Principal Trading Standards Officer in Coventry

Do you want to make a real difference to the lives of residents and support local business in Coventry? If so, this may be the role you are looking for! Coventry is an exciting place to live and work. We are a culturally diverse City and have been host to several exciting events such as the Commonwealth Games and the BBC Radio1 Big Weekender. We value diverse perspectives and experiences and are striving to create a workplace culture that is inclusive, accepting of all, and free from discrimination and bias.

The team covers a wide range of Trading Standards functions including Weights & Measures, Feed Hygiene, Animal Health, Fair Trading, Consumer Advice, Product Safety, Doorstep Crime, Underage Sales of Restricted products, Counterfeit goods, illicit tobacco, and licensing enforcement. The successful candidate will be working in our Regulatory Services team which is made up of multi-disciplinary professionals including Licensing, Trading Standards, Food and Safety, Building Control, Street Enforcement, Community Safety, Housing Enforcement, and Property Licensing.

Our Values: In line with our One Coventry Values, we want to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce. A vital part of this is ensuring we are a truly inclusive organisation that encourages diversity in all respects, including diversity of thinking. We particularly welcome applicants from minority ethnic, LGBT+, disabled, and neurodiverse communities to make a real difference to our residents so that equity and respect remains at the heart of everything we do.

• Open and fair: We are fair, open, and transparent.
• Nurture and develop: We help and encourage everyone to be their best and do their best.
• Engage and empower: We talk and listen to others, working together as one.
• Create and innovate: We embrace new ways of working to continuously improve.
• Own and be accountable: We work together to deliver the best services for our residents.
• Value and respect: We put diversity and inclusion at the heart of all we do.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Principal Trading Standards Officer looking for a new challenge, or an experienced Trading Standards Officer looking to progress into a leadership role to join a friendly and professional Licensing & Business Compliance Team in Coventry. You will be responsible for managing a small team of Trading Standards and Business Compliance Enforcement Officers from a variety of backgrounds, providing training and support, and ensuring that the team works effectively together to achieve their goals.

The role requires a creative and modern approach to leading the team, combining prevention with enforcement to protect and empower residents. The service needs a forward-thinking approach, with dynamic and intelligence-led practices focused on developing innovative ways of meeting the challenges posed by today's very different and diverse consumer and business landscape. You will identify legal contraventions, recommend, and execute appropriate enforcement interventions based on assessed risks, and present solutions to resolve complex issues. You will play a key role in preparing prosecutions for court hearings and closure order applications, and experience in this area would be beneficial.

The post is full-time and service delivery is achieved through a combination of office-based and agile working. This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). All candidates must have the Right to Work in the UK. We are currently not offering sponsorship for this role.

An essential requirement is you will need to be a qualified and experienced Trading Standards Officer holding a relevant Trading Standards qualification. You will need to have experience in all areas of Trading Standards including weights and measures, fair trading, counterfeit goods, doorstep crime, illicit tobacco, underage sales, product safety, feed hygiene, and animal health. This is a challenging and varied role for a highly motivated, highly organised individual with a strong work ethic and flexible can-do approach. You will have a strong skillset in understanding complex requirements and be able to present information clearly and analytically to a wide audience. You will need the flexibility to work occasional unsocial hours as required.

We value and respect the diversity of our team and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects our diverse communities. Within our team, people from minority ethnic backgrounds are currently under-represented across our middle-management team, as a result we would like to encourage people from minority ethnic backgrounds to apply for this post. We have policies and procedures in place to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process, including the consideration of reasonable adjustments for people who have a disability or who are neurodiverse.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme: As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

We recognise that you might use AI tools to help with your application. While these tools can be useful, please make sure that all information you provide about your experience, skills, and qualifications is accurate. What matters most to us is hearing about your experience and the achievements that truly reflect you!

Interview date(s): 22nd September 2026

About Coventry: Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change. We are cutting-edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant, and diverse. At Coventry, we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 5100 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together, and find better ways of doing things. To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities. If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards and benefits package.