About the job

Job summary

APHA is a brilliant place to work where our people feel valued, have a voice and can be their authentic selves. We value difference and diversity, not only because we believe it is the right thing to do, but because it will help us be more innovative and make better decisions.

Are you passionate about protecting animal and plant health to benefit people, the economy, and the environment?  

Are you caring, conscientious and an excellent team worker?

Do you enjoy working outside? 

If the answer is ‘yes’, come and work for APHA!

Locations:

We have numerous vacancies for permanent and fixed term appointments at the following locations:

Permanent vacancies based at the location detailed, covering the following areas:

Wallingford – Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire (North)

Winchester – Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Berkshire (South)

Exeter/Starcross - Devon

Preston – Lancashire, Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield

Bury St Edmunds – Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire

Welwyn Garden City / Chelmsford – Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Greater London (North)

Fixed-Term appointments with a current end date of 31st March 2025 based at the location detailed, covering the following areas:

Crewe – Cheshire, Manchester (airport included), Bolton, Liverpool, The Wirral

Lincoln – Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire

Leicester – Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire

Stafford - Warwickshire

Worcester / Shrewsbury – Worcestershire, West Midlands, Herefordshire & Shropshire

All posts will be offered in merit order based on location and business need. If permanent vacancies are not available in your preferred location, we may offer you a fixed-term appointment in merit order based on your location preference.

Other office locations are:

Aston Down, Bakewell, Canterbury, Carlisle, Dover, Heathrow, Hexham, Horley, Launceston, Newcastle, Nottingham, Penrith, Polwhele, Sevington, Skipton, and Trowbridge.

There are no current vacancies at these offices, but we encourage you to apply as future vacancies in these areas will be filled using the reserve list from this campaign. Please select your location preference at the application stage. 

As part of the role, you will be expected to regularly travel and carry out the duties outlined in the Job Description. 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. 
 
Currently APHA have adopted a blended approach to working, allowing for a mix of some home working and office attendance.

Candidate Drop in Sessions

Whilst the advert and accompanying Information Pack provide the essential detail, APHA will be holding a remote drop-in session whilst the advert is live. This session will be an opportunity to ask questions related to the job and the application process.

Thursday 7th December 2023 14:00 - 14:45

Thursday 14th December 2023 14:00 - 14:45

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

Job description

Working as part of a Technical Field Team, you will be instrumental in helping to safeguard animal health and welfare. Through engaging with inspections, surveillance and collecting samples, you will be contributing to the control and eradication of disease to protect both the economy and food security.

As a - Technical Field Officer your duties will include, but not limited to the following:

• Blood sampling of livestock species including cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry (after suitable training)
• Collecting blood samples from bTB breakdown cattle herds, including suckler, beef and dairy herds
• Conduct documentation inspections on animal identification, animal movement, breeding, medicine and other written or electronic records for audit and disease control and surveillance purposes
• Collect samples for National Surveillance Schemes including feed samples from farms, feed mills and feed merchants
• Collection of samples on behalf of VMD
• Collect samples and information for disease surveys including brucella and salmonella
• Manage compliance inspections for premises handling animal by-products e.g., rendering plants, composting sites, hunt kennels and knackers' yards
• Play an active part in contingency planning so the agency is able to respond to outbreaks of exotic notifiable disease and other emergencies
• Undertake allocated rostered out of hours on-call duties to deal with incidents and to support disease outbreak reports
• During outbreaks of notifiable disease, participate as directed to contribute to the control and the eradication of the disease including taking part in rosters for detached duty to other parts of Great Britain
• Working with a diverse team, both locally and across Great Britain, including other technical colleagues, veterinary surgeons and scientists during notifiable disease outbreaks
• Risk based visits to premises for egg marketing inspections including egg producers, egg packing stations, wholesalers, hatcheries and processing/boiling plants
• Responsible for enforcement of regulations including Eggs and Chicks (England) 2009
• Ensuring the standards are being met, in particularly the quality and weight and grading of eggs and that the labelling of containers and packaging are being complied with
• Carrying out complex record reconciliation, audit trails at packing centres and production units to check claims made on egg packs/labelling as well as egg production/sales levels

Person specification

We are looking for candidates who have not applied for a previous Animal Health Officer Campaign or do not hold Reserve Candidate status (which is less than 9 months old) for the Animal Health Officer role. If your reserve status is due to end in 3 months you are advised to reapply via this campaign.

Essential experience and skills required:

• Have an agricultural background, an agricultural qualification or can demonstrate knowledge of the agricultural industry.
• Have high standards of written and spoken English and can communicate effectively about animal health topics with all stakeholders including customers, service users and colleagues.
• Have knowledge of basic Health and Safety and an understanding of safe working on farms and with livestock and poultry
• Are able to work alone or as part of team, to take responsibility and remain positive and focused in the face of challenge
• Have experience with excellent record keeping, auditing processes and maintaining quality.

Learning and Development  

Everyone in APHA is supported to develop their skills and capabilities. When you join the Directorate, you will be welcomed into your new team through an induction programme that will provide you with helpful information on the civil service, our work and our policies. Your line manager will also work with you to establish your priorities for the year, developing a performance, learning and development plan tailored to you and your role.  

In return for your dedication, we will support your ongoing personal development through appropriate training. Inclusion, support and the development of our people matter to us. We aim to support the career and personal wellbeing of everyone in APHA. 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £27,470, Animal and Plant Health Agency contributes £7,444 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, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

Application Process

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and a Personal Statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

The CV will ask for your Job History, Qualifications and Past Skills and Experience.

Your personal statement should be no more than 500 words demonstrating how you meet the responsibilities and technical requirements for this role as outlined in the advert.

Sift

A sift will be conducted using the personal statement and the CV. Candidates who pass the sift will be progressed straight to assessment/interview.

The sift is due to be completed once the vacancy is closed and results released shortly afterwards

Interview

If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on Behaviours, Strengths and Technical skills. 

An additional exercise or presentation may also be assessed. Further details will be provided to candidates successful at sift.

All interviews will be held online using MS Teams.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Location

Please be aware that this role(s) will be contractually based in a Defra group workplace/office. 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.

Internal (core Defra) employees can apply for this role and choose to remain in their current location or to be based in one of the advertised Defra hub locations. All other applicants will be based in one of the advertised Defra hub locations. Defra’s current policy is that no more than 40% of the working week should be spent at home, averaged over a month unless exceptional circumstances apply and/or the post-holder is a contractual home worker. Office attendance will enable candidates to connect with their colleagues, as required by their role and business team needs. Travel and subsistence will not be paid for travel to a base office location.

Reserve List

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

Salary 

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

New entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.

Fixed Term Appointments

Of the 36 posts we have 26 Fixed-term Appointments available as Technical Field Officers on the England Field Delivery Team 

These posts require temporary cover, for no more than 14 months, pending potential approval of a permanent post. The fixed term will end (if the post has been approved as permanent) when the permanent recruitment completes or will end on the fixed term end date if the post has not been approved as permanent.

These posts will therefore begin from the candidate's start date and end on 31/03/2025

Visa Sponsorship Statement

Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship.

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 may be 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. 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.