Animal and Plant Health Agency
Veterinary Advisor - International Trade team
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Veterinary Advisor - International Trade team
Veterinary Advisor – International Trade Team
Role Type: Full time/Part Time/Job Share/Flexible Working Locations: Bristol, Cardiff, Carlisle, Carmarthen, Crewe, Exeter, Leicester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nottingham, Perth, Preston, Winchester, York
About the Role
Do you excel in leading change in competitive and evolving environments? With a passion for applying communication and problem-solving skills, you’ll thrive in a dynamic and flexible role where every day brings innovation and new challenges.
At the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), we foster a supportive culture where individuals feel valued, equipped with a voice, and empowered to be their true professional selves. We pride ourselves on promoting diversity and inclusion, believing it drives creativity, improves decision-making, and strengthens our mission to deliver outstanding public service.
We are proud to champion equality, offering equitable opportunities to diverse talent—including underrepresented groups—so we can build a workforce reflective of the society we serve. This is more than an opportunity; it’s a chance to make a real impact in global veterinary public health and tradability.
Job Description
We are seeking an enthusiastic and experienced Veterinary Advisor to join our world-leading Centre for International Trade (CIT) team and guide new and evolving trade initiatives while supporting associated policy development.
Core Responsibilities
Your role will include (but is not limited to):
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Leadership & Team Management
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Lead and manage the International Veterinary Team (IVT)
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Set clear strategic direction while providing day-to-day operational oversight.
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Oversee performance, development, and people management to maintain high-quality, consistent service delivery.
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Expert Veterinary Advice & Policy Support
- Provide authoritative veterinary advice across IVT, APHA, Defra, and the Chief Veterinary Officer.
- Support (and where applicable, shaped) trade policy development, ensuring practical, evidence-based guidance aligned with organisational priorities.
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Border Control & Trade Development
- Collaborate with the Veterinary Head of Border Control and Border Control Posts advisers to craft policies relating to EU Border Control Posts.
- Address challenges at GB and international trade borders, and participate in new emerging trade relationships.
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Collaboration & Cross-Functional Operational Improvement
- Foster a cohesive team culture through cross-training, knowledge-sharing, and best-practice replication.
- Work with peers and senior leadership to drive consistency, efficiency, resilience, and cost-effectiveness across operations.
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Operational Assurance & Delivery
- Oversee quality assurance of APHA certification activities, ensuring traders receive accurate, consistent, and well-reasoned advice.
- Co-lead the Border Control Knowledge Forum to deliver aligned trade activity, meeting performance and policy expectations.
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Resilience, Biosecurity & Crisis Response
- Contribute to business continuity planning while actively playing a role in disease outbreak response and interventions.
- Influence Defra’s strategic prioritisation, balancing trade facilitation with the protection of national biosecurity and animal health.
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Stakeholder Engagement & Representation
- Represent CIT & APHA at internal and external events, shaping and maintaining strong relationships with modalities ranging from international trade services to political stakeholders.
- Capture external feedback and insights, funneling them internally to inform decision-making processes.
Person Specification
To be successful in this role, you will need:
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Leadership & Decision-Making
- Demonstrated inspirational and values-led leadership with a robust track record of making strategic decisions.
- Alignment with the Civil Service behaviours and experience in supporting organisational change initiatives.
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Relationship Management
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills, cultivating collaborative relationships with colleagues, external partners, and high-level stakeholders.
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Performance & Improvement
- Proven ability to set clear expectations, deliver performance conversations and coaching, and continuously enhance team outputs against formulated objectives.
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Resource & Organisational Management
- Effective resource allocation skills in demanding environments, attributable to structured workflow, priority management, and stress resilience.
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Communication & Professional Credibility
- Sound written and verbal communication with the assurance to represent APHA, contributing authoritative advocacy to internal and external stakeholders.
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Governance & Quality Assurance
- Ability to navigate auditability, strategic frameworks, and -adhering-to internal registers to uphold high standards of precision and regulatory compliance.
Qualifications & Memberships
- Essential Requirements:
- A qualifying veterinary degree (conferring Membership or Fellowship status with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons).
- Registered with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (MRCVS/FRCVS).
Benefits Package
Alongside a competitive annual salary of £56,375, APHA augments your total remuneration with £16,331 for the Civil Service pension scheme, joining 200+ defined benefit contributors.
In addition, we offer:
- Annual leave policy comprising 25 days escalating incrementally by 1 day annually, up to a maximum of 30 days.
- Commitment to employment diversity and equity programs, tailored learning and professional development facilitated via flexible e-learning curriculum.
- Priority access to staff discounts (retail, travel, dining, cultural and professional services).
- Fieldwork stipends and performance-linked bonus program.
- Employee Voluntary Contribution Association (EVA) scheme, recognising significant enhancements through salary sacrifice benefits.
- Volunteering leave, with 3 days paid time off annually per volunteer, for part-time roles scaled proportionately.
- Flexible work arrangements tailored to individual circumstance, ensuring a design where performance is the foundation of deliverables.
For more information, visit Civil Service Jobs and search for "Veterinary Advisor". Let’s work together to boost tradeability, safeguard biosecurity, and advance global veterinary excellence.
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