Field Vet - England

Job summary

Are you considering a change in your veterinary career?

Are you looking for a career with variety and flexibility in the work you do?

Do you want a role safeguarding standards of animal health and welfare, protecting Great Britain from exotic notifiable diseases?

Many of the skills and competences already acquired in veterinary positions elsewhere will be applicable and valued in veterinary roles within APHA. Why not explore a change, a new veterinary path, one that can have far reaching impacts?

Why not join us and make a difference?

View our video below:

We offer first class flexible working benefits, a culture encouraging inclusion and diversity, excellent employee well-being support and a civil service pension scheme, as well as 25 days leave, rising to 30 days after 5 years of service.

A career in the Civil Service is like no other. If you’re looking to join a world class team and develop your career with us, then the Civil Service is the place for you!

Want to learn more?

Whilst the advert provides the essential details, we will also be holding two virtual drop-in sessions. The dates for these are 19.08.2026 - 12:00pm and also 22.08.2026 - 11:00am via Microsoft Teams. These sessions will be an opportunity to ask questions related to the job and the application process.

To join the session, click on the link below:

Field Vet Drop-In Session

Field Vet Drop-In Session

For any additional queries, or for those unable to attend a drop-in session please raise enquiries via: [email removed]

You can also visit APHA's Veterinary Careers website for further information. Home - Careers as an APHA Vet (aphavets.co.uk)

Job description

We currently have 3 exciting field veterinary opportunities to join our Field Vet England team in one of the locations listed above.

What the role involves

• Responding to incidents and outbreaks of notifiable animal diseases.
• Investigating disease in farm livestock.
• Carrying out welfare investigations, including reactive and surveillance work relating to animals on agricultural holdings, during transport and at the time of killing.
• Inspecting, approving and auditing premises across a range of settings, including zoos, pet food processing plants and other operational locations.
• Ensuring compliance with statutory animal health and welfare standards.
• Building collaborative relationships with key partners, including local authorities, industry representatives and non-APHA veterinary surgeons.
• Taking part in duty and out-of-hours rotas as required.

Appointments and location

All posts will be offered in merit order, taking account of location and business need. Regular travel will be required throughout the week to carry out the duties outlined above. During some notifiable disease work, staff may be required to work away from home on organised short-term detached duty, including overnight stays at other locations.

Related expenses will be reimbursed in line with policy. The post holder may also occasionally be required to work from other locations within the delivery area, including possible overnight stays. APHA operates an out-of-hours service, and staff will be expected to participate in both an on-call rota and a UK detached duty rota.

Person specification

As part of the application and interview process, we are looking for candidates who can demonstrate the following:

• Confident communicator able to translate technical information into clear insights, navigating difficult stakeholder and customer conversations professionally and with sensitivity.
• Progression beyond day-one competences, including a combination of animal handling, risk assessment, and decision making in a veterinary context, which could include epidemiological or welfare investigations.
• Proven ability, in an operational environment, to work independently within legislative frameworks, applying professional judgement to deliver proportionate solutions, manage priorities, and make informed decisions while seeking support where appropriate.
• Works effectively within multidisciplinary teams, adapting communication styles to diverse audiences and facilitating knowledge transfer through high-quality reports, guidance, training materials, and presentations.
• Maintenance of accurate, evidence-based records, whilst understanding the critical importance of quality assurance audits and processes in supporting high-quality outputs.
• Demonstration of an in-depth awareness and understanding of the importance of the principles of veterinary certification.

Support and training

Successful candidates will receive a comprehensive programme of training and support as part of their induction into APHA. Learning and development will be tailored to the role, recognising that candidates will join with different levels of experience, confidence and skills.

Training materials are designed to help all new entrants build the knowledge, confidence and competence needed to deliver APHA’s work effectively.

New veterinary staff will also become part of regional, country and GB-wide teams, with access to broad support across all aspects of APHA work.

Licences

A valid driving licence that covers the UK, access to a vehicle with appropriate business use insurance.

Qualifications

Minimum of Bachelor of Veterinary Science or equivalent

Memberships

A Member or Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, with a status of ‘UK Practising’ at commencement of the role.

Languages

Must have demonstrable skills in written and spoken English to enable effective communication about veterinary topics with customers and colleagues and meet one of the following:
• have undertaken undergraduate veterinary training in English;
or
• having a sufficient command of spoken and written English to effectively perform the role being undertaken by a public sector worker in a customer-facing role
or
• have achieved the following scores in the academic international English Language Testing System (IELTS) or equivalent in a single sitting within 24 months at time of application – Overall 7, Speaking 7, Listening 7, Reading 7, Writing 7.

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

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

• Understanding of notifiable exotic animal diseases in GB.
• Animal welfare issues in GB agriculture.
• Understanding of the control of endemic animal diseases in GB, such as TB.
• Veterinary ethics and principles of certification

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).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
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