Principal Lead Officer - Food, Safety and Infectious Disease

ABC Food Law Limited; Oxford; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A regulatory authority in Oxford is seeking an ambitious Environmental Health Officer to lead in food safety and health and safety. You will mentor a team, oversee inspection programmes, and influence change in Environmental Health practices. The ideal candidate has significant experience in enforcement and excellent communication skills. This role offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of Environmental Health at the local level.

Qualifications

• Significant post qualification experience in Environmental Health.
• Formal enforcement experience in food safety and health and safety.
• Good knowledge of current environmental health legislation.

Responsibilities

• Mentor and supervise 3 specialist officers and a contractor.
• Deliver proactive inspection programmes and regulatory work.
• Influence change and develop related projects.

Skills

Food safety

Health and safety

Infectious disease control

Regulatory compliance

Communication

Job description

This is an exciting opportunity for an ambitious, innovative and dynamic Environmental Health Officer to take the role of technical lead in our Business Regulation Team who are responsible for a range of Environmental Health regulatory functions in commercial premises.

The successful candidate will primarily focus on food safety, health and safety and infectious disease control. This will include delivery of proactive inspection programmes, regulatory and response work, development of related projects and other commercial case work. The post holder mentors and supervises 3 specialist officers and a contractor as well as providing cover and support to the Team Manager.

You will have the opportunity to influence change, the team have already applied robotic process automation, Power BI dashboards, made the move to SharePoint and will progress to the next generation of Uniform in 2026. With local government reorganisation in full swing there has never been a better time to help shape the future in Environmental Health at Oxford City Council.

You will need to have significant post qualification experience, including formal enforcement in food safety and health and safety and dealing with complex cases. FSA compliant food competence is a must along with a good working knowledge of current environmental health legislation.

As a confident and insightful communicator, you’ll be comfortable liaising with Councillors, internal and external customers as well as working with other partners to deliver a high-quality service.