Plant Health & Seeds Inspector - South West

Can you help us protect the biosecurity of Great Britain, safeguarding plant health for the benefit of people, the environment and the economy?

If you have a passion for plants and the environment, with good communication and organisational skills, and an eye for detail, we want to hear from you. We’ll support you throughout your career development and provide extensive training so you’ll also need an enthusiasm to learn.

We have a number of exciting opportunities to join our team of Plant & Bee Health Inspectors delivering physical inspections of plants, associated products and produce across the region.

Working as part of a regional team, on-site inspections may include visiting farms, nurseries, garden centres and markets, as well as conducting wider environmental surveys, so you should be happy to work outdoors all year round.

This advert is to recruit in the following areas:

• Exeter - contractually based at Starcross
• Gloucester - contractually based at Aston Down but the main delivery areas will be Swindon and Bristol.
• Winchester - contractually based at Itchen Abbas. For one of the posts the main delivery area will be West Sussex.

The role

Supported by your line manager, your main duties will include, but are not limited to:

• Physical inspection of plants, seeds, planting material and produce, agricultural crops and machinery, looking for quarantine plant pests and diseases and collecting samples where appropriate. This may include taking action to control potential outbreaks
• Perform statutory duties, enforce marketing standards, ensure compliance with regulations
• Build client relationships and manage customer expectations, in line with policies, targets and legislation. Be prepared to undertake difficult conversations with customers, stakeholders and/or delivery partners
• Complete administrative duties accurately and in accordance with standard operating procedures, agency guidelines and within established timescales

For a more detailed description of the role and responsibilities, please see the attached Further Information.

Successful candidates will be required to:

• Be committed to training and continued development in service delivery
• Communicate complex issues clearly to customers, both internally & externally in English
• Work collaboratively in a high-pressure, time sensitive environment with delivery partners
• Work safely by adhering to all APHA health and safety policies

We will offer you:

• Full training and support to become an inspector and carry out your duties
• Ongoing career development, which may include insight, technical and professional development. This may be provided with partners or in-house and you will have access to Civil Service-wide learning and development opportunities