Working Hours: 35 Hours Per Week
Contract Type: Full-Time, Temporary (Until 31st March 2027)
Additional Payment: Casual Car Allowance
Working style: Hybrid
Closing date: 11:59pm, 23 November 2026
Interview Method: Face to Face
You must already have a valid right to work in the UK documentation, as we cannot offer visa sponsorship for this role

As a Food, Health & Safety & Airport Technical Officer, you'll deliver regulatory and enforcement activities across food safety, food standards, health and safety, and port health functions, helping to protect public health and ensure businesses comply with relevant legislation
 
You'll help the Food, Health & Safety & Airport Team maintain high standards of compliance and safeguard communities, ensuring proportionate and effective enforcement action is taken where required. Your work will contribute to the wider Council priorities of protecting residents, supporting businesses, improving public health outcomes, and creating safer communities across Manchester
 
In this role you will:
 
  • You will work within the Greater Manchester business compliance service 2 days a week, which is based at Manchester Town Hall Extension. You will also work within our Food & Health & Safety Team 3 days a week, alongside experienced environmental health officers to help you achieve your qualification/competencies and get the real-world experience you need for a career in environmental health.  During your time in our team as you develop your competencies you will be given service requests/complaints to deal with.  You may also be provided with food business inspections to complete and to support Officers with the wide range of work that we deal with.  This will all help to support your development. The Food & Health & Safety Team are based in Gorton, Manchester.
  • Undertake inspections, audits and official controls at food businesses to assess compliance with food hygiene, food standards and relevant health and safety legislation.
  • Investigate complaints, incidents, service requests and non-compliance matters, taking appropriate enforcement action in accordance with legislation and Council policies.
  • Work with colleagues, businesses, regulatory partners, Greater Manchester authorities and external agencies to deliver effective regulatory outcomes and multi-agency initiatives.
  • Support project work, export certification processes, specialist registration inspections and wider regulatory activities across the service.
For queries about the role, please contact the hiring manager, Susan Brown/ Carmel Hughes, at susan.brown@manchester.gov.uk/carmel.hughes@manchester.gov.uk to arrange a convenient time to discuss the role. This route is for vacancy-related enquiries only and should not be used to submit applications. This route is for vacancy-related enquiries only and should not be used to submit applications.

Pre-employment Checks - 

If you are successful, your appointment will be subject to completing the relevantpre-employment checks. These checks will be carried out as part of our recruitment process and may include:

  • Qualification verification: Environmental Health Degree  BSc and/or MSc
  • Professional registration: Candidate must be willing to work towards CIEH Registration as an Environmental Health Officer/Practitioner if not already registered.  Support will be provided including covering the costs by MCC for successful candidates not already registered
  • DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) Clearance – This post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (amended in 2013). Appointable candidates will be required to apply for a  Basic DBS check as appropriate. Information provided by you or the DBS will be handled confidentially and in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice. We have policies covering the secure handling of DBS information and the recruitment of ex-offenders, which are available on request. - If you have lived or worked abroad for 3 months or more in the last 5 years, or 12 months or more in the last 10 years (while aged 18 or over), please refer to GOV.UK guidance on obtaining overseas police checks or Certificates of Good Character.
  • Casual Car Documentation- The successful candidate will be a designated Casual Car User which means that car journeys may be necessary on an occasional basis, but are not essential to the role. If you do drive, you must always hold a full valid driving licence and provide your own car for use at work, as well as provide all the appropriate documentation. You will receive an allowance per mile of business use.  
  • Driving Licence – The successful candidate must hold a full valid driving licence.
  • Satisfactory references and other pre-employment checks where applicable. 
For more information on these checks, please visit checks page. 

We're looking for a motivated and organised professional with a strong interest in regulatory services and protecting public health. You'll be able to interpret and apply legislation, communicate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders, and make sound decisions based on evidence and professional judgement. You will demonstrate a commitment to continuous professional development, excellent customer service, and the Council's values of collaboration, fairness and accountability.
 
