Food Health & Safety Manager in Preston

This is a fantastic opportunity for a visionary leader in Environmental Health. We’re offering a career-defining chance to shape and lead Coventry’s Food and Safety service, driving high performance and excellence in everything we do. As Food and Safety Manager, you will be at the forefront of delivering a high-quality, customer-focused service that ensures Coventry’s compliance with food hygiene, health and safety, and public health regulations. You will set the strategic direction for the Food and Safety team, aligning our work with the City Council’s vision for a growing and sustainable city.

In this role, you act as the Council’s principal technical expert on food safety, occupational health and safety, and safety at sports grounds and events. Your remit also includes leading our response to public safety incidents (food safety incidents, infectious disease outbreaks, etc.) and acting decisively to protect the community when urgent issues arise. A key aspect of this role is providing leadership beyond the office: you will chair the Council’s Event Safety Advisory Group and the Safety at Sports Grounds Advisory Group, coordinating multi-agency partners to ensure a coordinated approach to crowd and spectator safety and wellbeing at events. From city centre festivals to major sports fixtures, you’ll bring agencies and event organisers together to make sure every event in Coventry is safe, successful, and enjoyable for all.

In this strategic role, you will provide expert advice to senior colleagues and elected members. You’ll develop and review policies, ensure we meet our statutory obligations, and represent Coventry in regional and national forums on emerging public safety issues. Your leadership will inspire a team of professional Environmental Health Officers and Technical Officers, and you will foster a culture of excellence, continuous improvement, and public service passion. This includes managing resources and budgets, and promoting innovation to keep our services efficient and future-ready.

We are seeking an inspirational and highly skilled Environmental Health professional with significant experience in food safety and health and safety regulation. The successful candidate will bring substantial expertise gained within a local authority or comparable regulatory environment, including the enforcement of food hygiene and health and safety legislation. You will be confident in managing complex or sensitive cases and making robust, evidence‑based decisions. Strong leadership and management capability are essential. You will be able to motivate, support, and develop a team, manage performance effectively, and drive continuous service improvement.

Experience of chairing or contributing to multi‑agency groups—such as Safety Advisory Groups—would be a strong advantage, as would a proven ability to build productive partnerships with businesses, community organisations, and other stakeholders. We are looking for a confident advisor and communicator who can present effectively to committees and work constructively with elected members. You will be able to influence and challenge appropriately to secure positive outcomes, demonstrating the ability to engage others, forge strong professional relationships, and develop innovative approaches to service delivery.

You should have up‑to‑date knowledge of current and emerging legislation relating to food safety and public safety, along with the vision to adapt and innovate as regulatory frameworks and best practices evolve. Essential qualifications include a Degree or Diploma in Environmental Health and registration with the Environmental Health Officers Registration Board (EHORB). A management qualification or equivalent leadership experience is also required. A commitment to ongoing professional development is expected, and the role may occasionally require flexible working outside standard office hours.

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. People from minority ethnic backgrounds are currently under‑represented within our middle‑management team, and we particularly welcome applications from individuals within these groups. However, we warmly encourage applications from all suitably qualified candidates, regardless of background or protected characteristic.

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

For full details on the application process please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'. If there is any evidence of a candidate using AI to complete their application, then the application will be rejected unless the candidate can provide a justification which the Council considers to be reasonable.

Interview date: 19th February. The interview process will consist of two stages: an initial panel interview, followed by a work ‑ based assessment for successful applicants.

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 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.