Food and Safety Technical Officer, Ipswich in Suffolk

• Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils
• Address: Endeavour House, 8 Russell Road, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 2BX
• Salary: £37,280 to £44,075 per annum (pro rata)
• Hours: Part Time, 22.2 hours per week
• Contract: Permanent

Join our team

We are looking for a Food and Safety Technical Officer to join our Food and Safety Team. If you share our values and you are motivated to make a difference for our residents, clients, and communities, we would love to hear from you.

About the role

You will carry out and be responsible for a range of technical and administrative duties in support of the Food and Safety regulatory service, both in and out of the office.

Duties will include:

• Collect samples and information from premises and households, assist with food poisoning and private water supply investigations.
• Carry out healthier catering award assessments of retail food businesses.
• Carry out audit assessments of low-risk food businesses.
• Carry out caravan licence inspections and issue licences.
• Maintain and update computer-based and paper records including complex spreadsheets and produce reports from the data.
• Process requisitions, invoices and payments for supplies and services.
• Maintain equipment, stocks of consumables and work out low-cost ways of replacing consumables for ongoing projects.

You will need to have a clean driving licence and access to a car to enable occasional travel for work purposes.

About you

We are looking for an experienced Food and Safety Officer with relevant qualifications at NVQ Level 4 or equivalent knowledge gained through experience in a similar role.

You will need to demonstrate good knowledge and understanding of Food and Safety regulations as well as a working understanding of local government.

You will have had experience of liaising with external government agencies and customers in a service industry.

Key Skills we are seeking:

• Able to analyse and interpret varied information or situations and to solve problems.
• Experience of auditing, investigation and enforcement.
• Use persuasive, negotiating and training skills e.g. aimed at seeking agreement/compromise or developing understanding of legal and technical guidance.
• Ability to ask questions, seek clarification and exchange information using tact and diplomacy with a range of different people and groups.
• Good administration skills including a knowledge of Assure and M3 software.
• Working knowledge of environmental health services and some experience in this field.
• Skilled in dealing with members of the public and commercial operators, often in stressful and difficult situations.
• Good communication skills.
• Previous experience working in a customer orientated service.

About us

At Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils we are passionate about building communities that people want to live, work, visit and invest in.

We serve around 200,000 residents across our two districts and are well known for our collaboration and partnership working across public, private and voluntary sectors.

We believe that the heart of Suffolk is an incredibly special place to live and work, with:

• 60 conservation areas
• two National Landscapes
• many picturesque market towns

It is no surprise we are ranked among the top 50 places to live in the UK.

Benefits

We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• Generous leave entitlement (26 days a year, rising to 31 days after 5 years).
• Competitive Local Government Pension Scheme.
• Wellbeing Support and Employee Assistance Programs.
• Private Health Care Options.
• Electric Vehicle Salary Sacrifice Scheme.
• Paid volunteering days.
• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements (Business needs permitting).
• Great learning and development opportunities.

Our ways of working

We believe work is what we do, not just where we go. We work in a hybrid way, with a mix of office, home, and remote based working (Business need permitting). Our hybrid working arrangements support flexibility and collaboration, helping our teams to thrive.

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, providing opportunity and ambition for all, supporting and enabling our people to deliver the best possible services for our residents.

For more information

For an informal discussion, please contact Sally Haggerstone – Food and Safety Manager by telephone or email.

Please read the Job Description and Person Specification before applying for this job opportunity.

Closing date: 5pm, 20 February 2026.

How to apply

Please ensure your:

• application form is fully completed, including employment and education history
• supporting statement clearly addresses how you meet the criteria in the Person Specification

This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS checks or police vetting will be required for relevant posts.