Environmental Health Officer (Graduate)

Job Title: Environmental Health Officer (Graduate)

The Role

We’re looking for an Environmental Health Officer (Graduate) to join our Environmental Heath Housing Team at an exciting time, supporting the introduction of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 and helping to shape new approaches to housing regulation. You’ll work across a varied caseload that keeps every day interesting and builds your professional competence. Working mainly in the housing specialism with some H&S work and wider Environmental Health areas of work when assistance required. Herefordshire Council offers staff training and opportunities to progress towards full professional registration and specialist qualifications in environmental health as needed.

What will you be doing?

The housing environmental health officer (graduate) role will include: -

• Deliver private sector housing work, including HHSRS inspections, complaint investigation, property condition enforcement, and landlord/tenant advice.
• Carryout HMO licensing activity, including inspections and enforcement.
• Provide advice and enforcement actions on Illegal eviction and ASB / Nuisance cases relating to rental properties.
• Contribute to health and safety enforcement work, including reactive investigations, workplace inspections, RIDDOR responses and targeted projects.
• Provide support to other environmental health functions including food safety, public health and community protection matters were required.
• Work with colleagues and partner agencies and contribute flexibly across Environmental Health functions as required (including occasional evening/weekend working).

About You

You’ll be enthusiastic, customer-focused, and ready to learn, with organisational skills to manage competing priorities. You’ll communicate confidently with residents, businesses and colleagues, with an ability to work both independently and as part of a team.

Job Requirements

• Must have a Degree or Diploma in Environmental Health (or CIEH recognised equivalent), or final-year student seeking practical experience.
• Working towards (or able to obtain) EHRB registration / CIEH Chartered Environmental Health Practitioner accreditation.
• Good understanding of Environmental Health legislation, regulation, codes and good practice.
• Ability to travel across Herefordshire.

We Offer

A competitive salary, holiday entitlement, and access to our contributory pension and staff benefits scheme, which includes:

• Career progression: clear pathways to progress from Graduate EHO (HC7) to fully authorised CIEH registered Environmental Health Practitioner (HC8), with training, mentoring and support.
• Salary range of £32,061–£40,777 (career graded) - plus annually agreed £2,000 pro rata market rate supplement when CIEH registered Environmental Health Practitioner.
• Enrolment in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• Annual Leave: 31 days’ annual leave (pro rata) plus bank holidays. You can also purchase an additional 10 days per annum during the request period
• Flexible working: including the potential for job-sharing, part-time hours and agile working.
• Employee Assistance Programme: 24/7 access to support and counselling
• Payment of professional membership fees (based on role requirements)
• Pick your perks – our benefits include access to a range of retail, leisure, holiday and health benefits. This includes savings, cash back and discounts.
• Pool car available for district work.

Why Choose Us?

The Environmental Health profession has a long and proud history of safeguarding and improving public health for local communities, public and businesses, as a core local authority function, which is very much the case in our team in Herefordshire Council. We have an exciting opportunity for Environmental Health professionals to join our Housing Team of dedicated, supportive and professional staff with a wealth of experience, knowledge and care in delivering this service. All this within the beautiful, historic county of Herefordshire.

Herefordshire is big hearted, welcoming, and friendly. We have strong and independent communities and idyllic countryside, situated in the South West Midlands and bordering Wales. The county sits between Worcestershire and the Malvern Hills to the east, and Bannau Brycheiniog (the Brecon Beacons) in Wales to the west.

Historically Herefordshire has been the gateway to the Marches. We embrace partnership working. We are a member of the Marches Forward Partnership, which is a cross border collaboration between Herefordshire, Monmouthshire, Powys and Shropshire who are collectively working to secure funding to invest in the region.

The council priorities over the next four years are set out in the Council Plan, with four main areas;

People: We will enable residents to realise their potential, to be healthy and to be part of great communities who support each other. We want all children to have the best start in life.

Place: We will protect and enhance our environment and ensure that Herefordshire is a great place to live. We will support the right housing in the right place, we will support access to green spaces and we will do everything we can to recover the health of our rivers.

Growth: We will create the conditions to deliver sustainable growth across the county; attracting inward investment, building business confidence, creating jobs, enabling housing development along with providing the right infrastructure.

Transformation: We will be an efficient council that embraces best practice, delivers innovation through technology and demonstrates value for money.

Don’t meet all parts of the job description?

Herefordshire Council is committed to strengthening a diverse and inclusive work environment which reflects the communities of Herefordshire. If you are looking at the next stage of your career and have a broad base of fieldwork experience, we can provide supportive and welcoming opportunities to help you develop your professional, management & supervisory skills.

Reasonable Adjustments

Our recruitment process runs in partnership with Hoople Resourcing. If you require any reasonable adjustments or alternative methods for the online application process, please contact the resourcing team by email: [email protected].

Creating an inclusive workplace

We encourage our employees to feel empowered and to use their voices to help embrace diversity, promote inclusivity and shape our organisation. We have eight employee network groups, collectives of colleagues who often share identities, life experiences or cultures and offer support and community. They also play an important role in strengthening the voices of employees at Herefordshire Council. Embedded in the Council's values is a commitment to listen to people's views and needs.

For more information on our Employee Network Groups please view our dedicated recruitment website: www.spiritofherefordshire.com.

Commitments, Covenants and Statutory Obligations

The following candidates will be interviewed if they meet the essential criteria for the post they are applying for:

• Those who indicate that they have a disability. This is part of our commitment to the “Disability Confident” scheme.
• Those who indicate in their application that they are an Armed Forces Veteran or Reservist. This is part of our pledge to support the Armed Forces Covenant.
• Those who indicate in their application that they are a Herefordshire care leaver. This is part of our commitment to supporting young people leaving our care.

We take our commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults seriously and expect all of our staff, visitors and volunteers to share in this commitment.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children & young people and vulnerable adults. If you are offered this position, it will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check.

How to apply

To apply for a position, please upload an up-to-date CV and complete the application form demonstrating your experience, skills and abilities for the role.

For more information or to arrange an informal discussion about the role, please contact: Elisabeth Laughland, Regulatory Service Manager (01432 261676) or email  [email protected] .

Be sure to include reference to the job description and person specification or role profile! If you are successfully shortlisted, Hoople Resourcing will contact you via email to arrange your interview and/or assessment. They will confirm the date, time and location of your interview, so please keep an eye on your email inbox - check your spam/ junk folder too. Good luck, we’re looking forward to meeting you!