Health Protection Manager (Food and Safety), NN1 1ED

Overview

Our Benefits

You can also see our full list of employee benefits on our careers site here: Why you should work for us | West Northamptonshire Council.

About the role

At West Northamptonshire Council (WNC), we are committed to making our area a great place to live, work, visit and thrive. As a Health Protection Manager (Food Safety), you’ll play a pivotal role in delivering this vision by leading a high-performing team responsible for food safety and health and safety across West Northants. 

This is a leadership role with real impact – managing a team of officers, overseeing a significant budget, and shaping the delivery of statutory health protection services. You’ll work closely with internal and external partners, contribute to strategic planning, and ensure our services are efficient, effective, and community-focused.

What will you be doing?

This role offers a varied and engaging workload, including leading a complex and busy caseload of work including food hygiene official and non-official controls, health & safety investigations, infectious disease investigations, ensuring our private water supplies are safe and regulating the safety of our world class sports grounds. You will be: 

• Leading, motivating, and developing a team of regulatory health protection professionals.
• Managing performance, allocating work, and ensuring delivery against targets and quality standards.
• Acting as a subject matter expert, providing guidance and making decisions in line with enforcement policies.
• Supporting the Head of Health Protection and Regulatory Support in service planning, policy development, and budget management.
• Representing WNC in regional forums and with external agencies.
• Delivering training and raising awareness of health protection across the organisation.
• Deputising for the Head of Health Protection and Regulatory Support when required.

While the role is based in Northampton, you will work across the entire district. The successful candidate will be expected to attend our offices in Northampton, Daventry, and Towcester as needed, with home working permitted where feasible.

About you

You will be an experienced environmental health professional with a recognised qualification and a strong track record in delivering health protection and enforcement functions. You will bring: 

• Proven leadership and team management experience.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and influencing skills.
• Strong knowledge of health protection legislation and enforcement.
• The ability to manage budgets, develop procedures, and work collaboratively with partners.
• A proactive, innovative approach to problem-solving and decision-making.
• A full UK driving licence and the flexibility to work across locations.

You’ll also share our values—Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovation, Value, and Empowerment—and be committed to making a difference for our communities. 

For an informal discussion, please contact Ed Cooke, Head of Health Protection and Regulatory Support on 01604 526174 edward.cooke@westnorthants.gov.uk  

 

About us

We’re a new council, following one of the largest shake-ups in local government
reform in recent history. As a new authority, we’re embarking on an exciting journey
to deliver exceptional services for our residents, customers and
communities.  

Our vision at West Northamptonshire Council is ‘to make West Northants a great
place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to
make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance,
Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver
services. 

At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with
ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail,
and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A
place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-
minded people.

When potential is unlocked, talent thrives.

Choose a career that offers you a true sense of achievement, fills you with pride and
challenges you in a positive way, every day.

West Northants Council, where careers thrive.