Seasonal Bee Inspector

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, because it helps us be more innovative and make better decisions.

We are dedicated to being an inclusive employer, offering equitable opportunities for all individuals. Our goal is to build a diverse workforce, and we hope to attract applications from all backgrounds and underrepresented groups.

Can you help us protect the biosecurity of Great Britain, safeguarding bee health for the benefit of people, the environment and the economy?

We have several exciting opportunities to join our team of Seasonal Bee Inspectors working from April until end of October each year.

As a Seasonal Bee Inspector, youwill organise and conduct a statutory inspection programme of honeybee colonies, within a geographically defined area, for bee diseases and pests currently the subject of EU or UK statutory regulations, as directed and supervised by the Regional Bee Inspector.

We are currently seeking nine seasonally employed inspectors in the following areas:

Region

Coverage Area

Office Location(s)

Posts

South West

South Devon, Cornwall & Bristol Area

Bridgwater, Bristol, Exeter and Truro (Polwhele)

1 x 37 hrs

1 x 30 hrs

South East

Kent, London & Middlesex

Heathrow and Welwyn Garden City

1 x 37 hrs

1 x 30 hrs

West

West Midlands, Shropshire & Herefordshire

Crewe, Stafford, Kidderminster, Tewkesbury, Bristol and Shrewsbury

1 x 37 hrs

1 x 27 hrs

North East

Newcastle & Tyne and Wear

Long Benton

1 x 37 hrs

Wales

Cardiff & Monmouthshire

Cardiff

1 x 30 hrs

Central

Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire & Dorset

Leicester, Welwyn Garden City, Stroud (Aston Down), Winchester (Itchen Abbas) & Weymouth

1 x 37

Please note that location will be a deciding factor when offering roles to candidates.

Job description

Key tasks are as follows:

• Inspect Bee Colonies and confirm the presence of notifiable bee pests and diseases

• Treat or destroy confirmed diseased or infested bee colonies

• Issue standstill notices or movement licences upon apiary sites from which suspect pests or diseased material has been confirmed

• Engage in the preliminary investigative stages of any subsequent enforcement action brought under UK or EU statutory regulations

• Inspect beekeepers' premises, bee colonies, equipment, and Veterinary Medicines Records to confirm compliance with current EC and UK statutory regulations relating to bee health or wider animal health legislation

• Arrange and carry out a Risk Assessed inspection programme within a specific geographical area as outlined by Regional Bee Inspector; to Inspect beekeepers' premises, bee colonies, equipment, and Veterinary Medicines Records to confirm compliance with current EC and UK statutory regulations relating to bee health or wider animal health legislation

• Engage in Contingency Planning Activities which may take place outside of the geographical area normally covered

• Collect statutory honey samples on behalf of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) as part of their statutory residue analysis programme

• Conduct preliminary field investigative and associated sampling work regarding suspected poisoning incidents on behalf of the Defra Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme (WIIS)

• Maintain accurate and up-to-date apiary inspection records and other official records in connection to the legislative inspection framework

• Engage and work with Bee farmers in respect of the Disease Assurance Scheme for Honeybees (DASH) and wider Commercial Beekeeping activities

• Engage with local beekeepers using talks, apiary demonstrations, and the distribution of management-approved advisory material

• Liaise with local beekeepers, beekeepers' associations, research institutes and other organisations associated with the beekeeping sector to further the work of the NBU

• Regularly collect and report information about local beekeeping conditions, problems, and practices to support advisory, research and development and policy advisory work

• Maintain individual Competence Standards and follow Standard Operating Procedures to meet requirements of ISO17020, attending Training and Development Events as required, which may be outside of normal working area, working hours and may require overnight stays.

• Engage in the research and development activities of APHA (e.g., application of experimental disease control treatments, and collection of samples)

The Seasonal Bee Inspector may also be required to engage in other duties, not directly associated with Bee Health organised by other APHA staff, under the management of the Head of the National Bee Unit (NBU).

Person specification

All candidates must have demonstrable skills in written and spoken English to enable effective communication about bee health topics with customers, service users and colleagues.

Essential Skills

• Must have substantial beekeeping experience to enable them to competently engage and work with commercial and hobbyist beekeepers.

• Must understand the drivers of honeybee health, the specifics of UK apiculture, and how different local environmental conditions affect bee colonies.

• Must have the experience to advise on wide ranging disease and husbandry related matters with beekeepers of all levels.

• Must be confident, self-motivated, effective communicators with experience of building customer relationships.

Key Skills

• Knowledge and experience of apiculture, pests and diseases, and a high standard of bee handling.

• Awareness of honeybee notifiable disease threats

• Ability to work alone or as part of team

• Ability to communicate at a high standard; explain, listen, persuade, be diplomatic, etc

• Competent user of Microsoft IT packages such as Outlook, SharePoint, Word, and Excel

• Have a full, valid UK driving licence (evidence to be provided at interview) must have independent access to own transport, for which business mileage will be
  reimbursed.

• Knowledge of basic Health and Safety and an understanding of safe working practices. Ensure APHA Health and Safety policies and procedures are always complied with.

This is predominantly an outdoor role where walking across farmland and standing for prolonged periods may be required. The work can involve physical demands when in the field including lifting heavy boxes and working in hot sun.

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.

Applicants will be based in one of the advertised 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.

Travel and subsistence will not be paid for travel to a base office location.

There will be an expectation that you may be required to attend other locations throughout UK on detached duty, based on business needs. Allowances will be paid subject to meeting eligibility criteria

Licences

Full UK Driving Licence

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Photographic assessment of honeybee pests, diseases, and colony conditions
• Beekeeping
• Pest Knowledge
• Disease Knowledge
• Notifiable Pests & diseases
• Communications Skills through a scenario based question.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £30,681, Animal and Plant Health Agency contributes £8,888 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an average employer contribution of 28.97%.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
• An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities tailored to your role Access to a range of retail, travel, and lifestyle employee discounts.
• A hybrid office/home based working model.

Please refer to the Candidate Information Pack for more detail around offered benefits.

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. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

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

Candidate location is a key factor in the selection process and candidate must live within the required inspection area (or be willing to relocate).

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV, personal statement (of no more than 500 words), detailing your beekeeping experience, your experience with Microsoft Office applications and suitability to the role.

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

Sift

Sift and interview dates as well as the interview location to be confirmed.

Interview

If successful at application stage, you will be invited to participate in:

A photographic assessment of your ability to identify honeybee pests, diseases, and colony conditions. This will take place on Microsoft Teams.

If successful in the photographic assessment, you will be invited to attend an interview where you will be assessed on your experience and technical skills relevant to the role described above. The interview will take place on Microsoft Teams.

If successful at interview, you will be invited to a face to face apiary assessment in York or other suitable apiary location as specified by the National Bee Unit.

Candidates must pass each stage to be able to proceed to the next. Candidates that have not passed a stage will be advised of the result by the Plant & Bee Health Recruitment Team.

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/Personal Statement.

Near Miss

Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in Defra which may be at a lower grade, but have a potential skills match.

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).

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.

Salary

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

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 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 circumstance 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-Employment.Checks@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. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

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.

All of these posts require the successful candidate to hold basic security clearance. Candidates posted to London may be subject to a higher level of clearance because of the security requirements for that location. Job offers to these posts are made on the basis of merit. Security vetting will only take place after the receipt of a job offer.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Medical

Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.

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.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : PBH Recruitment Team
• Email : phsijobs@apha.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: here

Attachments

APHA Information Pack Jul2026 Opens in new window (pdf, 1959kB)NBU Regions Opens in new window (pdf, 75kB)