Immediate Recruitment Alert: Plant and Seed Technical Officers for Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) in Manchester

Urgent Hiring: Plant and Seed Technical Officers for APHA in Manchester

HallMark Veterinary & Compliance Services urgently calls for the immediate recruitment of two (2) Plant and Seed Technical Officers to work with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) in Manchester. This request, received today, Monday 05/02/24, underscores the critical need for skilled professionals to join our team under the Specialist Resourcing Framework, with a swift turnaround to meet APHA's deadline. The successful candidates should have an interest in horticulture, agriculture or the environment and will work as part of a team delivering export certification and inspections of plants, planting material and produce.

Position Overview

• Number of Positions: 2 Technical Officers

• Job Type: Full-time, Fixed term contract

• Location: North West – Manchester

• Work Hours: Monday to Friday; 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, with potential shifts. The PHSI is transitioning to a 7 AM to 7 PM, 7 days a week service level for import & export certification & biosecurity checks. Depending on the location, candidates may be required to work in a shift pattern, including early mornings, late evenings, weekends, and public holidays. Flexibility to work at other locations and occasionally stay away from home is required.

• Deployment Dates: From 12/02/2024 to 30/08/2024

• Salary: £29,000.00-£31,000.00 per year

• Benefits: Additional leave, Company pension, Health & wellbeing programme, Referral programme, Store discount

Job Responsibilities

The selected Technical Officers will report to a Higher Executive Officer (HEO) and will be responsible for a wide range of duties, including but not limited to:

• Certifying export produce, plants, machinery, and ware potatoes in accordance with importing country’s requirements, including issue of phytosanitary certificates and advice to exporters on the requirements.

• Undertaking General Quarantine Surveillance and Specific Annual and Multi-Annual Surveys to monitor for quarantine and non-indigenous pests and diseases.

• Statutory inspection of imported plants, planting material and plant produce to ensure compliance with import regulations, including physical inspection and/or documentary checks.

• Soil sampling to prevent the spread of dangerous plant pests and diseases.

• Planning and scheduling of visits, physical inspections, sample collection and submission, and issuing relevant legal notices.

• Participation in emergency measures for controlling outbreaks of specified pests and diseases.

Urgent Application Process

Given the urgency, we request all interested candidates to submit their CVs to recruitment@vorenta.com  by Thursday 8th February 2024 at the latest. This will allow us to review applications and forward suitable candidates to APHA by their Friday deadline. In addition to sending your CV directly to us you can also apply through Indeed. Visit our HallMark Veterinary & Compliance Services Indeed page to view this and other available positions.

Requirements

• Have an interest in Horticulture, Agriculture or the environment.

• Be educated to at least GCSE / O level or equivalent in English, Maths and a science.

• Be fully IT literate to examine online applications, delivery plans and record findings via a paperless system. You will be comfortable using MS Word, Outlook, Teams and Excel

• Good communication, planning and organisational skills. Be able to communicate complex issues clearly to customers, both internally and externally in English.

• Work collaboratively in a high-pressure, time sensitive environment with delivery partners.

• Work safely adhering to all APHA and site safety policies

• Have a full, valid UK driving licence (evidence to be provided) with independent access to own transport. Candidates will need to use their own vehicle to carry out their duties, for which business mileage will be reimbursed.

• Willingness to undergo basic security checks, including a DBS check. Some locations may require a Counter Terrorist Check.

• UK residency for 3 years in the last 5 years to meet the Counter Terrorist Check requirements.