Are you a driven individual with excellent communication skills?
Are you looking for a rewarding role that will have a real life impact on everyone in the UK?
If so, these exciting opportunities to join the Food Standards Agency (FSA) as a Qualified Official Auxiliary (OA) are for you and we’d love to hear from you!!
The FSA is a non‑ministerial department of over 1300 people, with a big vision – to drive change in the food system so that it delivers “food we can trust”.
The heart of the FSA’s mission is to deliver “food we can trust”, and it’s more vital than ever that every precaution is taken to ensure the food on Britain’s plates is safe to eat, and exactly what it says it is.
Our meat production systems in abattoirs are one of the vital points of contact between the FSA and the food industry and represent an important on‑ground part of our work. By ensuring high standards of animal welfare, quality control and workplace best practice are adhered to, we can make an active and ongoing difference in both the quality of the meat that reaches our plates but also the reputation that our nation and its food exports have on the global markets. The work the FSA does in abattoirs and food processing plants across the country each day has impact far beyond those factory walls.
Our Official Auxiliaries are vital parts of this process, delivering these standards through a number of means. These will include the performance of ante‑and post‑mortem inspections of animals, unannounced inspections on working practices across your dedicated site, the collecting and dispatching of samples for offsite analysis and communication with both FSA team members and onsite staff to create the safest and healthiest factory environment.
Where will I be working?
You’ll be working in the following FBO Plant within the East region of the UK:
Cluster 14: Cranswick Country Foods, The Abattoir, Brandon Road, Watton, Norfolk, IP25 6LW
Working Pattern: 4 Day Week, Fixed non‑working day, 9.25 hours + 1 hour contractual overtime per day
Working Pattern: Monday + Tuesday 07.15am – 14.30pm, Wednesday + Thursday 07.15am – 16.00pm, Sunday 07.15am – 16.00pm. Contractual Overtime Wednesday + Thursday 1.25 hours, Half Time Overtime Sunday
Cluster 19: Forge Farm Meats, Powder Mill Lane, Southborough, Kent, TN4 9EG
Working Pattern: 4 Day week, 9.25 hours, 07.30am – 17.15pm
Please refer to the map on the candidate pack which highlights the location of each cluster across the UK.
It is a mandatory requirement that you need to reside within 60 miles or 90 minutes of your preferred plant location. Should you be offered a position with us, we will verify that you reside within this remit as part of the pre‑employment process and failure to meet these requirements may result in your offer of employment being withdrawn.
Please note that other plants may become available throughout the year, and candidates who are placed on reserve will be offered these positions when they become available.
About you
We are looking for driven individuals who are able to maintain focus on repetitive tasks. You will be comfortable working in a busy factory environment with early start times, working a core 37 hrs each week with an option to be deployed on a 5, 4 or 3‑day working pattern based on business demand and operational requirements of the base plant allocated (please note this working pattern will only apply once you have successfully completed the training). You will have strong communication skills that will allow you to talk with onsite staff across company hierarchies to influence and guide decision making as part of our FSA team. A sharp attention to detail is required for this role, and as such we can regrettably only consider those with normal colour vision (trichromacy) for this role.
With on‑the‑job training, and plenty of opportunities for progression in the FSA, the Qualified Official Auxiliary gives you a strong first step if you’re seeking to build a career around keeping Britain’s food safe for all.
