Job Description

Customer Service Agent - Animal Plant Health Agency

Location: York, YO1 7PR

Pay: 12.33 per hour

Job Type: Temporary

Sector: Public Sector

Hours: 37-40 hours a week, you will need be available between 06:00am - Midnight (Monday-Sunday) You will work on a shift pattern for this role

A Little Bit About Us:

Brook Street have grown into one of the UK's leading recruitment agencies − matching thousands of people with meaningful job opportunities at more than 4,500 companies every year. Delivering a quality service to suit the needs of clients and candidates alike was important to our founder Margery Hurst and it remains important to us today.

Recruitment is about so much more than just filling job vacancies. It's about giving people the chance to unleash their full potential, through their perfect new role.

About the Client:

We work to safeguard animal and plant health for the benefit of people, the environment and the economy.

The Centre for International Trade is part of APHA's Customer Service Centre Network across the UK and is responsible for a wide variety of work areas to allow the import and export of live animals, plants, animal products and plant products to the EU and third countries.

What Will Be Your Day to Day Responsibilities?

You will be working in a friendly and supportive team in a fast paced, reactive and varied role. You will need to have good IT and organisation skills and the flexibility to turn your hand to different tasks as the situation demands.

The position is customer facing and will suit those who have an ability to communicate well to a diverse group of customers. You will be engaging with a broad range of partners and forming relationships with colleagues.

The Centre for International Trade are responsible for completing inspections in relation to the import of controlled plant materials coming into England and Wales. We also issue export certificates for a number of materials including plant products, seeds, and potatoes and ensure they are free from pests and disease to allow our customers to export their products, protecting the food chain.
Examples of the type of work you will be doing:

• Producing Export Certificates for plants and plant products
• Completing document checks on consignments of plant imports
• Providing advice to customers who want to import or export plants or plant products, so they remain compliant with the UK's biosecurity standards
• Coordinating physical inspections of goods for import and export

• Answering telephone and email queries and following up enquiries which cannot be immediately resolved.
• Assisting stakeholders with billing enquiries and resolving invoicing errors
• Provide classification of potatoes produced and marketed in England and Wales assuring that seed potatoes meet specified minimum health and quality standards.
• Register and authorise professional operators to produce UK plant passports for the purpose of tracing the movement of plants within the UK
• Authorising the import, movement and storage of prohibited material for specific purposes such as scientific research and educational purposes.

Please note: During the first four weeks you will be asked to attend site for 100% of your time and will standard 9-5 hours for this. After that point you will move onto your shift pattern. Some shift patterns may be eligible for a 12.5% shift allowance. When joining us, we will discuss your working hours with you. If your shifts are outside the core office hours, you will be working from home.

What's in this for you?

During their first week, all successful candidates will attend an induction course at one of our offices, to gain an understanding in working at APHA, as well as an extensive programme of training and support.

Applying for a customer service role with the Animal and Plant Health Agency offers a unique opportunity to contribute to safeguarding both animal and plant health, crucial for environmental sustainability and public health. Engaging with diverse stakeholders, you'll play a vital role in ensuring compliance with regulations, providing guidance, and fostering positive relationships. With a focus on service excellence, this role enables you to make a tangible difference while developing invaluable communication and problem-solving skills in a dynamic and meaningful context.

Diversity in the workplace:

Brook Street are proud to support the Armed Forces Covenant and as such, we guarantee to interview all candidates who are veterans or spouses/partners of military personnel, and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy.

As a Disability Confident Leader, and holder of the Gold Award status from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, Brook Street, as a supplier to the Public Sector Resourcing Framework (PSR), will offer you a guaranteed interview with a PSR Sourcer.

Should you identify as a candidate with a disability and/or as a veteran or spouse/partner of military personnel and meet all the essential criteria for the role, we encourage you to reach out to us via the Brook Street website. Here you will find a link to register your interest and state the role that you are interested in. We are committed to engaging with you.

In cases where we have a high volume of ex-military candidates/military spouses/partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, Brook Street will interview the best candidates from within that group.

Brook Street is proud to support the Armed Forces Covenant and as such, we guarantee to interview all candidates who are veterans or spouses/partners of military personnel, and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy.

As a Disability Confident Leader, and holder of the Gold Award status from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, Brook Street, as a supplier to the Public Sector Resourcing Framework (PSR), will offer you a guaranteed interview with a PSR Sourcer.

Should you identify as a candidate with a disability and/or as a veteran or spouse/partner of military personnel and meet all the essential criteria for the role, we encourage you to reach out to us via the Brook Street website. Here you will find a link to register your interest and state the role that you are interested in. We are committed to engaging with you.

In cases where we have a high volume of ex-military candidates/military spouses/partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, Brook Street will interview the best candidates from within that group.