Veterinary Investigation Officer

**Details**:
**Reference number**:

- 321795**Salary**:

- £39,439 - £43,569- Pro-rata salary for job share. This role is eligible for a starting allowance of £3000. For further detail on pay please see below under ‘salary’.- A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%**Job grade**:

- Senior Executive Officer**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Business area**:

- APHA - Science - Surveillance and Laboratory Services Department (SLSD)**Type of role**:

- Science**Working pattern**:

- Full-time, Job share, Part-time**Number of jobs available**:

- 1Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- APHA Starcross, Starcross. Devon EX6 8PEAbout the job

**Job summary**:
**Do you want to be part of a team protecting Great Britain from exotic notifiable diseases? If so, why not join us and make a difference**

This is a new job in APHA combining VIO work with notifiable disease outbreak work. The VIO role focusses on surveillance for notifiable diseases, new and re-emerging threats, food safety incidents and zoonotic disease. To do this you will carry out postmortem examinations, collecting appropriate samples and assigning relevant laboratory tests. These findings will permit interpreting and reporting findings and give relevant advice to private veterinarians and other bodies. Visits to farms and to investigate wildlife mortality incidents may also be required.

You will carry out the VIO role other than when required for the outbreak role.

In the outbreak role, you will be involved in investigating notifiable disease outbreaks, this will include ‘field work’ visiting infected premises, monitoring livestock on ‘at risk farms’ and potentially periods on detached duty with overnight stays away from home. You will be eligible for emergency response payments, other allowances and overtime for outbreak work.

Being able to communicate effectively with farmers, private veterinarians, stakeholders, and policy makers is essential in these roles. You will be expected to work to quality standards and observe stringent health and safety requirements. Full training will be given, and you will be encouraged to develop your expertise.

**Job description**:
To carry out any duties commensurate with the grade and purpose of the post including, but not limited to, the following:
**Disease Investigation, Welfare and Diagnostics**

To investigate animal diseases and welfare cases in primarily farmed livestock, wildlife and other species in order to detect notifiable disease, new and re-emerging threats, food safety incidents and zoonotic disease, and to provide a diagnostic and investigative service. This will be achieved within the quality system by:

- Conducting post-mortem examinations.
- Humanely euthanasing animals where necessary.
- Commissioning appropriate laboratory tests.
- Interpreting results.
- Reporting conclusions.
- Carrying out on-farm and field investigations.

**Surveillance**

Gathering of information, data and intelligence to enable understanding of the patterns and trends of endemic diseases and the timely detection and characterisation of new and re-emerging animal-related threats, including, but not limited to, the following:

- Collecting relevant information and data.
- Identifying (and where relevant, report and escalate) incidents which may represent statutory, new, re-emerging or changing disease patterns.
- Collating, interpreting and reporting surveillance information and data.
- Work collaboratively to deliver leading edge veterinary research, surveillance, consultancy and laboratory testing services through a series of integrated science programmes.

**Stakeholder Engagement**
- Actively engaging with private veterinary surgeons, farmers and others to ensure the gathering and sharing of data, information and intelligence to enable understanding of the patterns and trends of endemic diseases and the timely detection of new and re-emerging animal-related threats.
- To develop effective and sustainable working relationships with end-users of APHA services, representing and promoting the interests of GB Governments to deliver agreed policy outcomes.
- To engage with animal keepers, wider industry, the veterinary profession and other operational partners to gather data, information and intelligence, educate, influence and provide feedback to improve the standards of animal health and welfare.
- Arrange and/or attend relevant veterinary and other meetings to participate, present and contribute to knowledge exchange.

**Incident and Disease Outbreak Response**
- To contribute to and participate in Delivery Area and National Contingency Planning and exercises as required.
- To ensure that professional skills are developed and maintained to undertake any allocated role(s) during incidents and emergency activities with an expectation that the roles in which individuals are specifically trained will be called upon first during outbr