Apprentice Environmental Health Officer

Apprentice Environmental Health Officer
£28,624-£31,067

Full time

Fixed term contract (five years)

Closing date 23rd March 2025

About Us

We’re Lichfield District Council, providing vital services to 106,000 people in the heart of England. The district is a beautiful place to live and work and boasts a historic city centre with an impressive cathedral, and is just 15 miles north of Birmingham. Our Regulation & Enforcement Service brings together all our related functions including environmental health, licensing, planning enforcement and emergency planning. This is important work and every day our officers are making a positive difference to people, businesses, communities and the environment.

The Council is ambitious, innovative, and determined to be the best in all that we do. Key to this is employing the best people, and we therefore offer some attractive benefits:

• Degree apprenticeship
• Flexible working
• Free car parking
• Payment of a professional body membership fee
• Private health insurance
• Local government pension including death in service cover with a lump sum at 3 times your salary
• Up to 39 days combined annual leave and bank holiday allowance depending on length of service
• Modern offices with complementary refreshments
• Discounted membership to our two leisure centres
• Offices opposite Lichfield Train Station
• Essential car user scheme
• Annual performance bonus scheme

The Opportunity

We’re excited to offer an incredible opportunity that will likely shape the future for the successful applicant. You would be employed full time by Lichfield District Council for a period of five years, and attend the University of Wolverhampton for one day each week to complete a BSc(Hons) in Environmental Health without having to pay any tuition fees. The course is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and would lead to you becoming a Registered Environmental Health Practitioner (REnvH). The remainder of each week, over the course of the five years, would be spent rotating through placements in environmental protection, food safety, health & safety, housing, licensing, planning enforcement and emergency planning. You’ll soon have your own caseload, and you’ll develop knowledge, skills and experiences that will set you up for a successful, demanding and exciting career as an environmental health officer. On completion of the apprenticeship, we hope to offer a permanent post in one of our teams.

A typical week working across our Regulation & Enforcement Service might see you inspecting a takeaway business and awarding their food hygiene rating, questioning a suspect involved in waste offences, making enquiries into a taxi driver accused of overcharging, investigating a serious accident at a local warehouse, giving evidence in court in a prosecution against a rogue landlord, raiding a puppy farm and seizing dogs that are suffering, attending a funeral that you arranged for someone who died with no relatives, working to contain an outbreak of an infectious disease, visiting pubs and clubs to ensure they follow the conditions of their licence, inspecting a riding school to ensure it is safe and the horses are cared for, responding to a complaint about noisy neighbours, monitoring local air quality, inspecting a rented property to ensure it is free from damp and mould, and so much more. There is no other career like being an environmental health officer. The motto of our profession is amicus humani generis – friend of the human race.

Key Skills and Experience

We are looking for someone with:

• A minimum of three A levels at grade C or higher, or the equivalent.
• GCSE English and Maths at grade C or higher, or the equivalent.
• Experience, in paid or voluntary roles, of providing a service to others, of working in a team, and of independent decision making.

Further details can be found in the person specification.

Application Process

To apply, please submit your CV along with a statement outlining how you meet the criteria and why you should be considered for this opportunity. The CV and statement should be no more than two sides of A4 each. The highest scoring applicants will then be invited to an assessment centre in Lichfield that will involve exercises such as delivering a presentation, writing an essay, and taking part in a debate. This is delivered in a relaxed manner and seeks to get the best from you.

All offers of employment are conditional, subject to satisfactory clearances which include two references and evidence of your right to work in the UK. At Lichfield District Council we are committed to creating a positive environment and culture that promotes equality, diversity and inclusion. We welcome applications from all backgrounds regardless of age, disability, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, race or ethnicity, religious or spiritual belief, those with caring responsibilities. All applicants are selected based on experience, knowledge and skills which are identified in the person specification. If you need any support with completing your application, or any part of the recruitment process, please contact hr@lichfielddc.gov.uk so that we can discuss reasonable adjustments.