Environmental Health Practitioner / Food Safety Officer x2 roles

Kingston Council
Kingston, Sutton
Fixed Term, Permanent
12 Months
Full Time
F/G/H/I
36
£31,440 - £49,083
Per annum
27/30 days

06/11/2022, 23:55

Week Commencing 14th November 2022

This special place in South West London between the capital and the country has been a Royal borough longer than anywhere else - it is where the first kings of England were crowned.

Today it is a vibrant and diverse borough, with a long history and strong cultural and community heritage. Kingston's riverside location, fantastic retail offer, historic market place and church, parks and gardens all make Kingston town centre the vibrant space it is, and each of our district town centres (Surbiton, New Malden, Tolworth and Chessington) have something unique to offer.

Situated in Zone 6, Kingston is among the best-connected town centres in London – with direct train links from Kingston and Surbiton stations to Clapham Junction and London Waterloo, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and Tramlink.

Kingston’s people are innovative and entrepreneurial, and have a strong sense of community pride. The borough has been home to great industry and creativity for many years, reflected in assets such as the Rose Theatre, the International Youth Arts Festival and Kingston University, which boasts more new graduate business start-ups than any other.

We have seen tremendous generosity and compassion within our communities, particularly in response to COVID-19, which is a demonstration of Kingston’s key strength. The council offers a strong level of support to vulnerable groups and those who need additional support, which has also increased significantly as a result of the pandemic. Like most places, the average age of our population is rising as more people are living longer, so we are working closely with residents to help them maintain their independence and further improve the cost effectiveness of our service to meet the ongoing rise in demand.

Kingston is home to people from diverse and interesting cultures and backgrounds, which helps to create the rich sense of community shared across the borough. In particular, Kingston has a large Sri Lankan Tamil community and is home to more people from Korea than any other part of the UK.

The Royal Borough of Kingston and the London Borough of Sutton employ nearly 500 staff across its shared services in HR, Finance, Customer Service, Neighbourhoods, Environment  and ICT. This is a highly rewarding way of working that will help you develop new skills as you manage relationships and provide a consistent service across multiple partners. 

We have two roles up for grabs in our Food & Safety team; Environment Health Officer Tier 1 (12 months fixed term) and Environment Health Officer Tier 2 (Permanent). You will working across both Kingston and Sutton Boroughs.

Tier 1 Role & Responsibilities (12 Month Fixed Term - Grade F-G)
An Environmental Health Officer in Food Safety at Tier 1 would be suitable for a newly qualified Environmental Health Practitioner with Environmental Health Bsc or Msc or with Food Officer qualifications such as the Higher Certificate in Food Control with Food Standards certification. This 1 year position allows for those who have not submitted their logbook or undertaken their professional interview with the CIEH to do so. Candidates holding the Advanced Professional Certificate in Food hygiene and Standards Control are also able to apply.

Expectation would be that these officers would be able to undertake Food hygiene and Food standards inspections to D-E rated premises building up their competency to undertake all category / high risk inspections with support from the team. Candidates would ideally have some Health and Safety knowledge also to be able to hazard spot.

Tier 2 Role & Responsibilities (Permanent - Grade H-I)
At tier 2, an Environmental Health Officer in Food Safety would be more suited to an experienced Environmental Health Practitioner with food experience or a fully qualified Food Officer with the Higher Certificate in Food inspection and Control and registered with the CIEH.

This Officer would be expected to undertake the full remit of food hygiene and standards inspections (A - E) but concentrating on the higher risk commercial premises, undertaking approvals of premises and formal closures where necessary. The candidate should have a knowledge of Health and Safety and Infectious disease legislation and be able to respond to service requests and Members' questions and should be able to take formal enforcement action if necessary, to court. Knowledge of PACE RIPA and CPIA would be an advantage.

The Environmental Health Commercial Food and Safety team is part of the Kingston and Sutton Shared Environment Service Regulatory Services. It enforces legislation across the boroughs of Kingston and Sutton. The service is hosted by the Royal Borough of Kingston. In this position you will be asked to work primarily across Kingston but will also undertake work in the London Borough of Sutton.

Kingston operates agile working which means that you will have the flexibility to work at hot desks currently in the Guildhall 2 Kingston and at the Civic Offices in Sutton as well as in your own home space. This allows you to arrange a good work - life balance. Our Team Charter ensures that there are set times for regular face to face team meetings and training sessions. 

The Food & Safety team is small but close knit and supportive of each other; they are passionate about their roles and are keen to assist in the development of new officers.  If you choose Kingston and Sutton, you can be assured of not only great work experience but a warm welcome from the Food and Safety team and across the Shared Environment Service, Regulatory Services.

We are looking for a self motivated person able to work alone on their own caseload with monthly targets of inspections who can use a variety of communications skills to engage with businesses and residents to resolve issues and improve standards. The candidate should also be able to work across the Shared Environment Service covering both Kingston and Sutton boroughs.

Knowledge of the IDOX Uniform database is an advantage. Having access to a car would be of benefit, casual car user mileage rates apply, team car passes and permits available. 

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

In addition we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff supported by our IT infrastructure, Google Chromebooks and Google Apps, which have acted as a key enabler for collaborative and streamlined working. The COVID-19 pandemic has required us to be even more flexible in how we work and manage staff workloads, ensuring they have the correct equipment and resources to be able to maximise their talents and looking after their wellbeing.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:

  • Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
  • Three volunteering days per year
  • Flexible and agile working arrangements
  • Comprehensive learning and development programme
  • Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
  • Interest free season ticket loans
  • Local Government Pension Scheme
  • Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
  • Zip car scheme
  • Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
  • Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
  • Subsidised gym membership
Please apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please ensure you refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. 

We pride ourselves on being a diverse, tolerant and welcoming Borough and we aim to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve. We are respectful of difference and realise the positive value of diversity in our workforce. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates and disabled candidates as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce.

We are proud to be recognised as a Disability Confident employer, and are committed to thinking differently about disability and taking action to improve how we recruit, retain and develop disabled people. We guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role.   

We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums, and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

We are an accredited London Living Wage Employer and this means that everyone working at the Royal Borough of Kingston, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors and suppliers receive the London Living Wage. The real Living Wage is higher than the government’s minimum, or National Living Wage, and is an independently calculated hourly rate of pay that is based on the actual cost of living.

The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.

Good Business Charter

This opportunity is closed to applications.