Senior Animal Technologist ID2769

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, and works on behalf of the Scottish Government and Welsh Government. Our diverse teams of over 3,000 skilled and committed professionals come together to provide research, advice and support to UK Government for safeguarding animal, public and plant health for benefit of the environment and economy
The Science Directorate (SD) delivers high quality, high impact and highly relevant multidisciplinary science. Our People are diverse, talented, engaged and inspired to deliver innovative outcomes.
This advertised role is to join the Animal Sciences team of 50 multidisciplined technicians, vets, and administrative staff. The department is responsible for delivering animal studies that inform Defra policy, advance scientific understanding and improve animal welfare in the UK and beyond.
This is an exciting opportunity to shape the future of APHA during the Science Capability for Animal Health development. Animal Technicians at APHA have the unique opportunity to specialise in a wide variety of roles, ranging from low to high containment, and from small animals to livestock.
This is a great opportunity to further your career if you have a keen interest in animals and animal science. We have a variety of training opportunities available to support your career at APHA. We are after individuals with a passion for working with animals and promoting their welfare., The post is located in our biocontainment areas and have responsibility for husbandry, welfare and regulated procedures on farmed livestock, poultry as well as small laboratory animals, for specialist biocontainment (up to ACDP3/SAPO4/GM3) facilities including safety and quality management (GLP, GMP and ISO 9001) for the allocated areas and staff management.
The work of the post is physically demanding.
Responsibilities will include:
Animal Science and Research
The postholder will work as part of a team with veterinary, scientific and technical staff to deliver a wide range of animal science projects involving a range of important and zoonotic pathogens (eg Influenza, TB, TSE, and other viral or bacterial or parasitic agents) in farmed livestock, poultry or small animals. The jobholder will lead in the planning, execution and conduct of studies being carried out various project licences assuring compliance, staffing and timely execution as well as support other project work carried out in their area. Research contribution will primarily be to develop methods which minimise animal suffering and improve welfare, refine all aspects of animal use and performance of scientific procedures. The jobholder should have a good understanding of data managing software (MS Word, Outlook,, Excel) and have a basic understanding of statistical analysis.
They will be responsible for livestock, rodent and specialist biocontainment facilities, develop specialist knowledge and expertise, perform regulated scientific procedures, develop species specialism and environmental enrichment.
They may be required to become a Home Office Project Licence Holder and assist in animal project or contract management, data analysis and delivery. They will act as an Animal Sciences On-Call Officer on a duty rota (no more than 1 week in 10) for out of working hours support response to the Department. They will perform and supervise daily husbandry and care of animals in allocated areas, ensuring that relevant documentation is in place and may also be required to assist at post-mortems.
Staff, Facility and Resource Management
The post holder will be allocated an animal facility area and staffing – and will be expected to work in a range of areas and facilities including high disease biocontainment (up to ACDP3/SAPO4). The posts provide management and direction to APHA’s Animal technicians and support staff within the allocated area, line management of staff assigned to work in their areas, functional management of visitors, others working in the facility and supervision of scientific staff and contract staff as appropriate. Participation in staff utilisation meetings to ensure efficient use of resources, succession planning and developing skills, specialism and flexibility across teams. Building/Facility Officer duties including liaison with the maintenance providers to ensure the appropriate monitoring and maintenance of plant including generators, water testing, alarm systems, Building Management Systems and biocontainment controls. The postholder will be responsible for effective
use of resources (staff, time, consumables etc) in their area and for effective management oversight of this.
BioEthics, Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body (AWERB)
The postholder is expected to be an active member of the AWERB, participating in committee meetings (shared between all HEO level posts) as well have input into project licence applications and study reviews with regards to the 3Rs. They will act as Named Animal Care and Welfare Officer (NACWO) and become a Home Office Personal Licence holder. They must support the senior NACWO in producing the NACWO report for the committee. They will coach junior NACWOs with regards to AWERB documentation review and advise them on the 3Rs. Provide leadership and implementation of APHA’s Animal Welfare Standards, interacting with scientists and Named people and be proactive in raising any animal welfare concerns. The postholder will develop a thorough knowledge of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act including the Code of Practice; inspect animal facilities regularly and advise scientists and others on the compliance under ASPA and the CoP and be responsible for ensuring study
pre-start meetings are carried out and the relevant documentation is completed.
Communication
The postholder will be required to have excellent communication skills liaising with a diverse range of people, using all modern communication tools, in writing and verbally. They will use electronic communication tools, including online diaries, SharePoint, Excel, PowerPoint, Word and Access. They will liaise frequently with the other managers and contribute to building a strong team. On rotation, they act as Chairperson for team meetings and are required to be a proactive member of the ASU management team and contribute effectively.
