Location
Central London and various other UK locations including Bridgwater, Bristol, Exeter, Truro (Polwhele), Heathrow, Welwyn Garden City, Crewe, Stafford, Kidderminster, Tewkesbury, Shrewsbury, Long Benton, Cardiff, Leicester, Stroud (Aston Down), Winchester (Itchen Abbas), Weymouth, Newcastle, South Devon, Cornwall, Bristol, Kent, London, Middlesex, West Midlands, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Cardiff, Monmouthshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Dorset.

Hours
Seasonal contract from April until the end of October each year. Hours vary by post, including full-time (37 hours) and part-time (27-30 hours) roles.

Salary
£35,468 per annum

About the Role
Join the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) as a Seasonal Bee Inspector to help protect the biosecurity of Great Britain by safeguarding bee health for the benefit of people, the environment, and the economy. You will organise and conduct statutory inspections of honeybee colonies within a defined geographical area to detect bee diseases and pests under EU or UK statutory regulations, supervised by the Regional Bee Inspector.

Key tasks include inspecting bee colonies for notifiable pests and diseases, treating or destroying diseased colonies, issuing standstill notices or movement licences, investigating enforcement actions, inspecting beekeepers' premises and equipment for compliance, and engaging in contingency planning activities.

You will collect statutory honey samples for residue analysis, conduct field investigations for suspected poisoning incidents, maintain accurate inspection records, and work with bee farmers and local beekeepers through talks, demonstrations, and advisory material. Collaboration with beekeeping associations, research institutes, and other organisations will support the National Bee Unit’s work.

The role requires maintaining competence standards, following ISO17020 procedures, attending training which may involve travel and overnight stays, and participating in APHA research and development activities. Additional duties related to bee health may be assigned by the Head of the National Bee Unit.

This is predominantly an outdoor role involving walking across farmland and standing for prolonged periods, with occasional physical demands such as lifting heavy boxes and working in varying weather conditions.

Successful candidates will be based at one of the advertised locations and must carry out duties from a UK location. A hybrid office/home working model is offered, with no more than 40% of the working week spent at home on average.

Travel to base office locations is not reimbursed, but allowances may be paid for detached duties elsewhere in the UK subject to eligibility.

Experience
Substantial beekeeping experience is essential to competently engage and work with both commercial and hobbyist beekeepers. Candidates must understand honeybee health drivers, UK apiculture specifics, and local environmental impacts on colonies. Experience advising on disease and husbandry matters across all beekeeper levels is required.

About you
Confident, self-motivated, and effective communicators with strong customer relationship skills. Ability to work independently or as part of a team. High standard of bee handling and knowledge of apiculture, pests, and diseases. Awareness of honeybee notifiable disease threats.

Competent user of Microsoft Office applications including Outlook, SharePoint, Word, and Excel.

Must have a full, valid UK driving licence with independent access to own transport (business mileage reimbursed). Knowledge of basic Health and Safety and safe working practices is required. Compliance with APHA Health and Safety policies is mandatory.

This role involves physical demands such as walking across farmland, standing for long periods, lifting heavy boxes, and working outdoors in various weather conditions.

Qualifications
Demonstrable skills in written and spoken English to communicate effectively about bee health topics with customers, service users, and colleagues.

All candidates must be able to pass basic security clearance and hold a full UK driving licence. Candidates posted to London may require higher security clearance.

Applicants must be based within the required inspection area or willing to relocate. The role requires working from a UK location and cannot be performed overseas.