We'll use the following essential criteria to decide which candidates to invite to assessment. Use your personal statement to provide evidence of how you meet each one, supported by relevant examples:
 
  • Hold a BSc or MSc in Environmental Health and demonstrate a willingness to work towards the food safety competencies and professional requirements set out in the Food Law Code of Practice, including Registered Environmental Health Practitioner status.
  • Knowledge of, or the ability to quickly acquire knowledge of, food safety, food standards and relevant health and safety legislation, together with the practical application of regulatory and enforcement principles.
  • Ability to investigate, analyse and interpret complex information, make evidence-based decisions, and communicate regulatory requirements clearly and effectively to a range of audiences.
  • Demonstrable organisational, partnership-working and ICT skills, with the ability to manage a varied workload, maintain accurate records and provide excellent customer service.
  • Good Communication skills- written and verbal.-  We are a frontline service - it is essential that you can communicate well with eg businesses and colleagues and stakeholders to achieve desired outcomes for the service.
 For guidance on how to write your personal statement, please visit How to Apply - Manchester City Council.

If you’re invited to assessment, we’ll look at a wider range of the role requirements. For more detail, please see the role profile.  

Use of AI 

You may use AI to support your application, but all examples must be your own and based on real experience. Applications may be withdrawn if content is misleading or presents someone else's experience as your own. Internal candidates may also face disciplinary action. 

Guaranteed Assessment Scheme 
Applicants who meet the essential shortlisting criteria and are eligible under the Guaranteed Assessment Scheme will be progressed to the assessment stage.  

Support and Adjustments  
If you're successful in securing a role, we'll make every effort to provide the support, equipment and reasonable adjustments you need to carry out your duties. Where needed, we'll consider adapting aspects of the role. Find out more about our inclusion and wellbeing. 


Working for Manchester City Council is a chance to make a real difference in a diverse city. You’ll help improve lives and support our local communities. Working together, we can create better public services for everyone. 

Benefits we offer

  • Up to 26 days’ annual leave, rising to 31 days after five years’ service
  •  Buy up to two extra weeks’ leave
  •  Up to 3 days’ volunteering leave 
  •  A 35-hour work week for full-time roles
  •  We review pay each year and recognise three trade unions
  •  A defined benefit pension scheme
  •  Enhanced parental and carers leave 
  •  Employee discounts and perks  

Our commitment to inclusion 

At Manchester City Council, we're dedicated to creating a workplace that fully reflects the diversity of our local communities. We actively encourage applications from people of all ages and backgrounds and are particularly keen to hear from applicants from ethnic minority communities and disabled people, who remain underrepresented in parts of our workforce. 

GM Elevate Programme 

If you have completed the GM Elevate (Leadership Development) Programme, please indicate this within the 'Personal Statement' section or 'Supporting Statement' section of your application. 

 

Accessible Formats: 
Use ReciteMe  through the "Accessibility tools" button at the top of our careers page. It has tools such as text-to-speech, language translations, and adjustable text size and colour. 

Ready to apply?

Location

, , Manchester, , United Kingdom

Job ID

9261

Supporting You Through Every Step of Your Journey

We want every candidate to feel welcomed, informed and confident when applying for a role with us.

This section brings together everything you need to succeed - from guidance on writing an authentic application to understanding how to use AI responsibly.

You’ll also find information about our Greater Manchester commitments, including our inclusive employment schemes and standards, as well as tools to help you explore your potential pay, benefits and entitlements. We’re here to ensure you have the support you need at every stage.

Working for a local authority in Greater Manchester

Local authorities across Greater Manchester are proud to be part of a shared commitment to widening access to employment and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

These commitments span a number of long‑standing schemes and initiatives designed to open doors, remove barriers and ensure all applicants feel valued and respected throughout their employment journey.

Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter

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Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter

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Our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme

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Our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme

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Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment

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Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment

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Greater Manchester People Inclusion Standards

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Greater Manchester People Inclusion Standards

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Your Pay, Your Benefits, Your Future

Explore easy‑to‑use tools that help you understand your take‑home pay and how different employment situations may affect the financial support available to you and your household.

  1. Calculate Your Take‑Home Pay

    Use this salary calculator to estimate your net pay after tax, National Insurance, and pension contributions.

    Estimate your Income Tax for the current year (Gov.uk)

  2. Check Your Benefits Entitlement

    See how changes in employment, hours or salary may affect your benefits and household income.

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Applying Authentically With AI: Our Greater Manchester Approach

Across Greater Manchester’s local authorities, we want to hear your genuine experiences, skills and motivations, expressed in your own words.

To keep our recruitment process fair and inclusive, please complete your application personally and follow the instructions carefully. AI can be used to support you - for example, to help structure your answers or as a reasonable adjustment - but your application should still reflect your authentic voice.

Applications that depend too heavily on AI‑generated content may not progress to shortlisting.

This guidance outlines acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI, along with suggestions for using it in a way that supports you while keeping your application true to you.

  1. What Is AI and How Do We Use It Across Greater Manchester?

    AI refers to technology that can create or refine content, such as text, ideas, summaries, or planning. It can help improve productivity, problem-solving, and creativity.

    We’re open to using innovative digital tools where they can help us work smarter and deliver better services for our residents. However, every use of AI is carefully considered to make sure it is ethical, responsible, and aligned with public-sector values.

    When it comes to recruitment, we take a human-centred approach.

    This means:

    • A trained hiring manager reads every application

    • Shortlisting is based on objective criteria required for the job

    • Interviews are conducted in person or via teams by the hiring manager for the role

    • All hiring decisions are made by hiring managers, not algorithms

    AI does not make decisions in our recruitment process and our managers are being upskilled to spot AI in applications, particularly when this might have been used in a way that doesn’t feel genuine. If something in an application raises a question or concern, we will test this out with assessments or at the interview stage to confirm authenticity.

    Our aim isn’t to catch anyone out but to make sure we’re getting to know the real you, giving every candidate a fair chance and finding the right person for the role.

  2. Using AI in Your Application

    When it comes to job applications, what matters most to us is you. We want to see your personality, your experience, and what excites you about joining our team. 

    We recognise that AI can be a helpful tool to support accessibility during the application process. If you choose to use AI for support, please read the instructions carefully and make sure your application is written in your own words, reflecting your genuine skills, knowledge, experience and enthusiasm.

    We’re looking forward to hearing your story.

  3. How to use AI Effectively and Responsibly

    Your application is your chance to show us:

    • Who you are

    • What you can bring

    • The values you hold

    • Why you want to make a difference

    AI can help you organise your thoughts or improve clarity but it cannot express your unique voice, experiences, or motivations.

    AI is most helpful when used to:

    • Help you structure the information you are providing to evidence the criteria

    • Give examples of how to use STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result)

    • Proof-read to highlight grammar or spelling errors

    • Provide inspiration if you're finding it difficult to find the right words to explain something

    But remember: your honesty, lived experience, and motivations are irreplaceable.

  4. Do’s and Don’ts for Using AI in the Recruitment Process

    Do:

    • Use AI as a supportive tool, not a replacement

    • Ask AI to help tidy up your writing or clarify structure

    • Use it to brainstorm examples, then rewrite them in your own voice

    • Reflect on AI suggestions and adapt them to match your experience

    • Use AI to help with research, but express your understanding yourself

    Don’t:

    • Copy and paste AI-generated content directly into your application

    • Let AI exaggerate or invent experience you do not have

    • Rely on generic statements that don’t reflect the specific role requirements

    • Remove your individuality, we want to hear your voice

Stay Safe When Applying

To protect yourself from recruitment scams, please only apply for roles through the official greater.jobs website and associated recruitment systems. We will never ask for your personal information outside of this process.