Food Health & Safety Manager

Regulatory Services plays a vital role in protecting public health, supporting safe and responsible business growth, and maintaining high standards across Coventry’s diverse food, workplace and leisure sectors. Within this, the Food & Safety Team delivers essential frontline public protection functions that directly contribute to the safety and well-being of residents, workers and visitors.

The team undertakes a programme of intelligence ‑ led, risk ‑ based inspections, educates food businesses to support them into compliance, and responds to complaints, food alerts, outbreaks, and infectious disease notifications. We deliver the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme, undertake food and water sampling, and work closely with manufacturers, importers and retailers to maintain high safety and quality standards.

We ensure workplaces and visitor environments are safe by carrying out targeted inspections, responding to accidents and dangerous occurrences, and supporting businesses with advice that promotes safe working practices. Our approach is proportionate, prioritising high ‑ risk settings and poor performers while enabling compliant businesses to thrive.

What is the job role?

This is a fantastic opportunity for a visionary leader in Environmental Health. We’re offering a career-defining chance to shape and lead Coventry’s Food and Safety service, driving high performance and excellence in everything we do. As Food and Safety Manager, you will be at the forefront of delivering a high-quality, customer-focused service that ensures Coventry’s compliance with food hygiene, health and safety, and public health regulations.

You will set the strategic direction for the Food and Safety team, aligning our work with the City Council’s vision for a growing and sustainable city. In this role, you act as the Council’s principal technical expert on food safety, occupational health and safety, and safety at sports grounds and events. Your remit also includes leading our response to public safety incidents (food safety incidents, infectious disease outbreaks, etc.) and acting decisively to protect the community when urgent issues arise.

A key aspect of this role is providing leadership beyond the office: you will chair the Council’s Event Safety Advisory Group and the Safety at Sports Grounds Advisory Group, coordinating multi-agency partners to ensure a coordinated approach to crowd and spectator safety and wellbeing at events. From city centre festivals to major sports fixtures, you’ll bring agencies and event organisers together to make sure every event in Coventry is safe, successful, and enjoyable for all.

In this strategic role, you will provide expert advice to senior colleagues and elected members. You’ll develop and review policies, ensure we meet our statutory obligations, and represent Coventry in regional and national forums on emerging public safety issues. Your leadership will inspire a team of professional Environmental Health Officers and Technical Officers, and you will foster a culture of excellence, continuous improvement, and a passion for public service. This includes managing resources and budgets, and promoting innovation to keep our services efficient and future‑ready.

Who are we looking for?

We are seeking an inspirational, experienced Environmental Health professional with a strong background in food safety and health & safety regulation. The ideal candidate will have substantial experience in a local authority or similar setting enforcing food hygiene and health & safety law, including handling complex or sensitive cases and making robust, defensible decisions.

Strong leadership and management skills are a must; you should be able to motivate and guide a team, manage performance, and drive service improvements. Experience in chairing or working closely with multi‑agency groups (such as Safety Advisory Groups) would be a distinct advantage, as would experience of successful partnership working with businesses, community groups, and other stakeholders.

You will be a confident advisor and communicator, capable of presenting to committees and working with elected officials with tact and professionalism. We’re looking for someone who can influence and challenge respectfully to ensure the right outcomes, an individual who “can effectively engage others, with a proven track record in forging successful partnerships and developing innovative approaches”.

You should be up to date with current and upcoming legislation in food safety and public safety, and have the vision to innovate in service delivery as regulations and best practices evolve.

Essential qualifications include a Degree or Diploma in Environmental Health and a certificate of registration with the Environmental Health Officers Registration Board (EHORB). You should also have a management qualification or equivalent leadership experience. A commitment to ongoing professional development is expected, and you must be willing to work flexibly (the role may occasionally require work outside normal office hours).

Within our team, people from minority ethnic backgrounds are currently under‑represented across our middle‑management team; as a result, we would like to encourage people from minority ethnic backgrounds to apply for this post.This does not prevent any other applicants with a protected characteristic or a non‑protected characteristic from applying.

For more information and to apply CLICK HERE

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