Field Veterinary Coordinator (Wales and West of England)

Home Based – this role will cover the Wales and West region of the UK (Cluster 27 and 33).

Candidates will be required to reside within a distance of 60 miles or 90 minutes (one way) of these clusters.

Overnight stays and occasional work outside normal working hours (including night-time and weekend) will form an essential part of the role. You will also need to travel to other areas of the UK when required in order to meet business need.

Job Summary

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is a small government department with a big remit. Our mission is to ensure food is safe, that it is what it says it is, and that it is increasingly healthy and more sustainable.

One of the key functions of the FSA is the work done in slaughterhouses and meat processing plants across the country to ensure that food reaching British tables remains safe for all. Shaping and guiding the practices of food business operators (FBOs) through the delivery of official controls, the Agency carries out a range of duties within these properties.

Job Description

The FSA’s work in slaughterhouses is about more than the quality of food consumers have access to in the UK. Our organisation also plays a vital role in ensuring the wellbeing of the animals that enter our food system, ensuring that they are healthy and looked after.

You will play a key role in this process, providing expertise that supports our work across a number of different food businesses. Working across your region, you’ll offer technical advice to those delivering official controls on the FSA’s behalf. Bringing together our workers in the field, you will help to ensure that our teams achieve consistency and coherence in their work with FBOs.

The role can be challenging, and you will be confident defending difficult decisions to FBOs that may strongly disagree with your conclusions. But this position offers an opportunity for a talented veterinarian to make a direct and positive impact upon the lives of thousands of animals within our food system, whilst also supporting the FSA’s efforts to protect public health and ensure food is safe for all.

As well as being accountable for the provision of front-line veterinary support, you will work to support the ongoing modernisation and changes that are happening across our field operations units. The evolving demands of the industry means that the FSA must continuously adapt in order to ensure their work continues to deliver against our high standards, and you will play a pivotal role in ensuring our on-the-ground teams adapt to new processes.

By providing guidance to the frontline staff carrying out official controls on the FSA’s behalf, this role offers a rare chance to make a widespread and tangible difference in the quality of food in the UK. If you are excited by this opportunity and are capable of working at pace to deliver strong and sensible decisions that you will be proud to defend, apply today with this important role within the FSA.

The FSA’s work in slaughterhouses is about more than the quality of food consumers have access to in the UK. Our organisation also plays a vital role in ensuring the wellbeing of the animals that enter our food system, ensuring that they are healthy and looked after.

You will play a key role in this process, providing expertise that supports our work across a number of different food businesses. Working across your region, you’ll offer technical advice to those delivering official controls on the FSA’s behalf. Bringing together our workers in the field, you will help to ensure that our teams achieve consistency and coherence in their work with FBOs.

The role can be challenging, and you will be confident defending difficult decisions to FBOs that may strongly disagree with your conclusions. But this position offers an opportunity for a talented veterinarian to make a direct and positive impact upon the lives of thousands of animals within our food system, whilst also supporting the FSA’s efforts to protect public health and ensure food is safe for all.

As well as being accountable for the provision of front-line veterinary support, you will work to support the ongoing modernisation and changes that are happening across our field operations units. The evolving demands of the industry means that the FSA must continuously adapt in order to ensure their work continues to deliver against our high standards, and you will play a pivotal role in ensuring our on-the-ground teams adapt to new processes.

By providing guidance to the frontline staff carrying out official controls on the FSA’s behalf, this role offers a rare chance to make a widespread and tangible difference in the quality of food in the UK. If you are excited by this opportunity and are capable of working at pace to deliver strong and sensible decisions that you will be proud to defend, apply today with this important role within the FSA.

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

Qualifications

Veterinary Degree

Official Veterinarian designation

Memberships

Membership of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service
  
  

Technical skills

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

• Technical Criteria:
• Knowledge of the relevant veterinary regulatory framework (e.g. public health and/or animal welfare)
• Ability to understand and apply veterinary risk assessment
  
  

Alongside your salary of £43,223, Food Standards Agency contributes £12,521 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.

Selection process details

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

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.

• Veterinary degree
• Membership of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
• Official Veterinarian designation
• Full Driving Licence
  
  

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 and desirable criteria. (Desirable criteria will only be assessed in the event of a tie between candidates).

Experience

Essential criteria

• Evidence of strong leadership skills.
• Evidence of professional veterinary knowledge and capability relating to meat hygiene and inspection and animal welfare.
• Experience of food hygiene, animal welfare and/or food/feed law enforcement.
• Experience of building relationships and effective collaboration.
  
  

Desirable criteria (Desirable criteria will only be assessed in the event of a tie between candidates).

Experience

• Understanding of the workings of Government
  
  

Interview

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

Behaviours

• Making Effective Decisions
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service
  
  

Technical

• Knowledge of the relevant veterinary regulatory framework (e.g. public health and/or animal welfare)
• Ability to understand and apply veterinary risk assessment
  
  

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

You must ensure that any evidence submitted as part of your application or used during interview, including your CV and any statements or examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note that plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.

Expected Timeline

Advert closes: 13/04/25

Sift: Expected to take place 14/04/25

Final panel interview: Expected to take place w/c 28/04/25

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 hold a licence to sponsor any visa applications and we are unable to provide any advice about visas.

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

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

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.

Successful candidates must undergo a 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.

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 the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

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 : Jose Camara-Diaz
• Email : jose.camara-diaz@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.