Environmental Health Officer - Food

The Food Safety Team plays a key role in protecting public health across Thurrock. We work with local businesses, residents and partner agencies to ensure food is safe, legal and produced to the highest standards. Our work includes food hygiene and standards inspections, complaint investigations, sampling programmes, infectious disease investigations and responding to food incidents Based within Corporate Services, the team also delivers specialist import and export food controls, reflecting Thurrock's strategic location and proximity to major port facilities. This provides a varied and interesting workload across a wide range of food safety and regulatory activities. We are a supportive and professional team committed to high-quality service delivery, regulatory excellence and improving public health outcomes for our communities., We are seeking a motivated and experienced Environmental Health Officer (Food) to join Corporate Services and play a key role in protecting public health, supporting local businesses, and ensuring compliance with food law across the borough. This is an exciting opportunity to work within a dynamic regulatory service, undertaking a varied workload that includes food hygiene inspections, food standards enforcement, food sampling, complaint investigation, and health and safety regulation. You will work with a wide range of food businesses, from local independent operators to larger commercial enterprises, providing professional advice and taking proportionate enforcement action where required. The successful candidate will contribute to the delivery of the Council's statutory responsibilities under food and health and safety legislation, helping to ensure residents and visitors can have confidence in the safety and standards of local businesses. You will also support service improvement initiatives, participate in partnership working, and contribute to the development of less experienced officers within the team.

• a qualified Environmental Health professional with a passion for public health protection and a strong commitment to customer service, regulatory excellence, and effective enforcement.
• The ideal candidate will have experience of delivering food law interventions within a local authority setting and be confident in exercising professional judgement in complex and often challenging situations. You will possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills, enabling you to work effectively with businesses, residents, elected members, partner agencies, and the courts.
• You will be able to manage your own workload, prioritise competing demands, and deliver high-quality outcomes within statutory timescales. A collaborative approach, sound technical knowledge, and the ability to balance education with appropriate enforcement action are essential.
Candidates should also demonstrate:
• Strong knowledge of food safety legislation and regulatory enforcement.
• Experience of undertaking food hygiene inspections and investigations.
• Excellent report writing, record keeping, and case preparation skills.
• The ability to communicate complex technical information clearly and effectively.
• Experience of gathering and evaluating evidence and applying enforcement policies.
• A proactive and flexible approach to service delivery., A Degree or Diploma in Environmental Health.
• EHORB Registration (or equivalent recognised professional qualification).
• Current competence to carry out food hygiene inspections in accordance with the Food Standards Agency Food Law Code of Practice.
  
  At Thurrock Council, we value our employees and offer a comprehensive benefits package, including:
• Generous annual leave entitlement
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Flexible and hybrid working opportunities (where applicable)
• Ongoing training and professional development
• Employee assistance programme and wellbeing support
• Staff discounts and local offers
• A supportive and inclusive working environment