Sea-Fisheries Protection Officer

WE ARE HIRING

Sea-Fisheries Protection Officer (SFPO) 

A Sea-Fishery Protection Officer performs multi-faceted front-line roles related to Sea Fisheries conservation and Seafood safety. This work requires the regular conduct of direct inspections onboard fishing vessels, at processing establishments and seafood business premises and in other places of fisheries and marine activity.

The inspection activities may include the taking of samples of fish, shellfish and fishery products, collection of articles of evidence, taking of formal statements from individuals, cross-checking and verification of surveillance data or other data such as VMS data, sales note data, logbook data, etc., and the compilation and production of formal statements to be used in the taking of prosecution cases against individuals.

A Sea-Fishery Protection Officer is frequently engaged in the collection of fisheries statistics, verification of these statistics and the input of data into a database. The process involves the collection, verification, and processing of data on a frequent basis. The Sea-Fisheries Protection Officer based in the port office is frequently the first point of contact with the public on a wide range of fisheries matters.

The work of a Sea-Fisheries Protection Officer takes place at the ports around Ireland, at sea and at landbased establishments. The working environment is both indoor and outdoor, on land and at sea.

The nature of this job requires regular evening and weekend work as a routine part of the job and in keeping with the nature of the industry we provide services to. Some Ports operate a two shift or three shift roster depending on business needs which may entail night work. An allowance in addition to pay is payable to cover atypical roster attendance. 

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Conducting direct inspections of fishing vessels, processing establishments, seafood business premises and other places of fisheries and marine activity to verify compliance and to detect non-compliance with SeaFisheries and Seafood safety legislation.
• Taking appropriate follow-up action following these inspection activities such as writing reports, preparation of case files, inputting data into databases of inspection activity, compilation of written statements or attending court to act as a witness for the prosecution.
• Collecting, verifying, and inputting fisheries statistics in a timely and accurate manner.
• Collecting samples of shellfish, fishery products and fish to sampling specification at shellfish production sites, fish processing establishments, auction halls and fishing vessels and ensuring the delivery of these samples in a suitable condition to conduct the analysis intended.
• Attending meetings or meeting with individuals to provide technical input on matters related to fisheries conservation, food safety and fisheries statistics or to advise groups or individuals on these matters or matters related to the policy of the Authority. In addition to the duties outlined above, a Sea-Fisheries Protection Officer carries out any other relevant duties which may be assigned to him/her by the Authority Members, or other authorised officer, from time to time.

Essential Requirements:

• Candidates, on the closing date for this competition, must hold a minimum qualification of a National Diploma Level 7 in a discipline relevant to the work of the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, for example qualifications providing competency in marine, fisheries, food or environmental sciences or qualifications related to data management/analytics including IT or Statistics or qualifications related to law, enforcement and associated disciplines. In addition to the minimum qualification entry requirement candidates must also have:
• Excellent Planning and Organisation ability • Excellent communication and administration skills
• Fluent spoken and written English is absolutely essential
• Strong IT capability
• Full driving licence It is an absolute requirement that candidates declare any potential conflict of interest at the application stage of the recruitment process. Failure to declare such conflicts of interest which later come to light may result in the candidate being disqualified from the competition or, if the candidate is offered and takes up a role with the SFPA on the basis of misleading information may result in immediate dismissal from the SFPA. The following are considered desirable attributes:
• Previous experience in a regulatory environment.
• Possess a knowledge or experience of the sea-fisheries industry.
• Possess a knowledge or experience of food safety regulation.
• Possess a knowledge of health and customs certification compliance.

How to Apply:

All candidates should visit consciatalent.com/SFPA where there is a full list of available positions in the SFPA with the corresponding downloadable application/eligibility form and information booklet for each position.

To apply, candidates must submit a full CV and complete the online Eligibility Form. Fully completed Eligibility Forms and CVs must be submitted online directly on the Consica website.

Only applications submitted in this manner will be accepted into the campaign for consideration.

Applications will not be accepted after the closing date.