reviews, analysing data, and providing evidence-based insights. You will also gain experience of working for the Department for Business and Trade and the wider Civil Service.

We want people who are keen to make a significant contribution to the government’s role in product safety regulation.

You’ll also show:

• Good judgement and ask questions to develop your understanding.
• Resilience and the ability to adapt while working in a fast-paced and changing environment.
• An ability to use data to put together evidence-based suggestions to questions or problems.
• The ability to persuade and influence others, and work with others to find solutions that meet the priorities in OPSS.

Person Specification

We are looking for placement students who can clearly demonstrate the OPSS values and show a genuine passion for gaining practical experience in product regulation throughout their application.

Essential Criteria

The below criteria are essential and will be assessed at application stage.

Applicants are encouraged to provide examples that reflect the following behaviours:

• Making Effective Decisions - Use evidence and knowledge to support accurate, expert decisions and advice. Carefully consider alternative options, implications and risks of decisions.
• Working Together - Form effective partnerships and relationships with people both internally and externally, from a range of diverse backgrounds, sharing information, resources and support.
• Communicating and Influencing - Communicate purpose and direction with clarity, integrity and enthusiasm. Respect the needs, responses and opinions of others.

We would love to hear from you if you are in your penultimate year of university, with the option to undertake a year out in industry. We have a wide range of placement opportunities available and are particularly keen to hear from students studying Data Science, Computer Science, Economics, Mathematics, English, History, Politics, Electrical and Mechanical engineering, Chemical Science, and Law.

Benefits

• 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 in 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.

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.

Selection Process Details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

After submission of the first stage of your application, you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Judgement Test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application.

Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the tests is 23:55 on 10/05/2026. If you fail to complete the online test before the deadline, your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website.

Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-person interviews by exception.

To apply for this post, you will be asked to complete the following as part of the online application:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Provide employment history that relates to the essential criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 2 x A4 pages.
• A Personal Statement of up to 750 words, explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in relation to the essential criteria in the person specification.

Your application will be sifted against the Experience criteria of the Civil Service Success Profiles.

We aim to sift both the CV and the Personal Statement but in the event of a large number of applicants, an initial short sift may be conducted on the Personal Statement only. Candidates who pass the initial sift of the Personal Statement will either be progressed to a full sift where the CV is then assessed, or progressed straight to further assessment/interview.

Candidates who pass the sift will be invited to interview, where we will assess you on the Success Profiles elements of Behaviours, Experience and Strengths.

As part of your interview, you will be asked to deliver a short oral presentation; details will be provided prior to your interview.

It is likely that the sift will take place 1-2 weeks after the closing date and interviews 3-5 weeks after the closing date, though this is subject to change.

Online Open Session

The OPSS Programmes Team will host an online session, "OPSS Year in Industry Placement: Unlocking Your Path to Success." This session will provide an overview of the programme and the assessment process, as well as insights from current placement students.

The session will take place on Microsoft Teams on Monday 27 April 2026, 16:00 to 17:00.

Reasonable Adjustments

We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to our process. In order to request an adjustment, complete the 'Assistance required' section on the 'Additional requirements' page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process.

Alternatively contact the Government Recruitment Service at DBTrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the provided email address.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard checks.

Existing Civil Servants and applicants from accredited NDPBs are eligible to apply, but will only be considered on loan basis (Civil Servants) or secondment (accredited NDPBs). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.

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)
• 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

The Civil Service Code 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.

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.