Trading Standards Officer

Full Vacancy Description

Trading Standards Officer

About Us

We are looking for a Trading Standards Officer to join our local authority client based on the south coast.

The Trading Standards Service is responsible for a wide range of consumer, business and environmental protection legislation which regulate the production, storage, marketing and supply of food, goods and services throughout the supply chain, and the behaviours of businesses that are based, or operate, within the County.

The responsibilities of the Service are widespread and include food standards and product safety, intellectual property protection, animal disease control, control of the supply of age restricted products, safeguarding the vulnerable, licensing and inspection of explosives and petroleum storage facilities, rogue traders, deceptive trade practices and weights and measures.

About the Job

In this role you will primarily be focused on COVID-19 enforcement activities however will also support the standard responsibilities of a Trading Standards Officer and will be regarded as a qualified officer. You will be asked to conduct interventions with businesses to ascertain regulatory compliance and to act as an investigating officer, on matters appropriate to your level of competence. You will be making judgements on matters such as compliance with regulations, the issuing of improvement notices, securing evidence, liaising with test houses, identifying witnesses and conducting formal interviews.

You will be required to give evidence at Court, as necessary. You may be required to occasionally lift or carry heavy items, for example when manually handling stock in a warehouse or carrying bags of seized evidence. The job may involve some exposure to disagreeable and unpleasant persons due to the nature of the regulatory compliance role being performed.

Experience and Skills

You will need to be a self-motivated individual, with a positive, can-do attitude and a desire to put the customer first. You will need to be confident in your ability to make justified and well-informed decisions and to clearly communicate with a range of customers and partners. You will mostly need to be able to work independently, within parameters, but also be a willing member of larger team contributing to the priorities of the Service.

In addition, you will also be able to demonstrate the following relevant skills and experience:

Key Skills:

Ability to organise/prioritise work, co-ordinate a variety of tasks in a clear and logical way and meet agreed deadlines.

Ability to quickly assimilate information; consider the issues, risks and legal implications and to adopt the most appropriate course of action.

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills in order to interact effectively with customers and create and maintain effective working relationships.

Ability to work in a customer focussed way, providing a high-quality service with a high level of attention to detail and gaining the trust and confidence of both residents and businesses in the County.

Excellent presentation and written communication skills in order to prepare reports of infringement in prescribed format for prosecution or other formal action.

Qualifications and/or experience:

CTSI Trading Standards Practitioner Diploma (Level 5 NQF)

(FCATS plus 40 points under previous qualification framework, or DTS)

Experience of working within a Trading Standards Service and demonstrating the ability to understand the Service’s wider aims and objectives.

Demonstrable evidence of delivering a comprehensive, effective, efficient trading standards service to a range of customers.