15 new positions advertised at the Government’s Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) are all understood to be Brexit-linked, AgriLand can reveal.
The latest wave of jobs are customer service roles based in Carlisle, Bristol and York.
The jobs boast a package of £20,000 plus “generous holidays and a competitive pension” putting the total cost of the new employees at more than £300,000.
The new employees will have responsibility for updating information systems, maintaining databases, liaising with the public and providing advice and guidance on policies and procedures.
The roles will also involve responses to disease outbreaks or major industry incidents.
It’s on top of the 1,250 additional staff already recruited across Defra to support its comprehensive EU exit programme of work.
The body is also recruiting for dozens of other posts, including:
- Six bee inspectors;
- Two operational delivery profession apprentices;
- An imports risk analyst:
- Two scientific software developers;
- 10 admin officers;
- An admin assistant;
- Three bacteriology scientists; and
- One production manager.
Over 80% of Defra group’s agenda is affected by the vote to leave the European Union.
The lack of certainty surrounding the future at this late stage means the department has had to prepare for a range of scenarios, further adding to the costs of preparation.
Defra and all of its arms’ length bodies continue to reprioritise resources to meet new pressures arising from Brexit preparations and, to supplement existing capability and capacity.
The deadline for applications for the customer service roles is September 9. The full list of APHA vacancies and details of how to apply can be found online.
A spokesman for Defra declined to comment.
