About the job

Job summary

Are you considering a change in your veterinary career?

Are you looking for a career with variety and flexibility in the work you do?

Do you want a role safeguarding standards of animal health and welfare, protecting Great Britain from exotic notifiable diseases?

Many of the skills and competences already acquired in veterinary positions elsewhere will be applicable and valued in veterinary roles within APHA.  Why not explore a change, a new veterinary path, one that can have far reaching impacts?

We have a number of vacancies in the wonderful county of Devon, across the following offices: Exeter, Launceston, Polwhele and Starcross. For insight into what working for APHA in Devon could look like, click here to read our Spring Focus on Devon

 Why not join us and make a difference?

We offer first class flexible working benefits, a culture encouraging inclusion and diversity, excellent employee well-being support and a civil service pension scheme, as well as 25 days leave, rising to 30 days after 5 years of service.

A career in the Civil Service is like no other. If you’re looking to join a world class team and develop your career with us, then the Civil Service is the place for you!  

Want to learn more?

Whilst the advert provides the essential details, we will also be holding virtual drop-in sessions. These sessions will be an opportunity to ask questions related to the job and the application process.

To join the relevant session, click on the link below:

Saturday 6th April 2024 @10:00

For any additional queries, or for those unable to attend a drop-in session please raise enquiries via: hrresourcingsupport@defra.gov.uk

You can also visit APHA's Veterinary Careers website for further information. Home - Careers as an APHA Vet (aphavets.co.uk)

Job description

This Vet role involves a wide range of work including, but not limited to, the following:

• Responding to incidents and outbreaks of animal notifiable diseases;

• Investigating animal diseases in farm livestock by;

- undertaking on-farm and field investigations
- examining and inspecting farmed animals to support differential diagnosis of disease
- conducting post-mortem examinations and collecting samples for laboratory testing when appropriate
- collecting and evaluating history and relevant data to support decisions
- collate and report findings and make recommendations

• Welfare investigations, both reactive and surveillance work. Including the welfare of farm animals during transport, at time of killing and when on agricultural holdings
• Inspection, approval and audit of premises at a range of settings, from zoos to pet food processing plants, and many other locations
• Ensuring compliance, with statutory standards, of animal health and welfare
• Building collaborative relationships with a range of valuable partners, including local authorities, industry representatives and non-APHA veterinary surgeons
• A reasonable amount of duty and out-of-hours rotas are expected to be covered

All posts will be offered in merit order based on location and business need.

As part of the role, you will be expected to regularly travel and carry out the duties outlined above. During certain circumstances (e.g. National disease outbreaks) staff will be expected to work on detached duty at other locations, these requests will depend on business need. The post holder will occasionally be required to work from other locations in the delivery area.

Person specification

We are looking for candidates who;

• are able to engage with customers and stakeholders confidentially and professionally
• have some experience of working in teams of various skills and disciplines
• are confident with responsibility in the face of challenge and can adapt to new situations flexibly
• are able to produce reports to communicate veterinary knowledge
• are comfortable with excellent record keeping and understand the importance of audits and processes that maintain quality outputs
• have some practical experience in veterinary work for example, handling of large animals.  We're also looking for proficiency with routine techniques and skills which will enable you to develop as a State Veterinarian.

Support and Training

All successful candidates will be provided with an extensive programme of training and support as part of their induction into working with APHA.

Learning and development tailored to your role. APHA appreciates the varying level of experiences and skills successful candidates will hold on joining the agency. Training material is designed to ensure all new entrants, to APHA, build suitable confidence and competencies to deliver the work.

New veterinary staff will be part of regional, country and GB wide teams who will be provided with widespread support on all facets of APHA work.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £39,439, Animal and Plant Health Agency contributes £10,649 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

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

Application Process

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV, including job history and qualifications, together with a personal statement.

For your CV, outline your current and previous relevant roles and the length of time in each role. Provide a brief description of your duties and responsibilities.

Please provide a personal statement detailing how your skills and experience make you suitable for the role. Consider the items included within the job description and person specifications to provide evidence of how you meet these. Your statement should be no longer than 500 words.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Sift

Candidates who pass the sift will be progressed to interview.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Interview

If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on the Behaviour, Communicating and Influencing. This will be assessed through a presentation. Further details on this will be provided alongside the invite to interview.

In addition, you will be assessed on the technical elements of the role;

• Understanding the threats of notifiable animal exotic diseases in GB
• Animal welfare issues in GB agriculture
• Understanding of the control of endemic animal diseases in GB, such as TB
• Veterinary Knowledge

You will also be asked questions about your experience.

Location

As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s)

Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

Successful applicants currently employed by the hiring Defra organisation for this post may choose to remain in their current contractual location or may choose to change contractual location to one of those listed above. This should be discussed and agreed prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.

Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.

The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.

Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Merit Lists

Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be posted in merit order by location. You will be asked to state your location preference on your application. 

Salary 

New entrants are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band.

This post offers the successful candidate an additional pay supplement of £3,000 upon appointment (pro rata). The supplement is paid per annum and divided as monthly payments. In addition to this, there is a further pay supplement of up to £3,000 (pro rata) which may be offered based on an annual competency assessment.

Sponsorship, Visa and Fees

We will be considering applications from outside of the UK however, the number will be strictly allocated to those candidates who meet ALL the necessary conditions governed by the Civil Service Nationality Rules which is in addition to the UK immigration rules. All candidates who want to apply for sponsorship please make sure you have read and understood the additional guidance for working in the Civil Service.

Employment into Civil Service is governed on grounds of Civil Service Nationality Rules (CSNR) and subject to UK Immigration Rules, including the new points based immigration system.

Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) is a Skilled Worker Licence sponsor and can provide Sponsorship into this role to successful candidate(s) under Standard Occupational Code 2216 Veterinarians. This role meets the salary criteria to offer a Certificate of Sponsorship. The successful candidate(s) will be granted a Certificate of Sponsorship reference number for this role from APHA and then they can apply to UK Visa and Immigration for a skilled worker visa.  They must be able to satisfy UKVI requirements as they hold the final decision on issuing the skilled worker visa.

You must be able to speak, read, write and understand English. You’ll usually need to prove your knowledge of English when you apply. As a Vet, you may need to prove that you passed an English Language assessment with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. 

Other Documentation

A criminal check will be required before APHA will apply for a certificate of sponsorship as a skilled worker and we will assist with this. This will be in addition to other documentation that you will be required to supply.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact Government Recruitment Service via defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs
• Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional

Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Criminal Record Check

If successful and transferring from another Government Department, a criminal record check maybe carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Internal Fraud Database Check

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to Defra from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

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.