Trading Standards Officer

We're open to a chat about flexible or part time working. No promises, but we would still like to hear from you if you would like to discuss potential options. Successful applicants will be invited to attend an interview on Friday 19th June 2026, held virtually via Teams. The Role Essex Trading Standards is looking for a highly-motivated person to join its team as a Trading Standards Officer. Essex is one of the largest Shire Counties in the UK with a population of just under 1.6 million residents and in excess of 25,000 diverse business premises. As a multi-functional officer, you will never have two days that are the same. The Trading Standards Officer will be responsible for ensuring a fair-trading environment throughout the County of Essex and accountable for the achievement of service and community objectives by enforcing civil and criminal Trading Standards laws in an effective, efficient and impartial way. The role will provide information, advice, and assistance on Trading Standards law to businesses based in the County. The role requires the ability to undertake investigations and research and produce high-quality written reports. The role includes undertaking visits alone to inspect businesses for compliance, the provision of guidance and support, and when necessary, gathering of evidence and compiling prosecution reports.,

• Advise businesses that are based in Essex but operate throughout the UK and beyond on the full range of Trading Standards legal requirements, liaising with other Trading Standards authorities as appropriate to enable the sharing of best practice and a consistency in enforcement of over 200 pieces of Trading Standards legislation across multiple disciplines.
• Carry out unaccompanied visits to businesses, exercising statutory powers in order to ensure compliance with legislation, provide advice and guidance and have autonomy to decide on the most appropriate remedy for non-compliances at the time of visit.
• Investigate alleged breaches of Trading Standards law and conduct triage and assessments of incoming demand as part of duty team structure, including assessment of goods entering the UK at ports and borders and referrals for suspect notifiable disease outbreaks.
• Conduct investigations and other enforcement activities; including PACE interviews and preparing prosecution reports on the more serious infringements in line with the Trading Standards Investigation Protocol and giving evidence in court as required.
• Manage project teams and provide mentoring/coaching to team members to ensure knowledge and good practice are disseminated including supervision of trainees.
• Work collaboratively with fellow professionals, internal/external partners, stakeholders, and communities to ensure that the needs of Essex residents and businesses are met and that service objectives are successfully delivered.
• Provide consultancy services quotations, customer relationships management and manage agreed sums of petty cash and p-card transactions to ensure ECC financial policies are complied with, all spend is auditable and income generating opportunities are maximised.
• Work with a range of internal and external stakeholders including colleagues, managers, elected members, partners, business representatives and national organisations including Central Government Departments.
• Monitor and review the sale of goods by carrying out authorised test or sample purchases, exercising any power of seizure and take such steps as considered necessary to enforce any law enforceable by the local authority.
• Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.
  
  You'll be working in one of three multi-functional teams responsible for handling all incoming demand one week in three - so a good working knowledge of Trading Standards legislation is desirable. You will need to be a fully qualified Trading Standards Officer holding either the DCATS, DTS or equivalent and while not essential, weights and measures and lead assessor qualification would be an advantage., You will need to be a fully qualified Trading Standards Officer holding either the DCATS, DTS or equivalent.
• Proven experience of undertaking investigations and research and producing reports that meet the requirements of Trading Standards policy, process and quality criteria.
• Demonstrable experience of successful project management delivering desired outcomes for residents and businesses. Proven experience of working as part of a team to achieve objectives.
• Excellent communication and organisational skills with the ability to plan, manage and deliver complex workloads, including that of team members, as part of a project team.
• Excellent attention to detail and the ability to keep accurate, concise, and legally admissible records and notes.
• Ability to use and familiarity with bespoke Trading Standards databases e.g. Intelligence Database (IDB), Civica APP/Cx trader database, livestock movement and enforcement databases and IPAFFS.
Please note that the job role requires you to be mobile throughout an operational area. Therefore, the post holder will need to have a driving licence and access to a vehicle, or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means.

Why Essex? Essex County Council covers 1,300 square miles from Constable Country to the Thames Estuary. From the dynamic M11 corridor to the traditional seaside resorts of Clacton and Walton. England's oldest town, Colchester, and two of its newest - Basildon and Harlow - are right here. Along with the City of Chelmsford, the county town, they form our major population centres. It means real choice and makes Essex the ideal place for your career. We celebrate difference and work to ensure that no one is disadvantaged when accessing services, employment or public life in Essex. We're proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We're committed to interviewing all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. We're also committed to interviewing all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying. Free to deliver big We recruit creative, ambitious, talented people, and free them up to think - and deliver - big. We've made substantial changes in recent years, reorganising how we're structured and how we work, so we can protect the most vulnerable and enable our economy to grow. Join us and you'll be trusted to take control, manage change and make a lasting impact. You'll be able to call upon external partners and suppliers to help you deliver. More importantly, talented, trailblazing colleagues - including many industry-leaders - will be right by your side to share ideas, knowledge and experience. Find out how Essex County Council is changing, and how you'll fit in. Employee Recognition & Engagement Here are some of the things we have in place to give our employees a sense of belonging, involvement and recognition. Employee Networks:
• Ethnically Diverse Employee Network (EDEN)
• Carers Forum
• Christian Network
• Disabled Employees Network
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Network
• Parents Network
• Women's Network
• Men's Network
• Young People and Apprentice Network.
You Make The Difference' Awards - giving employees the opportunity to nominate individuals or teams who go above and beyond for our residents. Employee Surveys - where we listen to the voices of our people and take action on what we hear. Employee Panels - giving you the opportunity to feed back on a range of policies and initiatives, network with colleagues and influence far-reaching changes., At Essex County Council we are committed to supporting the wellbeing of our people. We work closely with our employees to provide wellbeing support based on their needs. We strive to enable the right environment, conditions, and behaviours so individual and organisational wellbeing is embedded in everything we do.

We have developed diverse learning opportunities to support our people to grow both personally and professionally. This includes:
• A large suite of online training and tools
• Dedicated learning events such as 'LearnFest' - our flagship annual celebration of learning
• Apprenticeships for both new and existing colleagues
• Financial support to achieve professional qualifications
• Support from subject matter experts
• The opportunity to share your own expertise to up-skill colleagues
• Leadership and executive coaching
• Learning on demand
• Career pathways
Rewards and Benefits
• Family Friendly flexible Working
• Generous holiday and special leave allowances (including the option to purchase extra holiday)
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Life Assurance of three times annual salary
• Volunteering leave (up to 4 days per year)
• Employee wellbeing and counselling
• Travel discounts & season ticket loans
• Learning and Development opportunities/coaching & mentoring
• Payment of professional fees for approved professions
• Eye care vouchers
• Lease car scheme (dependent on business needs)
• Up to £8,000 relocation package (subject to terms and conditions)
You'll also have access to MyReward, a unique platform for Essex County Council employees to gain various discounts and savings. Your Wellbeing