Job Description

Details

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Reference number

428661
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Salary

86,000
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
GBP
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Job grade

SCS Pay Band 1###

Contract type

Permanent###

Business area

APHA - Veterinary - Professional Advice and Standards Directorate###

Type of role

Veterinary Services###

Working pattern

Full-time###

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

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Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information

Location

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Any APHA location


Key locations include Weybridge, Exeter, Cardiff, Stafford, Carlisle, Lasswade (Scotland), and Caernarfon (Wales)

About the job

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Job summary

We are looking to recruit a new Veterinary Director to join our executive team.


This is an excellent opportunity to be at the forefront of the UK's work to safeguard our animal welfare, biosecurity, and food security. As head of the veterinary profession within APHA, numbering circa 450 vets and the Director responsible for the 12,000 Official Veterinarians, you will ensure the high standards of veterinary and technical training, and high standards of practice.


You will provide clear and decisive leadership the entire APHA Veterinary Taskforce, ensuring effective oversight and delivering technical advice as required.


As a member of the APHA Executive Board, you will provide motivational leadership and robust governance of APHA, ensuring veterinary perspectives are considered and at the heart of decision making across the Agency.


Alongside your fellow Executive Board colleagues, you will motivate, engage and lead the 3600 strong work force of the Agency ensuring:

We continuously improve our technical process, delivery, and quality. Working with the Director of Service Delivery and colleagues in Epidemiological Risk - you will ensure we are prepared for disease outbreak or pest incursion through effective horizon scanning, modelling, and operational planning. You will work alongside the Outbreak Director during disease outbreaks, leading the Agency's frontline response when required by the CEO or Director of Service Delivery - stepping into the role of Outbreak Director during periods of leave. You effectively and professionally represent the Agency and CEO to Ministers and senior external stakeholders as required by the CEO. You will provide timely, evidence-based advice to policy colleagues and the Chief Veterinary Officers of the UK, Scotland, and Wales to support the formulation of effective animal health and welfare policy, ensuring that operational delivery implications are fully considered. You will provide functional management of the veterinarians in APHA. ###

Job description

As a member of the Executive Board, you will:

Provide inspiring and motivational leadership to APHA's veterinary workforce and Professional Advice and Standards Directorate. Support the CEO as the lead Board Member/Director for Veterinary advice, standards, and technical assurance, working with colleagues in DEFRA, Scottish and Welsh Governments and stakeholders to deliver on our strategic outcomes. Shape and develop veterinary strategies, processes, and policies to support the CEO in meeting stakeholder requirements collaborating with HR to establish professional standards and opportunities for continuous professional development. During outbreaks of exotic diseases, you will work in partnership with the Outbreak Director and lead the Agency's veterinary response at the National Disease Control Centre (NDCC), ensuring effective implementation of operational activities and maintaining communication with policy colleagues and CVOs. Ensure effective co-ordination and timely delivery of high-quality briefing products and advice to Ministers, the CEO, Executive and Steering Boards, Welsh and Scottish Governments. Represent the Agency effectively and professionally at relevant Defra and Devolved Administration group Committees and national veterinary organisations on behalf of the CEO. Lead APHA Veterinarians' Taskforce to ensure consistent execution of high-priority objectives across the agency. Lead regular reviews of veterinary roles to ensure efficient deployment of the workforce, aligning skills and responsibilities with operational needs and strategic priorities. Play an active role in ensuring our recruitment, talent management, and succession planning for veterinary posts within the Agency and across the GVS attract and retain the skills we need now, and in the future. Be a visible leader, supporting APHA employee engagement activities (such as all agency calls), ensuring our people's views are heard, and supporting professional career development through career pathways.

This role is crucial for maintaining high standards in veterinary practices within the Agency and ensuring effective responses to animal health issues.

Key Responsibilities

Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, you will be experienced operating at a senior level and be someone who relishes making a difference at an organisational level. You will have successfully led veterinary and technical teams.


As Veterinary Director and Head of the Professional Standards Directorate, your key responsibilities will be:


Leadership and Management

As a key member of the executive team and APHA Board, support the CEO set the strategy and direction of the organisation. Be Head of Profession for the agency's veterinarians / technical staff building capability driving best practice, standards, and technical competence across APHA. Provide inspiring, motivational leadership to APHA Veterinary and technical taskforce and the Professional Standards Directorate ensuring clear development and competency goals and objectives are in place for vet and tech roles across the agency. Be a role model to all APHA staff, exhibiting the behaviours we expect of all our people.

