Unannounced Inspector - East

Job summary

Do you have experience of conducting inspections and implementing enforcement actions within a food environment?

Can you manage multiple, and often conflicting workloads to time and of a high standard?

If so, this is an exciting opportunity to join the Food Standards Agency as an Unannounced Inspector (UAI), and we’d love to hear from you!

The FSA is 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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zffxCaPRE9o

Job description

The FSA has responsibility for the delivery of Official Controls in England & Wales in approved slaughterhouses, game handling establishments and cutting plants. Regulation (EU) 2017/625 on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, requires the nature and intensity of official controls to be based on risk.

Veterinary Auditors carry out audits in all approved establishments in the UK. These audits are announced and therefore may not necessarily show the full picture of how a Food Business Operator operates day to day.

Unannounced inspections were introduced to allow trained, authorised officers to attend approved premises, mainly stand-alone cutting plants, between audits and carry out inspections.

The East Region has a number of approved cutting plants of varying levels of compliance, that need to be inspected at different frequencies.

The Unannounced Inspector will be required to work with both, the Lead unannounced inspector (LUAI) and the Field Veterinary Coordinator (FVC) to timely deliver UAIs within the region. Communication, organisation and drawing on expert resources will be key aspects of the role in order to have a positive impact.

Where will you be working?

Within the East region we have 1 role available, please note that candidates will need to reside within one of the regions highlighted in the maps illustrated in the candidate pack. As part of your application you will be asked to confirm the postcode where you currently reside, and should you be successful at interview this information will be used to determine which area you will be based.

Applicants who wish to work part time / 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.

Due to the nature of the role we are unable to consider requests for part time working of less than 22 hours per week.

Person specification

Please read the attached Candidate Pack to discover further details about the role, our organisation, who we are looking for and the criteria we will assess against during the selection process.

We look forward to receiving your application and wish you every success.

Licences

Full UK driving licence and access to a car for work purposes

Qualifications

Qualified, or prepared to work towards the RSPH Level 4 Certificate in Unannounced Inspection of Meat Cutting Plants once in role.
Qualified, or prepared to work towards obtaining Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) Level 3 once in role.
Qualified in RSPH Level 4 diploma in Meat Inspection qualification (or equivalent).

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £30,272, Food Standards Agency contributes £8,769 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.Our candidate pack details the benefits that the FSA has to offer. Please also refer to the attached Terms and Conditions statement.

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 Behaviours and Experience.

Full details of the selection process are detailed 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.

• Qualified, or prepared to work towards the RSPH Level 4 Certificate in Unannounced Inspection of Meat Cutting Plants once in role.

• Qualified, or prepared to work towards obtaining Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) Level 3 once in role.

• Qualified in RSPH Level 4 diploma in Meat Inspection qualification (or equivalent).

• Full UK driving license and access to a car for work purposes.

If you cannot answer yes to these questions – 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

Experience

• Experience of conducting inspections and implementing enforcement actions within a food environment

• Detailed knowledge of Official Controls

• Demonstrable record of prioritising workloads and managing own schedule

• Ability to complete official reports to a high standard

Interview

If successful at shortlisting stage, you will be invited to a final interview in whichwe will assess you against the following Experience requirements of the role and Civil Service Behaviours.

Behaviours

• Making Effective Decisions

• Communicating and Influencing

• Delivering at Pace

Experience

• Experience of conducting inspections and implementing enforcement actions within a food environment

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

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 for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Expected Timeline

Advert closes: 15/02/26

Sift: Expected to take place w/c 16/02/26

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.

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 : Damien Clover-Dawson
• Email : Damien.clover-dawson@food.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : hr.recruitment.campaigns@food.gov.uk

Further information

If you wish to raise a complaint then please email hr.recruitment.campaigns@food.gov.uk in the first instance.

Attachments

Unannounced Inspector - East - Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 1005kB)Terms and Conditions as at April 2020 Opens in new window (pdf, 42kB)