Consumer Protection Officer

Number of Vacancies: 1

Time Type: Full time

Worker Type: Fixed Term (Fixed Term)

Proposed Interview Date: Monday, July 27, 2026

Hours of Work: 37

Hiring Manager: Ian Mattinson

Contact Number: 01482 615414

Job Description Summary:

This is a Full time, Fixed Term Position until April 2027 to cover Maternity Leave. Join our Trading Standards team and help create a fair, safe, and trusted trading environment for residents and businesses across the city of Hull.

As a Consumer Protection Officer, you will provide advice, education, and enforcement across a broad range of Trading Standards functions, including consumer protection, product safety, food standards, petroleum safety, animal health, and safeguarding vulnerable consumers. You will investigate complaints and criminal offences, gather and assess evidence, conduct interviews under relevant legislation, prepare legal case files, and represent the Council in court proceedings when required.

The role includes leading initiatives to identify and support victims of scams and fraud, delivering crime prevention and educational campaigns, and working closely with partner agencies to reduce consumer harm. You will undertake inspections, carry out intelligence-led investigations, participate in multi-agency enforcement activity, and help protect the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults.

We are looking for a proactive and professional individual with strong investigative, analytical, and communication skills, together with a commitment to public protection and excellent customer service. Experience of enforcement, evidence gathering, partnership working, and managing complex casework would be advantageous.

Applicants should hold a degree-level qualification (or demonstrate equivalent relevant experience) or have completed a Level 4 Counter Fraud Investigator Apprenticeship. This is an excellent opportunity to develop your Trading Standards career while contributing to a safer and fairer marketplace for everyone.

If the postholder requires a Standard or Enhanced DBS disclosure the candidate is required to declare full details of everything on their criminal record unless the conviction/s and/or caution/s are considered “protected” in line with filtering rules for DBS checks.

ROLE AND PURPOSE

To help promote a fair and safe trading environment throughout the city as part of a team of officers engaged in discharging the City Council’s Trading Standards statutory and allied functions, and to carry out all the duties of a Consumer Protection Officer. To provide advice, educate and enforce a wide range of powers under fair trading, product safety, food standards, petroleum safety and animal health legislation. To investigate criminal breaches and attend legal proceedings to present evidence to support criminal and civil proceedings. To participate in the provision of highly interactive client focused responses to requests for the Public Protection Division’s services.

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• To promote and safeguard the welfare of children, young people and/or vulnerable adults.
• To lead on the National Scams Team project of identifying local victims of mass marketing frauds and scams within the City and other projects involving consumer and trade detriment. To develop and implement educational crime reduction initiatives aimed at preventing the public from being scammed or made repeat victims to those already targeted.
• Statutory Obligations - To investigate and enforce a wide range of legislation, by-laws, policies and statutory duties in discharging the City Council’s Trading Standards functions. To be responsible for enforcing over 50 Acts of Parliament and hundreds of Regulations aimed at ensuring a fair and safe trading environment and imposing animal welfare and disease control provisions. To conduct investigations and the detection of offences and to interview persons in accordance with The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 as and when required and the initiation of criminal and civil legal proceedings as required. This includes gathering of evidence, investigation, retention and preparation of legal reports, documents and to attend and give evidence on behalf of the Council at court.
• To investigate complaints and detect infringements in order to prepare and evaluate evidence and instigate appropriate enforcement action under supervision in line with statutory requirements, including issuing warning notices, seizing evidence, compiling detailed prosecution reports, interviewing witnesses in accordance with the Service’s Enforcement Policy.
• To work in partnership with other agencies and organisations to deliver awareness campaigns regarding financial abuse caused by, for example, mass marketing frauds and scams by doorstep cold callers.
• To identify unfair practices which seriously undermine the interests of consumers and/or business by carrying out under supervision inspection and sampling programmes at an extensive range of trading premises and carrying out investigations following the receipt of service requests from consumers or businesses who have identified possible infringements.
• To contribute to achieving the objectives and targets of the Service Delivery Plan by working effectively as a member of the team and to produce timely and accurate correspondence, records, files and data, including the use of IT.
• To carry out intelligence led criminal investigations following possible offences identified through service requests or planned inspection work and to plan, develop relationships and participate in multi-agency enforcement activity.
• To undertake routine areas of work and occasionally assist other trading standards staff when working as required, which may include out of hours working.
• To input, update, amend and retrieve manual and electronic records and information systems to produce accurate information for enforcement activities, statistical central government returns and forward planning.
• The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and associated legislation places responsibilities for health and safety on Hull City Council, as your employer and you as an employee of the council. In addition to the Councils overall duties, the post holder has personal responsibility for their own health & safety and that of other employees; additional and more specific responsibilities are identified in the Council’s Corporate H&S policy. NC3274.CONSUMER PROTECTION OFFICER.docx