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Senior Official Controls Auditor
Job summary
The Food Standards Agency (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.
Join the Food Standards Agency's Strategy and Regulatory Compliance Division and play a key role in protecting consumers by providing independent assurance on the effectiveness of food and feed official controls. This is a unique opportunity to lead audits, influence regulatory compliance, work with a wide range of stakeholders, and contribute to ensuring that food is safe and is what it says it is.
Job description
The FSA is seeking two Senior Official Controls Auditors to join the Strategy and Regulatory Compliance Division, which is responsible for ensuring that the delivery of official food and feed controls is carried out effectively.
As a Senior Official Controls Auditor, you will be responsible for delivering a range of audits of organisations responsible for food and feed official controls in England, primarily local authorities. Through your work, you will help ensure the FSA maintains effective oversight of controls operating across the food supply chain, supporting our strategic objective of protecting consumers and maintaining confidence in food.
You will work closely with colleagues in local authority food safety and trading standards services, devolved administrations, and other government departments that share responsibility for ensuring consumers are protected.
As part of a large and dynamic division, you may also contribute to wider priority workstreams throughout the year. This will provide valuable opportunities to work with delivery and policy colleagues across the division, develop your expertise, and gain a broader understanding of how official controls are delivered and regulated.
There may also be opportunities to support additional audit programmes delivered on behalf of other government departments, subject to appropriate training and competency requirements.
The successful candidates will:
- deliver audits of competent authorities and other relevant delivery partners responsible for official food and feed controls, ensuring compliance with legislative requirements.
- identify areas for improvement and any corrective actions arising from audit findings, monitoring progress against agreed timescales and taking prompt action where high-risk issues are identified, including escalating matters through established processes where appropriate.
- draft and publish comprehensive audit and summary reports on the effectiveness of food and feed law services, ensuring they meet the required quality standards. The role also contributes to the production of annual audit performance reports for the FSA Executive, Board and Audit Committee.
- contribute to audit planning activities by identifying potential audit themes and leading the development of new audit programmes. This includes producing terms of reference and supporting documentation while working closely with policy and delivery teams to ensure audit objectives align with strategic priorities.
- support the review and continuous improvement of audit processes and procedures, collaborating with colleagues across England, Wales and Northern Ireland to ensure a consistent and effective approach.
- provide recommendations that support the development of the FSA's compliance and enforcement approach, contributing specialist expertise to policy development and identifying opportunities to strengthen food and feed law enforcement.
This role offers an excellent opportunity to influence regulatory compliance at a national level, develop specialist auditing expertise, and work with a diverse range of stakeholders across the food system. You will be part of a collaborative team committed to protecting consumers and ensuring confidence in food standards across England.
Working pattern guidance
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 30 hours per week.
Person specification
Please read the attached Job Description to discover further details about the role, 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.
Qualifications
What are the specific qualifications? A qualification or training in auditing e.g. Quality Assurance Management, ISO Lead Assessor course or HACCP auditing, IRCA Registration.And at least one of the following qualifications:
A Certificate of Registration of the Environmental Health Registration Board; the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Diploma in Environmental Health or equivalent qualification.
Or
A Diploma in Trading Standards or its antecedents; or the full Diploma in Consumer Affairs including the Food and Agriculture paper.
Or
A member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (MRCVS) who holds Official Controls Qualification (Veterinary).
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Working Together
- Making Effective Decisions
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- A qualification or training in auditing e.g. Quality Assurance Management, ISO Lead Assessor course or HACCP auditing, IRCA Registration AND at least one of the following qualifications detailed within the advert.
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £42,596, Food Standards Agency contributes £12,340 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).Please take a look at the Working for the Food Standards Agency , Civil Service Careers to find out about the benefits the FSA has to offer
Please also refer to the Terms and Conditions statement attached to this advert.
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, Experience and Technical skills.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.
- A qualification or training in auditing e.g. Quality Assurance Management, ISO Lead Assessor course or HACCP auditing, IRCA Registration.
And at least one of the following qualifications:
- A Certificate of Registration of the Environmental Health Registration Board; the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Diploma in Environmental Health or equivalent qualification
Or
- A Diploma in Trading Standards or its antecedents; or the full Diploma in Consumer Affairs including the Food and Agriculture paper.
Or
- A member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (MRCVS) who holds Official Controls Qualification (Veterinary).
If you cannot answer yes to this question – 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
- Lead criteria: Proven experience in leading the planning, delivery and monitoring of official controls in relation to food hygiene and / or food standards / and or animal feed / welfare, in accordance with national guidance and legislation.
- Experience of writing and presenting management reports or updates to a variety of stakeholders. The ability to effectively communicate complex and challenging concepts to both internal and external audiences, both verbally and in writing.
- Experience of undertaking the delivery of audits to recognised standards within the field of regulatory enforcement.
- Experience and/or knowledge of working or frequently liaising with local government departments and services.
Technical
- A qualification or training in auditing e.g. Quality Assurance Management, ISO Lead Assessor course or HACCP auditing, IRCA Registration.
And at least one of the following qualifications;
- A Certificate of Registration of the Environmental Health Registration Board; the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Diploma in Environmental Health or equivalent qualification.
Or
- A Diploma in Trading Standards or its antecedents; or the full Diploma in Consumer Affairs including the Food and Agriculture paper.
Or
- A member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (MRCVS) who holds Official Controls Qualification (Veterinary).
Lead Criteria An initial sift will take place on the Lead Criteria.
In the event that we receive a large number of applications, the minimum pass mark for the Lead Criteria may be raised at shortlisting stage. Candidates who apply under the DCS, GPTW or RIS schemes and meet the minimum requirements will be unaffected by the pass mark raise.
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
- Working Together
- Making Effective Decisions
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
Full details of the positive indicators being assessed for each Behaviour can be found in the Job Description.
Assessment exercise
As part of the interview process, you will be asked to prepare a seen presentation. Further information will be provided to you in the invitation to interview email. The presentation will assess you on the following Experience Criteria of the job role: “Experience of writing and presenting management reports or updates to a variety of stakeholders. The ability to effectively communicate complex and challenging concepts to both internal and external audiences, both verbally and in writing”.
Expected Timeline
Advert closes: 02 August 2026
Sift: Expected to take place week commencing 03 August 2026
Final panel interview: Expected to take place week commencing 17 or 24 August 2026
Interviews will be held remotely via MS Teams. (If you do not have the Microsoft Teams application installed on your computer, you can join on the web without installing the application).
Please note that indicated dates may be subject to change.
Childcare Vouchers
Any move to the Food Standards Agency 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.
Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk
Reserve List
A reserve list will be held for a period of up to 12 months from which further appointment may be made.
Candidates that do not pass the interview but have demonstrated an acceptable standard may be considered for similar roles at a lower grade.
Visa Sponsorship
Please note that the FSA does not offer visa sponsorship and cannot provide advice on visa applications.
Making a complaint
The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.
If you feel your application has not been treated fairly in accordance with the principles, and you wish to make a complaint, you should email the FSA’s Director of People at jo.bushnell@food.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response, you can contact the Civil Service Commission.
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
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 : Tracy Hardy
- Email : tracy.hardy@food.gov.uk