Scientific and Policy Officer - Poultry (3182)

We're looking to recruit a Scientific and Policy Officer committed to animal welfare to join the RSPCA Farm Animals Department, as a Poultry specialist. 

Contract: Permanent 

Hours: 35 hours per week; Monday - Friday.

Location: Hybrid - You will work from home and will be required to attend a team meeting in the Horsham hub once a month. 

The role also requires travel to London on an adhoc basis for meetings. 

You will be required to travel to sites and farms for visits, so a full UK Driving License is required for this role.

As a Scientific Officer you'll have a specific focus on poultry and will assist the continued development of the RSPCA's welfare standards for these species, used within the Society's farm assurance scheme (RSPCA Assured) and beyond. The post entails a further general advisory, advocacy and communication role regarding welfare issues for the species concerned.

The RSPCA's  Farm Animals Department is responsible for promoting by all practical means the highest standards in farm animal welfare. This includes improving attitudes towards animals, strengthening the laws in relation to farm animals, improving their implementation, developing the RSPCA welfare standards for specific species and progressing the Department's work on Welfare Outcome Assessment. 

We're looking for a Scientific and Policy Officer with a proven commitment to animal welfare, who is an analytical thinker with the ability to work independently. 

Our recruitment journey – key dates for you to note:

Here's what the process looks like, no surprises, just a friendly guide:

1. Application
   You'll be asked to answer a few questions to give us a sense of your experience, skills, and potential. Don't worry if you don't tick every box - what really matters is what you can bring to the role and the team.
2. Panel Interview
   If your application is successful, you'll be invited to a panel interview with the Hiring Manager. This is a chance to:

• Share more about what you've done and what you're proud of
• We encourage you to ask questions about the role, the team, and the impact you could make. Interviews are a two-way conversation, and we recognise that any career move needs to feel right for you as well as for us.
• Show off your skills and behaviours in a relaxed, supportive setting

If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, just let us know - we're happy to support you.

We think this role is going to be popular and are expecting to attract high interest, so we strongly encourage early applications to avoid missing out. The deadline for applications will be the 3rd of June.

• Contributing to the development of the RSPCA welfare standards for the relevant species, including liaison with, and provision of scientific/technical advice and support to, the RSPCA Assured scheme and its members.  
• Provision of scientific and technical input into specific projects, reports and campaigns, both externally and within the RSPCA.  
• Liaison with the farming and food industries, scientific research sector, UK and overseas governmental and non-governmental bodies.  
• Representation of the Society externally, including in the media.

• A Masters degree in a relevant scientific subject (animal/agriculture/welfare science) or a bachelor's degree plus relevant equivalent experience.
• Good level of animal production and welfare knowledge (particularly poultry).
• Experience of preparing and delivering (verbally and written) presentations/reports to varied audiences.
• Well-developed analytical skills combined with strong attention to detail.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to communicate complex scientific information to a broad range of audiences.
• Excellent attention to detail.

Successful candidates for certain RSPCA roles will need to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK - We are unable to sponsor visas at RSPCA

Proposed interview dates: 15th and 16th of June. The first stage interviews will be held in person.

We want to ensure we do all we can to give you a positive candidate experience through our recruitment. Whilst we do try to give feedback where we can, sometimes due to receiving high levels of applications, this may not always be possible

Our vision is a world where all animals are respected and treated with kindness and compassion. Our purpose is to inspire everyone to create a better world for animals. We are building the future of a diverse Society, and our priority is to support animal welfare by finding people from all backgrounds who are committed  to our purpose.  For this reason we actively encourage a wide diversity of applications - in particular from members of minority ethnic groups, and people with disabilities - as these candidates are currently under-represented at the RSPCA. Your transferable skills & lived experiences could make you a valuable addition to our RSPCA Family! 

We're here to support you and encourage you to let us know if you need any adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process. Please feel free to contact us at resourcingteam@rspca.org.uk or 0300 123 0685 so we can ensure the process works for you.