EHP/ Food & Safety Officer

Overview

At Buckinghamshire Council, we are dedicated to ensuring a safe, healthy, and sustainable environment for all those that live, work and visit our area. Our Environmental Health teams, which are part of Regulatory Services, are committed to delivering high-quality services that meet the needs of our community.

We are looking for a passionate and dedicated Environmental Health Practitioner / Food & Safety Officer to join our team and make a real difference. The successful candidate will contribute to the Service’s objectives, ensuring the provision of an effective, consistent, and high-quality service that is responsive to customer demands. You will undertake inspections, investigations and other interventions to ensure regulatory compliance by our clients. This will range from providing informal advice to undertaking formal action including prosecution in accordance with Codes of Practices and guidance. You will also work proactively with the Environmental Health management team to implement changes and bring about improvements in overall service delivery.

About us

Buckinghamshire Council is a relatively new organisation that combines the strengths and expertise of the previous five councils in the county to create positive change for local people, communities, and businesses. We are firmly focused on the future and have made a clear commitment to serve residents better and to provide stronger representation for Buckinghamshire, both locally and nationally.  

About the role

• Undertake inspections, investigations, prosecutions, and regulatory activities as necessary.
• Manage a personal caseload across the range of environmental health disciplines to ensure customer satisfaction and compliance with Council policies, procedures, and performance indicators.
• Develop, implement, and review special projects and assigned tasks, including promotional, advisory, and educational activities.
• Develop and build relationships to influence and engage successfully with our partners, other agencies and clients in often complex situations.
• Maintain up-to-date professional knowledge of appropriate legal, technical, and social issues to ensure the delivery of an effective quality service.
• Provide training and support to colleagues to maintain competencies to deliver regulatory interventions.
• Respond to consultations in relation to notified public events with regard to public safety, food safety, and health and safety, including attending safety advisory group meetings for specific events.

Mobile:

A ‘mobile’ role gives you the flexibility to schedule your own diary, so you can meet with colleagues and clients in a variety of locations. You’ll access digital folders and resources on your laptop and be able to use the network wherever you are based. Working from home will be common, as well as meeting your team in the office where necessary.

About you

Qualifications:

• Diploma, Degree or MSc in Environmental Health or equivalent qualification and work experience.
• Evidence of continuing professional development in accordance with Institute guidelines.
• Evidence of compliance with the Food Standards Agency Competency Framework to undertake food control activities.

Other information

Full driving licence and use of a vehicle.

Ability to work flexibly within the service's core hours and outside of normal office hours to meet business need.

Interview date:  W/C 12th May

This post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent cautions and/or unspent convictions

For further information on how long it takes for cautions and convictions cautions to become spent, please refer to our guide on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (updated 2023) | Nacro

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Our values and culture

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

About the Business Unit

Our Communities directorate works across the county to deliver a number of the key customer-facing services that our residents, businesses and visitors rely on every day.

This directorate includes a wide range of services, including:

• collecting and disposing of waste and recycling
• maintaining our roads and Rights of Way network and parking
• ensuring the delivery of school transport, and supporting sustainable travel including public bus services and School Crossing Patrollers
• managing Country Parks
• leisure facilities, museums, theatres and libraries, as well as developing our Cultural Strategy
• Licensing, Environmental Health and Trading Standards
• Cemeteries and Crematoria

The customer is central to how we develop and deliver all of these services, which help promote our rich and vibrant culture and special environment.

We are looking for enthusiastic, ambitious and committed individuals to join our team and help us to continue to make Buckinghamshire a great place to live, work and visit. This is an exciting time for us as we bring together the services previously run by five separate councils before Buckinghamshire Council was created. Whilst making major changes to contracts affecting residents across Bucks, we continue to focus on delivering great customer service. You will join us on our journey of continuous improvement - whether that’s through developing strategies and ways of working or delivering services on the ground, every person in Communities is a valued member of the team.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.

https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/