Veterinary Investigation Officer (VIO) APHA Shrewsbury SD22/225

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, and works on behalf of the Scottish Government and Welsh Government. Our diverse teams of over 2,000 skilled and committed professionals come together to provide research, advice, and support to UK Government for safeguarding animal, public and plant health for benefit of the environment and economy.

The overarching purpose of the role is to provide veterinary surveillance and disease investigation in order to safeguard animal health and welfare, public health, protect the economy and enhance food security, in support of GB Governments’ policies. In this role you will contribute to a diagnostic service investigating animal diseases and welfare primarily in farmed livestock and wildlife.

The role aims to detect notifiable disease, new and re-emerging threats, food safety incidents and zoonotic disease. You will carry out post-mortem examinations and assign relevant laboratory tests interpreting and reporting findings and giving relevant advice to private veterinarians. Farm visits may also be required. Being able to communicate effectively with famers, private veterinarians, stakeholders, and policy makers is essential in this role. You will be expected to work to quality standards and observe stringent health and safety requirements. Full training will be given, and you will be encouraged to develop your expertise.

To carry out any duties commensurate with the grade and purpose of the post including, but not limited to, the following:

Disease Investigation, Welfare and Diagnostics

To investigate animal diseases and welfare cases in primarily farmed livestock, wildlife, and other species in order to detect notifiable disease, new and re-emerging threats, food safety incidents and zoonotic disease, and to provide a diagnostic and investigative service. This will be achieved within the quality system by:

• Conducting post-mortem examinations.
• Humanely euthanising animals where necessary.
• Commissioning appropriate laboratory tests.
• Interpreting results.
• Reporting conclusions.
• Carrying out on-farm and field investigations.

Surveillance

Gathering of information, data, and intelligence to enable understanding of the patterns and trends of endemic diseases and the timely detection and characterisation of new and re-emerging animal-related threats, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Collecting relevant information and data.
• Identifying (and where relevant, report and escalate) incidents which may represent statutory, new, re-emerging or changing disease patterns.
• Collating, interpreting, and reporting surveillance information and data.
• Work collaboratively to deliver leading edge veterinary research, surveillance, consultancy, and laboratory testing services through a series of integrated science programmes.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Actively engaging with private veterinary surgeons, farmers, and others to ensure the gathering and sharing of data, information and intelligence to enable understanding of the patterns and trends of endemic diseases and the timely detection of new and re-emerging animal-related threats.
• To develop effective and sustainable working relationships with end-users of APHA services, representing and promoting the interests of GB Governments to deliver agreed policy outcomes.
• To engage with animal keepers, wider industry, the veterinary profession, and other operational partners to gather data, information, and intelligence, educate, influence and provide feedback to improve the standards of animal health and welfare.
• Arrange and/or attend relevant veterinary and other meetings to participate, present and contribute to knowledge exchange.

Incident and Disease Outbreak Response

• To contribute to and participate in Delivery Area and National Contingency Planning and exercises as required.
• To ensure that professional skills are developed and maintained to undertake any allocated role(s) during incidents and emergency activities with an expectation that the roles in which individuals are specifically trained will be called upon first during outbreaks and provision of veterinary leadership and direction in the field during an emergency situation

Learning and Development

• To maintain appropriate veterinary expertise by undertaking and recording Continuing Professional Development.
• To undertake personal learning and development and contribute to organisational learning, supporting continuous improvement. This will include all relevant mandatory training and participation in training/teaching of colleagues and other staff as appropriate.

Safety, Health and Wellbeing (SHaW)

• To implement APHA SHaW policy and procedures as relevant to the role including compliance with Occupational Health policies essential for delivery of the role such as screening and prophylactic/preventive programmes.
• To carry out appropriate risk assessments when carrying out veterinary duties escalating risks as required.

Compliance and Enforcement

• To represent the Agency, engaging with animal keepers, wider industry and operational partners to gather intelligence, and educate and influence to improve the level of understanding, compliance and safe behaviour.
• To demonstrate an understanding and application of legislation in line with policy and best regulatory practice in order to positively influence behaviours while minimising burdens on industry.
• To use veterinary expertise to support interventions as necessary, including the gathering, interpretation and presentation of evidence, appearing as a witness of fact or as a professional witness when required, and on occasions providing expert witness testimony if appropriately qualified.

Duty and Out-of-Hours Rotas

• In an emergency situation to participate in veterinary, and where applicable, management duty rotas, and out-of-hours rotas as required. An allowance is payable for this work.

Quality

• To assist the Head of Department and Quality Managers in maintaining an efficient and effective quality management system meeting the requirements of third-party accreditation and certification (e.g. ISO 17025, ISO 9001).
• Work to agreed quality standards and comply with instructions in the Veterinary Surveillance Instructions (VISIs) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

• A good understanding of the UK farming industry, including a sound knowledge of significant diseases and diagnostic processes across the species.
• A knowledge and experience in pathology is desirable.
• Good written and oral communication skills. The post holder will have to be comfortable with communicating across people and groups with a range of scientific knowledge.
• Well-developed interpersonal, decision-making skills.
• Evidence of collaborative working with different teams of people.
• Able to maintain and assure appropriate levels of quality assurance for scientific evidence and advice.
• Highly motivated, corporate, self-aware with high inner resilience and calm under pressure.
• Able to maintain a customer delivery focus at all times.
• Knowledge of Government scanning surveillance and threat detection, and an understanding of how data are gathered to provide surveillance intelligence, including sources of threat data and information
• A strategic thinker with diagnostic, analytical and creative problem-solving abilities.

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing

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

• Applicable UK farm animal knowledge and farm animal veterinary experience
• Veterinary knowledge (animal diseases and case studies)
• In-tray exercise
• Presentation demonstrating veterinary knowledge based on a given veterinary scenario.

We only ask for evidence of these technical skills on your application form:

• Applicable UK farm animal knowledge and farm animal veterinary experience

In return for your dedication, we will support your ongoing personal development through appropriate training. Inclusion, support and the development of our people matter to us. We aim to support the career and personal wellbeing of everyone in APHA. Our benefits include generous annual leave, flexible working a contributory pension, staff bonuses and recognition, salary sacrifice benefit options, and an employee discount scheme.

This post offers the successful candidate the opportunity to receive an additional pay supplement of £3,000 upon appointment. There is a further pay supplement up to £3,000 which may be offered based on candidate’s annual competency assessment. These allowances do not form part of the Terms of Employment.

New entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.

Pro-rata salary and allowance if on a Job Share

Job contact :

Name :
Steve Jacklin
Email :
steve.jacklin@apha.gov.uk

Recruitment team

Email :
defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk