Senior Agricultural Officer - Fixed Term (11 months)

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) is a statutory, independent and science-based national agency, dedicated to protecting consumers' health and interests by leading a collaborative food safety community to continuously raise food standards and create a culture of compliance. Core FSAI objectives are to ensure, through regulation and engagement, that food produced, consumed, distributed or marketed in Ireland is safe and meets EU standards.

To this end, the FSAI oversees the enforcement of food law through an inspection service that is operated to agreed high standards by various State agencies. Consumers are placed at the centre of all its activities and have a fundamental right to safe food and not to be misled about the food they purchase or eat.

JOB PURPOSE

The person appointed will be working in the area of Veterinary Public Health & Agriculture within the Regulatory Affairs and Compliance Building (RACB) area of the FSAI. The Regulatory Affairs and Compliance Building (RACB) area provides strategic leadership for regulatory affairs, supports the official agencies in the regulation of the food industry, prepares and issues guidance on enforcement and compliance with food law and provides advice to Government on food safety policy, regulatory issues and food legislation. The RACB area deals regularly with food business in relation to food legislation including food hygiene, flexibility provisions, and regulatory changes; and provides training services for both official agencies and industry.

The post will involve supporting the official controls system on food safety for which the FSAI has statutory responsibility for oversight. This will include provision of technical (including scientific, regulatory and practical) expertise to FSAI interface with official agencies, food business operators, government departments and EU institutions. It will include supporting Government in the development of policy and legislation, supporting official agencies in implementing policy effectively, and working with business to build compliance with their legal obligations in relation to safe and trustworthy food. The role will include both lead and supporting roles for FSAI and other government initiatives, and as a manager the role holder will contribute to the governance and accountability for human and financial resources.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Key responsibilities of the overall role are listed below. During the specific period of secondment, predicted priorities to be a particular focus include contribution to FSAI input in the following specific areas

• Authenticity of honey
• Food Safety aspects of farm quality assurance schemes
• Safety assurance of organic waste land spreading
• Interface of Private Assurance schemes and food safety official controls
• Technical input to FSAI liaison with its official agencies on official control of horticulture, eggs and dairy products and Organic food production

Key responsibilities of the role will include:

• Support the Veterinary Public Health & Agriculture team contribution to FSAI strategic goals, within the RACB functional area and across the organisation.
• Advise on food safety considerations of pre-harvest agricultural practices, for primary production of both plant-origin and animal origin food. A lead role is anticipated in:
• Plant-origin food production including horticulture and fresh produce, and novel/innovative production methods
• Primary production inputs including feed, water, fertiliser, waste management
• Pesticide and plant-protection product usage & risk management of residues
• Environmental contaminants arising in preharvest phase
• Organic production
• Advise on food safety considerations of post-harvest processing, manufacture and distribution of food. A lead role is anticipated in certain aspects of:
• Support FSAI interface with its official agencies including ongoing service contract liaison; associated annual and multi-annual control plan development and appraisal; and technical support in implementation of food law.
• Lead development of FSAI advice on food safety legislation and policy both nationally and at EU level. Represent FSAI on regulatory advice fora.
• Assist in development of FSAI advice and input across broader food-chain policy initiatives including, EU 'Green Deal' & 'Farm-to-Fork' strategy, and national initiatives such as FoodWise 2030.
• Support, and where appropriate lead, the development of FSAI's role in emerging areas, for example, this may include food sustainability and food safety culture.
• Lead in development of FSAI advice on food production quality assurance schemes. Represent FSAI on technical advisory bodies of certain schemes.
• Lead on development of guidance on food safety management systems based on HACCP principles by FBOs, and implementation of food legislation by competent authorities.
• Lead and assist in internal and external training and educational programmes for food business operators and official agencies.
• Provide support to FSAI industry fora, and food industry stakeholder dialogue.
• Provide scientific technical support to FSAI Scientific Committee and its subcommittees and working groups.
• Participate in national, European Union and international working groups to represent FSAI where necessary.
• Assist FSAI role in food authenticity controls including provenance verification of foodstuffs.
• Support FSAI audit programme including design consideration, and physical participation where necessary.
• Support FSAI investigations through data analysis and physical inspection of food business operations where necessary.
• Support for FSAI incident management including input to risk assessment and epidemiological investigations.
• Assume line management responsibility for team members as required.
• Maintenance of scientific, legislative and practical currency in discipline.

KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE Required:

• A primary degree (Level 8) in a relevant discipline including but not limited to fields of agricultural science, food science, dairy science, or plant / horticultural science.
• At least 5 years' experience in an area of direct relevance to FSAI mandate including but not limited to: agricultural, dairy, plant / horticulture inspection; official control delivery; enforcement; quality assurance; regulatory advice; scientific research; or teaching.
• Directly involved in implementation of legislation of relevance to FSAI mandate.
• Demonstrable experience in designing leading or delivering on specific projects.
• Detailed knowledge of food safety scientific and regulatory environment including:
• Primary burdens of foodborne illness in EU society & risk management strategies
• Emerging trends in food production and food safety risk management
• EU food hygiene regulations and operator obligations
• EU official control regulations and competent authority obligations
• EU regulations around animal remedy and pesticide usage
• EU regulations around residue, contaminants and microbiological criteria
• Food law enforcement within Ireland
• An appreciation of the role of FSAI, its legislative framework, the services it provides, and its relationship with central government.
• Computer literacy. The standard Business Software in FSAI is Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise and Microsoft Office 365.
• A postgraduate qualification (NFQ level 9 or higher) in a relevant discipline such as food safety or food law.
• Knowledge or experience of public sector work.
• Experience in regulatory role directly involved in implementation of legislation of relevance to FSAI mandate, including enforcement experience.