Job Description

Help protect Scotland's consumers by applying your scientific expertise to some of the most important food safety issues facing the nation.

The Scientific Adviser (Food Safety) is part of the Science Division within Food Standards Scotland (FSS), Scotland's national food body and a non-ministerial office within the Scottish Administration. Working as part of a multidisciplinary team of biology, chemistry and social science professionals, the division delivers the scientific evidence, advice and expertise that underpin FSS's mission to protect consumers, improve public health and inspire confidence in Scotland's food system.

This varied role supports scientific risk assessment, research management and evidence-based policy development across a range of microbiological and chemical food safety topics. The postholder will apply specialist scientific knowledge to inform incident response, support decision-making, contribute to guidance and communications, and help ensure that FSS continues to provide trusted, evidence-based advice on food safety risks and emerging issues.

This post is a fixed-term appointment for 12 months, with the possibility of extension.

Responsibilities:

• Provide specialist scientific advice and risk assessments on microbiological and chemical food safety issues, supporting incident response, outbreak management and strategic risk analysis.
• Deliver scientific expertise and evidence-based advice to colleagues across FSS, contributing to policy development, operational delivery, enforcement activity, communications and training.
• Present and communicate complex scientific information and findings to a range of technical and non-technical audiences, including senior leaders, Ministers and external stakeholders.
• Contribute to the development of consumer-facing food safety advice, supporting clear and effective communications through digital and social media channels.
• Provide scientific input to the development and review of policy, guidance and technical materials produced by FSS and external partners.
• Analyse and evaluate scientific evidence, datasets and intelligence from a range of sources to inform decision-making and address food safety evidence needs.
• Design, commission and manage external research projects, including developing business cases, managing budgets, overseeing contractors and ensuring successful delivery of project outcomes.
• Support senior managers through the preparation of briefings, meeting materials, reviews of scientific reports and research tenders, and other ad hoc scientific support.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with colleagues across government, academia, industry and the wider food safety community to support collaboration, influence and the representation of Scottish interests.

Qualifications:

• You must hold an honours degree in a biological, chemical or environmental science discipline.

Please confirm that you hold these qualifications. If you do not hold all of the above qualifications, your application will not be considered.

Success Profile:

Success profiles are specific to each job and they include the mix of behaviours, experience and technical criteria (if applicable) that candidates will be assessed on.

Professional / Technical Skills:

Building and applying knowledge

• Understands and objectively, and effectively, applies scientific and engineering approaches with rigour and integrity. This may be through gathering and analysing information, producing effective literature reviews, critiquing techniques, designing or conducting research, undertaking fieldwork, computational modelling, writing evaluations and / or contributing to knowledge sharing including peer reviewed journal papers.

Communicating science and engineering for government

• Adapts communication styles to different audiences, including public communication or technical official communication. Communicates complex, technical ideas such as risk and uncertainty clearly to stakeholders from different backgrounds. Audiences could range from those with no scientific or engineering expertise, to different specialists at conferences or industry contacts. Can deliver clear presentations and written proposals, providing effective “bottom line” summaries that are understandable to non-specialists.

Experience:

• Post graduate experience (in government, industry or academia) of collating, analysing, reporting and communicating scientific data to facilitate decision making in a relevant field (e.g. food safety, public health, microbiology or toxicology). (lead criteria)
• Experience of managing the delivery of projects, with the ability to balance competing priorities and adapt plans in response to changing requirements.

Behaviours:

• Working together – Form effective partnerships and relationships with people both internally and externally, from a range of diverse backgrounds, sharing information, resources and support.

You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours here Behaviour levels - Success profiles: candidate guide - gov.scot

How to apply:

Apply online by submitting a CV (maximum 2 pages) and a supporting statement (maximum 1000 words) demonstrating how you meet the behaviours, experience and technical skills outlined in the Success Profile above.

Both your CV and supporting statement will be assessed against the requirements of the role. A covering letter is not required and will not be considered as part of the application process

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be used to support your application, but all statements and examples provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, and presented as your own) applications will be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI in recruitment.

Skilled Worker sponsorship is not available for this role. As a result, we are unable to appoint candidates who require Skilled Worker sponsorship now or in the future. Applicants must have an existing and ongoing right to work in the UK.

If invited for further assessment, this will consist of an interview and presentation.

Assessments are scheduled for w/c 16 December 2026 however this may be subject to change.

Candidates will initially have their applications assessed against the lead criteria (first experience) above. Candidates who pass this initial sift will then have their applications fully assessed against the remaining criteria.

In the event of a tied score at interview, performance against the lead criteria (first experience) will be used to determine merit order.

Recruitment Principles:

As a government organisation, we adhere to the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles and we investigate any complaints received in relation to the recruitment cases.

About us:

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) has a wide and diverse remit which covers all aspects of the food chain which can impact on public health – aiming to protect consumers from food safety risks and promote healthy eating. Our mission is to be Scotland’s leading authority on food safety, standards and healthy eating; using data and evidence to provide assurance and advice that inspires consumer confidence and improves public health.

Our staff are part of the UK Civil Service, working for Ministers and senior stakeholders to deliver vital public services which improve the lives of the people of Scotland.

We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits. Find out more about what we offer.

As part of the UK Civil Service, we uphold the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

Working pattern:

Our standard hours are 35 hours per week and we offer a range of flexible working options depending on the needs of the role. If you have specific questions about the role you are applying for, please contact us.

Current working arrangements are Hybrid in Aberdeen/Edinburgh/Glasgow.

Security checks:

Successful candidates must complete the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), before they can be appointed. BPSS is comprised of four main pre-employment checks – Identity, Right to work, Employment History and a Criminal Record check (unspent convictions).

You can find out more about BPSS on the UK Government website, or read about the different levels of security checks in our Candidate Guide.

Equality statement:

We are committed to equality and inclusion and we aim to recruit a diverse workforce that reflects the population of our nation.

Find out more about our commitment to diversity and how we offer and support recruitment adjustments for anyone who needs them.

Further information:

Find out more about our organisation, what we offer staff members and how to apply on our Careers Website.

Read our Candidate Guide for further information on our recruitment and application processes.