Delivery

Ensure effective risk management and horizon scanning - ensuring we are prepared for disease outbreak or pest incursion - utilizing effective modelling and operational planning. Be the lead for the cross agency delivery of the TB eradication strategy. Develop and lead the Agency's veterinary and technical standards, processes, systems, and training, driving cross agency collaboration, consistency, and standards to maximise successful delivery. Ensure the effective application of robust management disciplines including risk management and performance management arrangements and controls for veterinary and technical roles within the Agency. Lead and own the framework and delivery for the appointment of official veterinarians ensuring a robust appointment and regulatory process that maintains public and trading partner trust and confidence in the system.

Financial Stewardship and Governance

Take personal responsibility for the Professional Standards Directorate budget, ensuring financial probity and regularity and value for money on expenditure and internal governance. Support the government Spending Review Submissions on behalf of APHA. Ensure that all financial and non-financial reporting requirements are met on a timely and regular basis.

Stakeholder Engagement and Relationships

Build positive relationships with APHA policy customers in DEFRA, Welsh and Scottish Governments ensuring all governments are involved, included in advice development. Cultivate strong, collaborative relationships with external stakeholders to support shared goals, enhance communication, and reinforce APHA's reputation and impact. Represent APHA, where appropriate at cross government and GB committees such as Science Advisory Board, Outbreak readiness Board, Animal Disease policy Group, 4CVOs, stakeholder groups etc. Support the CVOs ensuring that delivery is considered thus aligning objectives and priorities. Mobilise and Chair expert meetings and committees as required to manage disease outbreaks, incursions or to achieve strategic outcomes. ###

Person specification

The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate the following -


Essential Criteria

Strong leadership with significant veterinary management experience, capable of handling complex technical challenges and adapting quickly to changing situations with flexibility, responsiveness, and creativity. Excellent communication, collaboration, and negotiation skills at a senior level, with the ability to influence and gain the confidence of senior leaders. Proven ability to drive and implement transformational change in a large, complex organisation, setting strategic direction and leading change effectively. Strong financial awareness and acumen, ensuring efficiencies and value for money across the organisation. Skilled in team building and leadership in high-pressure environments, fostering resilience, inclusivity, ambition, and professionalism while being willing to travel extensively across the UK. Excellent knowledge of statutory animal diseases and their control in the UK context, with proven experience in a leadership or senior role within a large-scale rural or field-based veterinary practice.

Qualification

Membership or Fellowship of the RCVS. ###

Memberships

Membership or Fellowship of the RCVS.

Benefits

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Alongside your salary of 86,000, Animal and Plant Health Agency contributes 24,914 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.Learning and development tailored to your role An environment with flexible working options A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

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Selection process details

As part of the application process, candidates are asked to complete a CV and Personal Statement (no more than 1250 words) on how your relevant skills and experience meet the essential criteria. Completed applications must be submitted no later than 23:55 Sunday 2nd November 2025.


A sift will be conducted against the key criteria above and will assess your experience. Applications will be assessed by the selection panel and shortlisted.


This assessment will not result in a pass or fail decision. Rather, it is designed to support the panel's decision-making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview. Full details of the assessment process will be provided to shortlisted candidates at the earliest opportunity.


For further information regarding the assessments please visit - https://scs-assessments.co.uk/


You will be asked to attend a panel interview, in order to have a more in-

depth discussion of your previous experience and professional


competence in relation to the essential criteria for the role. As part of the interview, we may ask you to prepare and present a short presentation or undertake a practical desktop exercise. This will be confirmed in the interview invitation.


Interviews will be in person at APHA Weybridge, New Haw, Addlestone, KT15 3NB.



Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.




As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.###

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.###

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:


UK nationals nationals of the Republic of Ireland nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020 Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements
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Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.



We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles .
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.###

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .

Apply and further information

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This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.###

Contact point for applicants

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Job contact :

Name : SCS Recruitment Team Email : scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
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Recruitment team

* Email : scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk