Environmental health practitioner : Employers and vacancy sources

Many environmental health practitioners (EHPs) are employed by local authorities and are responsible for protecting public health, housing conditions, food safety, environmental protection and health and safety at work. Local authority environmental health departments tend to contain both chartered practitioners and a range of technical officers who have competencies in one or more of the specialised areas.

EHPs are also employed by the NHS and the armed forces as well as central government and its agencies, such as:

• the Food Standards Agency  
• Health and Safety Executive (HSE)  
• the Environment Agency (EA)  
• the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)  

However, there are also opportunities with companies in the private sector, including:

• large retailers, especially food suppliers (monitoring quality assurance);
• holiday companies (checking the standards of foreign hotels and resorts);
• airlines/shipping companies (ensuring health and safety requirements are being met);
• public and private organisations employing occupational health specialists.

Opportunities also exist for experienced EHPs to work for private consultancies in specialist roles, for example advising businesses of their legal duties and helping them maintain good environmental standards.

Accredited BSc and MSc courses are accepted worldwide and opportunities are available with organisations such as the European Commission  and in countries such as the USA, New Zealand, Australia and Canada. There are also opportunities in the developing world where EHPs work to ensure the sustainable development of communities.

Sources of vacancies

• Search graduate jobs on this site.
• Environmental Health News - Jobs  
• Local Government Jobs  
• myjobscotland  - local government jobs in Scotland.
• Opportunities: The Public Sector Media  
• jobsgopublic  
• National press, e.g. Guardian Jobs  
• Local press.
• Local authority websites.

Recruitment agencies also handle vacancies. For details of member agencies see the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC)  website.

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