Food Incident Response & Complaints Officer

Department of Regional NSW Careers • Newington, CT

4d

About The Position

The Strategy Regulatory & Policy Food Incident Response & Complaints (FIRC) team plays a critical role in responding to and addressing food safety risk and compliance in NSW. In this role, you will be directly involved in investigations of foodborne illness outbreaks. You will also be undertaking compliance inspections and investigations of a variety of NSW based food businesses to address food safety risks and maximise compliance with food safety legislation. This involves writing inspection reports and initiating enforcement action where appropriate. You will also assist in NSW DPI emergency management operations as required.
As our ideal candidate you will bring: Demonstrated experience undertaking a range of compliance and enforcement action in a food regulatory environment. Responding promptly and effectively, often at short notice, to rapidly evolving issues and emerging noncompliance, you will need to be able to work independently and as part of a team. Experience as the first point of contact for many food businesses, you will need excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, to provide information and recommendations to business owners and engage with industry stakeholders to facilitate compliance in the food industry. A high degree of judgment, conflict management, and client engagement skills to deliver required outcomes in a dynamic and high-volume environment with strict deadlines. Ability to utilise delegated powers in accordance with established policies, procedures, and protocols to create consistency and transparency across compliance activities and be required to interpret and keep up to date with current and new legislation, policies and procedures. Experience working across a wide range of food processing environments, from retail operations to large‑scale manufacturing facilities, encompassing a variety of food types. You will be able to demonstrate a strong understanding of the differing food safety, quality, and operational risks associated with these environments.

Requirements

• Tertiary qualifications in Science or Food Technology, or a related discipline
• Current Class C NSW Driver Licence as well as the ability and willingness to travel throughout NSW and interstate as required; and work outside normal working hours to achieve outcomes at short notice across a wide range of issues.

Nice To Haves

• Demonstrated practical experience in food production, manufacturing and processing and foodborne illness investigations.
• Excellent knowledge of Food legislation, including the Food Standards Code and Food Act 2003 (NSW)
• Excellent demonstrated knowledge of food safety, food technology and food microbiology including food pathogens.
• Previous demonstrated experience in high level enforcement action for breaches against food legislation.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Number of Employees: 11-50 employees