People Operations Lead

Could you lead the next stage of our people operations transformation?

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is looking for an accomplished HR professional to join us as our new People Operations Lead. This is an exciting opportunity to modernise and continuously improve core people services, building strong relationships across the organisation to deliver a professional, high-quality experience for colleagues, managers and candidates throughout the employee lifecycle. You’ll work collaboratively with stakeholders at all levels to identify opportunities for improvement, strengthen operational deliver, and help shape a service that is efficient, customer focused and fit for the future.

We are 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.

In this role you will lead and inspire a multidisciplinary team, championing innovation, excellent customer service and continuous improvement. Working with senior leaders and partners across the organisation, you will turn insight into action and help us make smarter use of data and technology.

You’ll establish clear service standards, performance measures and reporting arrangements, providing an accurate picture of demand, delivery and impact. Using workforce information and customer feedback, you will identify priorities, manage operational risks and ensure policies, processes and controls remain effective, legally compliant and responsive to organisational needs.

You’ll also help shape our Workday roadmap and drive the responsible adoption of automation, AI and other people technologies, improving data quality, system integration and management information. You’ll oversee supplier performance, advise senior leaders and resolve complex operational issues.

You'll need to be a visible and approachable leader, able to develop team capability, manage resources effectively and foster an inclusive culture built on collaboration, accountability and high-quality delivery.

If this sounds like the role for you, we’d love to hear from you.

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.

Qualifications:

• Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (MCIPD)

OR

• CIPD Associate Diploma level 5 Qualified and committed to achieving Chartered Membership within 12 months of appointment

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)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Experience and Technical skills.

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.

Technical: You will be asked a question to confirm that you meet the Technical requirements of the role.

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

Technical (Lead criteria 1):

• Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (MCIPD)

OR

• CIPD Associate Diploma level 5 Qualified and committed to achieving Chartered Membership within 12 months of appointment

Experience

• (Lead criteria 2) Proven experience of leading and transforming services in a HR operational environment, with a strong track record of delivering operational excellence, developing high-performing teams, driving continuous improvement.
• Experience of developing and using HR reporting, dashboards and workforce analytics to drive performance and decision-making and influencing senior stakeholders through data-driven insight
• Strong understanding of HR operations, employment lifecycle processes and the practical application of HR policies, procedures and employment legislation.
• Experience of working with Workday or a comparable HR Information System, including delivering system enhancements and process improvements.

Lead criteria 1 and 2: An initial sift will take place on lead criteria 1. If successful at lead criteria 1 your application will be progressed to lead criteria 2 sift. If successful at lead criteria 2, your application will progress to full sift against all criteria.

In the event 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 requirement 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

• Strong understanding of HR operations, employment lifecycle processes and the practical application of HR policies, procedures and employment legislation. (Assessed via assessment exercise – details below)
• Experience of leading and transforming services in a HR operational environment, with a strong track record of delivering operational excellence, developing high-performing teams, driving continuous improvement.
• Experience of developing and using HR reporting, dashboards and workforce analytics to drive performance and decision-making and influencing senior stakeholders through data-driven insight
• Experience of working with Workday or a comparable HR Information System, including delivering system enhancements and process improvements.

Assessment exercise

We will be asking candidates to undertake a briefing exercise within the 24 hours prior to interview. Further details will be included in the invitation to interview.

Expected Timeline

Advert closes: 18 October 2026 (23:55)

Sift: Expected to take place during week commencing 19 October 2026

Final panel interview: Expected to take place during week commencing 26 October or 2 November 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.