Antimicrobial Resistance Disease Consultant (ID4667)


Company:	Government Recruitment Service
Salary:	£58,207 to £58,207 a year
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	Carlisle
Job type:	Permanent
Posting date:	5 Oct 2026
Closing date:	19 Oct 2026

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Summary

Do you want a role safeguarding standards of animal and plant health and welfare? 

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, and works on behalf of the Scottish Government and Welsh Government. Our diverse teams of over 3,000 skilled and committed professionals come together to provide research, advice and support to UK Government for safeguarding animal, public and plant health for benefit of the environment and economy. The Science Directorate (SD) delivers high quality, high impact and highly relevant multidisciplinary science. Our people are diverse, talented, engaged and inspired to deliver innovative outcomes.

APHA is a brilliant place to work where our people feel valued, have a voice and can be their authentic selves. We value difference and diversity, because it helps us be more innovative and make better decisions. We are dedicated to being an inclusive employer, offering equitable opportunities for all individuals. Our goal is to build a diverse workforce, and we hope to attract applications from all backgrounds and underrepresented groups.

The Bacteriology Department is seeking an Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Disease consultant. For this role, we are looking for a veterinarian with postgraduate qualifications or evidence of substantial relevant experience. Based within the Bacteriology Department, this role provides scientific and technical expertise to support the surveillance, diagnosis, prevention and control of bacterial diseases affecting animal and public health. The postholder will lead scientific activities, provide evidence-based advice, work collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders, and contribute to research, policy development and disease control programmes. Strong leadership, communication and stakeholder engagement skills, together with expertise in bacteriology and disease surveillance, are essential. The Lead will be an active part of the Bacterial Diseases and Food Safety (BDFS) Portfolio leadership team, contributing to set the direction of the portfolio, with particular emphasis on AMR.

Provide joint leadership/consultancy for all AMR activities across the Bacteriology Department (as well as the wider agency), bringing AMR team together, driving strategic developments, and seeking/supporting relevant new funding opportunities.
Provide joint consultancy and expertise to Defra/Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) and other external bodies - notably World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Food Standards Agency (FSA)/Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food (ACMSF), British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC), European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), European Medicines Agency (EMA) on antimicrobial resistance. Responsibilities include provision of consultancy, outbreak investigations, advice and expertise to policy makers, risk managers, public health authorities, local authorities, veterinary surgeons and the farming industry on the occurrence, control, microbiology and epidemiology of AMR and relevant bacterial zoonotic diseases, as directed by APHA, VMD and Defra.
Jointly lead and manage the UK National Reference Laboratory for AMR in the veterinary sector.
Support APHA’s WOAH reference laboratory status in antimicrobial resistance, contribute to the annual report and other support to WOAH in this area.
Deliver and manage surveillance projects OM0190 and sub- projects and research project VM0533A within the core AMR project on time and within budget.
Delegated responsibility from lead scientist to ensure that APHA science on antimicrobial resistance is delivered to appropriate quality standards and uses relevant and optimal scientific approaches. Review project proposals before submission and assist in their development.
Delegated responsibility from Bacterial Diseases and Food Safety (BDFS) Lead Scientist for reviewing all published AMR outputs from APHA. Review papers, posters, presentations, and publications prior to submission according to AP004 to ensure scientific robustness.
Provide advice and antimicrobial resistance surveillance summaries to the Defra Antimicrobial Resistance Co-ordination Group.
Work collaboratively with public health institutes (e.g. UKHSA, PHW, PHS) to advance One Health AMR work
Oversee the delivery of AMR summary data for publication/provide annual susceptibility reports on veterinary bacteria to Veterinary Medicines Directorate. Be responsible for the delivery of surveillance datasets and commentary to be delivered to VMD annually for the publication of the VARRS report.
Horizon scan to identify and investigate AMR hazards detected through research and surveillance and suggest possible control options to policy lead organisations.
Contribute to the Salmonella Steering Group (SSG) and provide antimicrobial resistance expertise for the annual Salmonella report “Salmonella in Livestock”. Attend SSG meetings in person or by teleconference.
Review the suitability of the test portfolio and proficiency tests for APHA purposes and rectify any omissions.
Review and update VISI and VISION AMR surveillance documents for Veterinary Investigation Officers (VIOs)/APHA Regional Laboratories.
Disseminate research results through scientific publications, reports, and presentations both nationally and internationally.
Formulate new research project proposals, according to developing expertise and experience, and policy needs. These should be agreed with relevant parties, opportunities for leverage exploited and progressed through Commercial and Science Project Approval (CASPA).
Support the Regional Laboratories in their susceptibility testing and provide consultancy to ensure that testing is appropriate and relevant to practising veterinary surgeons.
Support Surveillance and Laboratory Services (SLSD) in development and provision of scanning surveillance for AMR in veterinary bacteria.
Contributing to strategic direction in the AMR area. Contribute to horizon scanning, discussions, planning, outputs and interpretation of other antimicrobial resistance and other strategic activities to ensure APHA preparedness to respond to AMR emergencies.
The post holder contributes to the management of the Bacterial Diseases and Food Safety programme and the Department of Bacteriology and attends regular management and other meetings

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