Plant & Bee Health Regional Manager

Job summary

Are you an experienced leader who thrives in a dynamic and challenging environment?

Would you like to play a vital role in safeguarding plant health, protecting the economy, and supporting food traceability?

If so, we have an exciting opportunity for two Regional Managers to join our Plant Health Operations Team at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).

These vacancies are based in:

• South West Region with office locations at Exeter, Truro, Launceston or Bridgewater.

• North East Region with office location at York (Sand Hutton)

All posts will be offered in merit order based on location and business need.

As a Regional Manager, you will lead a team of Plant Inspectors and Horticultural Marketing (HMI) inspectors across a geographic area. You will ensure delivery of regulatory activities, prioritise resources, and maintain high standards of service. This is a role where your leadership will make a real difference to biosecurity, and the horticulture and agriculture industries.

Job description

You will:

• Manage a geographically dispersed team, ensuring performance, conduct, and attendance meet organisational standards.

• Provide leadership and direction, fostering collaboration and continuous improvement.

• Prioritise workloads and resources to meet delivery targets and regulatory requirements.

• Build and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders, operational partners, and internal colleagues.

• Champion best practice and lead your team through organisational change.

• Ensure compliance with quality standards, including ISO 17020.

• Participate in emergency and outbreak response activities, including contingency planning and exercises.

• Promote health, safety, and wellbeing across your team.

This role requires regular travel within the region and occasional detached duty during incidents. Successful candidates must be able to operate without travel restrictions within the delivery area.

Person specification

We are looking for an experienced and confident leader with a positive attitude who can motivate and inspire a team to deliver effectively and efficiently, particularly during periods of change.

You will have:

• Strong IT skills, including proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite, and the ability to analyse and use data to inform decisions.

• Practical experience in horticulture, agriculture, or the fresh produce industry.

• Awareness or understanding of statutory plant health controls.

• A commitment to developing and supporting your team, recognising individual skills, experience, wellbeing, and development needs and working through HR cases and policy when required.

As a Civil Servant, you will demonstrate honesty, integrity, and impartiality. You will also be supported in your own development. through workshops, online training, mentoring, and coaching.

Essential Criteria

• Leadership & People Management – Proven ability to lead, motivate and develop teams, delivering KPIs, SLAs and service expectations while supporting staff wellbeing and managing HR processes.
• Analysis, Decision-Making & Problem Solving – Strong analytical skills with the ability to use data and evidence to identify issues, develop solutions and make informed business decisions.
• Communication & Stakeholder Engagement – Excellent written, verbal and presentation skills, with the ability to communicate clearly to diverse audiences and build effective working relationships.
• Collaboration & Partnership Working – Strong interpersonal skills and experience working collaboratively across multidisciplinary teams, including regional and operational colleagues, to deliver consistent service standards.
• Change Leadership & Resilience – Ability to lead and support organisational change, demonstrate Civil Service values, and remain adaptable and resilient in challenging or evolving environments.
• Operational Delivery & Quality Assurance – Experience delivering operational services within quality assurance frameworks, managing multiple priorities and projects, and ensuring high standards of performance and compliance.
• Industry Knowledge & Regulatory Awareness – Understanding of relevant legislation or regulatory frameworks, with knowledge or experience of the plant health, horticultural or agricultural sectors, and confidence in using technology to support service delivery.

Licences

Full UK Driving licence (evidence to be provided at interview)

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,665, Animal and Plant Health Agency contributes £12,360 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an average employer contribution of 28.97%.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
• An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities tailored to your role Access to a range of retail, travel, and lifestyle employee discounts.
• A hybrid office/home based working model.

Please refer to the Candidate Information Pack for more detail around offered benefits.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

Application Process

As part of the selection process you will be asked to provide:

• A CV submitted through an on-line tool accessed through the Civil Service Jobsite; there is no requirement to upload your personal CV.
• a 500 word personal statement.
• a 250 word Communicating & Influencing Behaviour

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

CV Guidance

Your CV should consist of your career history, including any key achievements and your main responsibilities in each role and be no longer than 2 pages. Your CV will be used to p