Vacancy -- Veterinary Adviser

Working for the Civil Service

The Welsh Government's recruitment processes are underpinned by the principle of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

Vacancy Details

Climate Change and Rural Affairs Group
Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer
Grade 7 - £53,440 - £63,900
A starting salary between £51,380 and £61,440 will be offered to the successful candidate based on their skills, knowledge and experience and performance at interview. This range is not negotiable.
Full time (applications are welcome from people who work part time, as part of a job share or who work full time)
Permanent
Pan Wales
'Pan Wales' means that the location in which the vacancy can be based is flexible, subject to the needs of the business. Please note it may not always be possible to accommodate a preference for a specific office location, but requests will be taken into consideration.
TBC

Purpose of Post:

This is a key post within the Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer (OCVO) in the Welsh Government (WG).  You will be part of a team responsible for securing and raising the standards of health and welfare for animals in Wales, and for protecting public health. 

In accordance with the Welsh Government’s Animal Health and Welfare Strategy, the main objectives of OCVO are to:

  • Protect against the incursion and spread of exotic animal disease and maintain a state of preparedness to deal with any outbreak;
  • Pursue a programme of bovine TB eradication;
  • Control endemic disease; and
  • Promote higher standards in order to improve animal health and welfare.

You will provide veterinary advice to the Welsh Government, the Chief Veterinary Officer (Wales), the Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer (DCVO) and policy teams on matters relating to animal health and welfare policy.   As part of the OCVO veterinary team, you will be gain experience across a wide range of animal health and welfare policies and have the opportunity to take on veterinary leadership of specific areas of work.   The post provides an exciting opportunity to strongly influence animal health and welfare policy.  You will be fully supported to make a strong, positive impact to veterinary public health and to develop relevant skills as a state veterinarian.

The post will report to the Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer (DCVO).

Key tasks:

The role will provide veterinary advice and leadership on the following potential areas:

  • Trading standards and arrangements following EU exit.
  • The Wales Animal Health and Welfare Framework
  • Exotic and endemic disease prevention and control
  • Emergency response to exotic disease outbreaks and contingency planning
  • Animal Welfare
  • Bovine tuberculosis to support the Wales TB Eradication Programme

The Post Holder will be expected to contribute to areas that match their strengths, interests and experience, and development requirements.

Key tasks will include:

  • Taking the lead in providing key veterinary advice to the policy teams within OCVO.
  • Providing support to the CVO and DCVO in providing veterinary professional advice to Ministers and Welsh Government colleagues.
  • Providing an intelligent customer function for externally sourced advice.
  • Providing support and guidance to the Wales Animal Health and Welfare Framework Group.
  • Representing OCVO as required on relevant Welsh Government and external delivery partner and stakeholder boards.
  • Develop strong working relationships both inside Welsh Government and with key partners and stakeholders including the Animal and Plant Health Agency, the Food Standards Agency and the veterinary delivery partners for Wales.
  • Provide support across the Welsh Government Veterinary team.
  • Undertake specific special projects as determined by the CVO and DCVO ranging across the whole of OCVO.

In the event of an animal disease emergency, VAs will be required to provide support.  This may require the post holder to work out of normal working hours at short notice and possibly to be based at the Emergency Co-ordination Centre Wales, Welsh Government Offices, Cathays Park, Cardiff for a period of time during the emergency.

Development opportunities:

The post holder will have the opportunity to develop a strong understanding of how the CVO and her team of Veterinary Advisers and Policy Officials within OCVO have responsibly for raising the standards of health and welfare for all animals kept in Wales.  It will provide an opportunity to learn and be part of the Welsh Government’s role in developing policy, working with Ministers and being at the forefront of promoting animal health and welfare across Wales.

The post provides an opportunity for exposure to, and to gain experience of, a wide range of state veterinary work from a government policy perspective.  Full support and training will be provided to ensure the post holder benefits from this opportunity as much as possible.

Closing Date:

20/05/2022, 16:00

Eligibility

Posts recruited to as part of this recruitment campaign are broadly open to UK nationals, those with right to remain and work in the UK and those that meet the Civil Service Nationality Rules only. Check your eligibility here:

Prior to appointment, all successful applicants will be required to produce original, acceptable documents as part of the pre-employment checks. If it becomes apparent at a later stage in the process that you aren’t eligible to apply, your application will be withdrawn, or offer retracted.

Equality and Diversity

The Welsh Government is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and which promote equality of opportunity. This is underpinned by the Equality Act 2010 and will be adhered to at each stage of the recruitment process. Our goal is to ensure that these commitments are also embedded in our day-to-day working practices with all our customers, colleagues and partners.

We are committed to being an anti-racist organisation and increasing diversity in the Welsh Government by removing barriers and supporting all our staff to reach their potential. We are committed to recruiting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people and disabled people who are currently under-represented in Welsh Government.