Safety
The postholder is responsible for safety and biocontainment in their areas. They will ensure that adequate training and planning for response to emergency scenarios are in place; actively participate in safety inspections and audits. Ensure that appropriate documentation (e.g. Risk assessments, SOPs and log books) are in place. The postholder will be a Departmental Safety Advisor for their area and work closely with the Departmental Safety Officer on safety matters. They will participate in inspections and ensure deadlines for closing actions are met. Provide suitable and sufficient information for all staff using the facility. Provide ad hoc monitoring of staff working in their facility and immediately advise senior management of any concerns. This might include non-compliance with APHA H&S Policy, SOPs and Risk Assessments.
Quality
The postholder is required to maintain appropriate competence, write and review SOPs and ensure quality compliance in their areas in liaison with the Local Quality Manager and Quality Services Unit. They will participate in internal audits and external inspections, and ensure deadlines for closing actions are met, ensure servicing and calibration of equipment, and arrange for the decontamination and removal of broken or unsafe items and registering new equipment on databases. Required to respond to building and equipment alarms including out of hours as appropriate.
Ways of Working
This post requires you to be working onsite at APHA Weybridge five days per week.
Staff maybe required to work weekends, Bank Holidays and occasional evenings in the event of an incident or disease outbreak. In the event of this you may be eligible for overtime payments and where overtime is approved you will receive appropriate payment. APHA Management reserves the right to change overtime patterns to meet requirements.
Periodic travel within the UK and Europe will be required to attend training courses, conferences and scientific meetings.
The post is full-time and we may consider two part-time staff on a job share basis if continuity can be arranged., We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
+ Communicating and Influencing
+ Working Together
+ Making Effective Decisions
+ Seeing the Big Picture
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
+ Communicating and Influencing
+ Working Together, The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. Applications will be carefully reviewed and if evidence of plagiarism or copying examples/answers from other sources is found, your application will be withdrawn.
We understand that you might use artificial intelligence (AI) and other resources for your application; however, we also value the personal touch and urge applicants to write statements without the use of AI to emphasise their own unique experiences. Please ensure all information you provide is factually accurate, truthful, and original and doesn’t include ideas or work that isn’t your own. This is so that your application is authentically and credibly your own.
Application Process
As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a comprehensive CV in the provided template. You will then be asked to give an example against two behaviours (Communicating & Influencing, Working Together) in the Situation, Task, Action and Result (STAR) format and give a 500 word personal statement against the details in the Person Specification in the advert and in the job description.
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Please use the STAR technique (Situation Task, Action, Result) to provide evidence of each of the criteria in your application form and at the interview.
Sift
Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead behaviour, Communicating & Influencing Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.
Interview
If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on Behaviours, Technical Skills and Experience.
Your interview will either be conducted face to face or by video. You will be notified of the location if you are selected for interview.
A presentation or additional exercise may also be assessed.
Location
As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s)
Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.
Successful applicants currently employed by the hiring Defra organisation for this post may choose to remain in their current contractual location or may choose to change contractual location to one of those listed above. This should be discussed and agreed prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.
The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.
Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.
The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.
Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.
Reserve List
A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made., The post will also require Health clearance. The successful candidate will need to comply with a number of health protocols and wear protective clothing and Respiratory Personal Protective Equipment (RPPE) as required.
Depending on the areas of work involved you will be expected to have any necessary vaccinations or health surveillance. This will be arranged by the Health Team, Weybridge. It may also be necessary to undergo a pre-employment medical assessment.
Restrictions on outside/domestic contact with small animals, mainly rodents and rabbits, will apply.
The successful candidate should not keep pigs or poultry or live on premises where there are domestic livestock or poultry.
Due to access requirements to biosecure areas, individuals must be physically able. The work of the post is physically demanding.
A valid full driving licence is necessary. Periodic travel within the UK may be required to attend training courses. This could also include farm or abattoir visits.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks., + 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) (opens in a new window)
+ 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 (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window).
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 (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
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You will need to demonstrate the following:
+ Full Driving Licence.
+ Good Written and Spoken English.
+ Experience of working with animals in research or commercial facilities., + Animal Science degree or currently working towards one
+ Experience in working with a range of animals
+ Knowledge of working in biocontainment is required

Alongside your salary of £37,480, Animal and Plant Health Agency contributes £10,857 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
In return for your dedication and hard work, we will support your ongoing personal development through appropriate training as inclusion, support and the development of our people matter to us. We aim to support the career and personal wellbeing of everyone in APHA. Our benefits include generous annual leave, a generous employer contributory pension, staff bonuses and recognition, salary sacrifice benefit options, and an employee discount scheme, reward vouchers and in-year bonuses. We also offer additional days off if accrued extra hours (flexi-time –if accumulated), three paid volunteering day per year. We also have a social committee who run team building and fun events at the Weybridge site. Further details can be found in the Candidate Information Pack.
Everyone in APHA is supported to develop their skills and capabilities. When you join the Directorate, you will be welcomed into your new team through an induction programme that will provide you with helpful information on the civil service, our work and our policies. Your line manager will also work with you to establish your priorities for the year, developing a performance, learning and development plan tailored to you and your role., New entrants are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band.
Visa Sponsorship Statement
Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship.
Reasonable Adjustment
If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.