Principal Environmental Health Officer

Join our energetic and collaborative Food and Safety Team, where your ideas will shine, and your voice will be heard. Make an impact alongside a group of passionate professionals who thrive on teamwork and celebrate success together.

Coventry is a great place to enhance your professional skills. The Food and Safety Team is responsible for administering all requirements under food and health and safety law including inspections, complaint investigations, and accident investigations. We also administer the Safety Advisory Group to support safe events in the city.

We pride ourselves on providing a high-quality, customer-focused, and cost-effective service that ensures the Council’s vision of working together to improve our city and the lives of those who live, work and study here is realised.

We value diverse perspectives and experiences and are striving to create a workplace culture that is inclusive, is accepting of all and is free from discrimination and bias.

We are based within the city centre, in the One Friargate office building across the way from Coventry train station. We embrace flexible working practices and empower you to manage your working day and location based on your workload and service area delivery requirements.

Our Values:

1. Open and fair: We are fair, open, and transparent.
2. Nurture and develop: We help and encourage everyone to be their best and do their best.
3. Engage and empower: We talk and listen to others, working together as one.
4. Create and innovate: We embrace new ways of working to continuously improve.
5. Own and be accountable: We work together to deliver the best services for our residents.
6. Value and respect: We put diversity and inclusion at the heart of all we do.

What is the job role? As our Principal Environmental Health Officer, you will work closely with the Food and Safety Manager to oversee the delivery of the Food and Safety service, lead innovation and ensure the quality and performance of the team. You will have the opportunity to shine and make a significant contribution to Coventry’s growth and success.

You will represent the service at a middle management level, provide expert advice and help shape the future and strategic direction of the team whilst also getting involved in more complex work.

Who are we looking for? Up for the challenge and the opportunity to impress and progress your career? If so, then come and join us if you are ready to take on new challenges and elevate our diverse team with your unique expertise and dedication!

We are looking for a qualified and experienced Environmental Health Practitioner who has detailed knowledge of the law relating to Environmental Health issues, investigative techniques, and the law of evidence. To apply for this role, you must possess a Degree or Diploma in Environmental Health and be EHRB registered.

Recent experience and competency in the enforcement of health and safety, food safety and food standards legislation are essential. You must also be competent under the provisions of the FLCOP to inspect high-risk food businesses for food safety and food standards and to use the full range of food safety and food standards enforcement powers open to the profession.

In addition, you must be competent to enforce the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and associated Regulations. You must be competent to serve Improvement and Prohibition Notices and have comprehensive experience in complex accident investigations.

Management experience and a management qualification are highly desirable. You will be managing a large and very busy team of officers and will also be expected to undertake and manage your own caseload of more complex matters, so an ability to prioritise workloads and meet deadlines is key. You will be a forward-thinking leader who values diversity as a core strength, creating an environment where every voice is heard and respected.

You will need to have a valid driving licence as you will be required to travel to various locations across the city.

If you need help or support to complete your application, please visit our accessibility page to see how we can assist you.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme: As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role and identify with one of the below criteria:

1. Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
2. Are currently in care or have previously been in care
3. If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

If there is any evidence of a candidate using AI to complete their application, then the application will be rejected unless the candidate can provide a justification which the Council considers to be reasonable.

Interview date(s): 14th January 2025.

If you would like to have an informal discussion about the position, please speak to Nicola Castledine, Food and Safety Manager on 024 7697 2221 or email Nicola.castledine@coventry.gov.uk

About Coventry: Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change. We are cutting-edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse.

To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.

If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards and benefits package - to find out more please visit Coventry Vacancies.