We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, marriage and civil partnership (both same sex and opposite sex), impairment or health condition, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, gender identity or gender expression.

We are a Stonewall Diversity Champion and a Disability Confident Level 3 (Leader) organisation. Key to supporting this work and providing peer support are five Board sponsored Staff Networks (Disability Awareness and Support (DAAS); Minority Ethnic Support Network (MESN); Mind Matters (Mental health and well-being); PRISM (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex +) and Women Together.

Disability Confident

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

Welsh Language Requirements

The Welsh Government is a bilingual organisation and Welsh language skills are considered an asset to the organisation. We encourage and support staff to learn, develop and use their Welsh language skills in the workplace. 

The following list of language requirements represents an objective assessment by the line manager on behalf of the Welsh Government of the Welsh language skills required to undertake the duties of this particular post.

Not necessary to undertake the duties of this post

Social Partnership

In Welsh Government, the relationship between the employer and trade unions is based on social partnership. We believe our goals can best be achieved by management and trade unions working together.

Our 3 recognised trade unions are:
•         PCS
•         Prospect
•         FDA

This relationship is underpinned by a partnership agreement. This sets out how our unions work with Welsh Government on issues such as:
•         pay
•         terms and conditions
•         policies and procedures
•         organisational change.

Our Welsh Government trade union colleagues work together to give their members a real say in the workplace. They make sure that the interests of their members are promoted and protected. They also help reduce inequalities and improve terms and conditions.

The Welsh Government has an excellent track record of working in partnership with its trade unions. We encourage staff to get involved. We support you to join a recognised trade union, to ensure your voice is heard in the workplace. and to learn more about trade unions and partnership working.

Competencies / Job Specific Criteria

Competencies

Making Effective Decisions:

  • Analyse and evaluate data from various sources to identify pros and cons and identify risks in order to make well considered decisions.

Leading and Communicating:

  • Confidently engage with stakeholders and colleagues at all levels to generate commitment to goals.

Changing and Improving:

  • Spot warning signs of things going wrong and provide a decisive response to significant delivery challenges.

Collaborating and Partnering:

  • Actively involve partners to deliver a business outcome through collaboration that achieves better results for citizens.

Job Specific Criteria

  1. A commitment to the application of principles of state veterinary medicine.
  2. Robust knowledge of the national and international legal/regulatory framework, as relevant to the role.
  3. A practical understanding of the range of issues associated with veterinary science evidence and knowledge development.

Assessment Process

Applications will be sifted, successful candidates will then be asked to carry out an analytical exercise followed by a 10 minute presentation. Following a break, the candidates will be asked questions on behaviours; strengths and job specifics.  Please read the guidance in the 'How To Apply' section.

Other Information

  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘actual starting salary’, all candidates will start at the minimum of the pay scale being appointed to (this includes existing civil servants).This is not negotiable.
  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘type of opportunity’, this recruitment advert is not open on a Loan or Secondment basis.
  • For more information on the eligibility criteria and terms and conditions for Loan and Secondment positions in Welsh Government, please see external recruitment candidate guidance.
  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘Location of Post’ the role/s recruited to via this campaign can only be worked in the UK, not overseas.
There is currently one Veterinary Adviser vacancy.  However, a reserve list may be held should any further VA posts become available in the next 12 months.
Dr Gavin Watkins (DCVO) - Gavin.watkins@gov.wales - 03000 255003 / 07779 436401

How to apply

All applications for this vacancy should be made online via the Welsh Government's online application system.  If you have an impairment which would prevent you from applying on-line, please e-mail SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales to request an application pack in an alternative format, or to request a reasonable adjustment related to an impairment in order to submit your application.

To apply, you'll need to have an account on our online application system.  Click the 'Apply' button below, and you'll be asked to 'Log in' if you already have an account, or 'Register' if you don't yet have an account.  Registration takes just a few minutes to complete.  You'll need an e-mail address to be able to register.  Once you've registered for an account and logged in, you'll be taken to the online application form, which you'll need to fully complete and submit before the deadline on the closing date.  

If you’d like to apply for this vacancy in Welsh, please use the ‘Newid Iaith / Change Language’ link at the top of this page, to take you to the Welsh version of this advert, from which you can apply in Welsh.

For further information regarding the Welsh Government recruitment process, please see the Recruitment Guidance for External Candidates (link).

When evidencing your suitability for the post, it is recommended that you refer to the Civil Service Competency Framework (link)

Grievance and Complaints

Anyone who believes they have been treated unfairly, or has a grievance or complaint, about how the process was conducted should either write to the Head of Resourcing, Welsh Government, Cathays Park 2, Cardiff CF10 3NQ or email SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales.  If you are unhappy with the outcome of the complaint raised with the Welsh Government and feel that the principles of appointment on merit through fair and open competition have not been met you have the right to pursue your grievance with the Civil Service Commission.

This vacancy is closed to applications.