Recruitment Process

Recruitment into the NSTA is underpinned by three key principles, therefore appointments will be made on the following basis:

• The NSTA will seek to recruit and develop the talent it needs to fulfil our statutory duties to the industry and as a UK Public Body. We target internal or external markets as appropriate.
• We are committed to recruiting in line with our values, legislation and best practice. We know that a truly diverse workforce is crucial for the NSTA, and work to ensure any barriers to genuinely open and fair selection are removed.
• As part of our commitment to developing internal talent, and ensuring succession capability, we will, by exception, utilise managed moves.

You will be asked during the application process to provide examples that demonstrate your skills and abilities against the specified competencies and specialist skills, as stated in the Job Profile.  The maximum word count for each competence is 250 words and you should use the STAR methodology. 

Please click on the diagram below to learn more about STAR methodology.

The information you provide will be assessed during the short-listing stage and if you are invited to attend an interview, the indicated competence areas will be discussed further.  If you do not provide examples using the STAR methodology your application will not be considered.  Please also enclose your CV as part of your application. 

Applications sent directly or from agencies will not be accepted. Candidates are advised to use the following guidance when developing their CV:

What to include:

• Details of your current and/or previous roles covering the last 5 years including responsibilities and achievements,
• Details of any relevant qualifications, experience, memberships which are relevant to the role

What not to include:

• Personal data such as age, disability, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, religion or belief, race, colour, working pattern etc
• Dates related to roles or qualifications, but you can include duration of employment etc in months/years.
  

Selection Process

There are normally two stages of selection within our recruitment process. The first stage identifies those applicants who appear, from the information stated in their application, to be best suited to the role’s requirements. This is evaluated based on experience, criteria match and competency responses.  Only these applicants will go through to the second stage of our selection process and be invited to attend an interview. 

Interviews comprise of a range of competence and skill-set questions. Depending on the role, candidates may also be required to complete a technical assessment or give a presentation on a specific topic.

Candidates who pass the required standard for the role may be placed on a reserve list, should the successful candidate not take up appointment or further opportunities arise soon, (normally this is a period of six months). Where this is the case candidates will receive confirmation in writing. 

We frequently receive high numbers of applications for our vacancies which means that, unfortunately, it is not possible to provide detailed feedback on your application, if it is unsuccessful, and you are not subsequently invited to interview.

Please note that we do not reimburse interview expenses.

Pre-appointment Enquiries

If you are successful at interview, the NSTA is required to carry out pre-appointment enquiries to ensure that you are qualified for appointment. These include identification, nationality, references and security checks.

All posts require you to undergo Baseline Personnel Security Standard checks. Some roles also require a higher level of security clearance. This will either be Counter Terrorist Checks (CTC), Security Clearance (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV). The level required for the role will be detailed in the Job Profile. The Baseline Personnel Security Standard is a basic recruitment check to verify your identity, nationality and any unspent convictions. It seeks to prevent identity fraud, illegal working and deception generally. It requires the presentation of personal documentation, a criminal record check and the receipt of employment or educational references covering the past 3 years. As part of any higher level security clearance process you will be asked to complete a security questionnaire which will explain the government’s vetting policy. Appointments will be conditional until the successful applicant is cleared.