Head of Food Safety

Company: Scottish Prison Service

Location:

Posted: April 15th, 2026

Head of Food Safety

Salary: 54398 - 58065

About The Role

Anewopportunity has arisen for anFBand manager to become part of the Health and Safety team, in Operations Directorate, based at HQon a permanent basis.

The post holder will report directly to theGBand Head of Health and Safety and will have no direct line management responsibility.

The Head of FoodSafety post is identified as apermanentnon-operational post. Due to current SPS and Scottish Government (SG) guidance, the post holder will be expected to adopt hybrid working practices, which willberequiredtoworkremotely,travelingtoallsites across the SPS whenrequired,foraudit, support or contingencyandplanned Environmental Health Officers visits.

Working as a key member of the Health and Fire Safety team in Operations Directorate.The Head of FoodSafetywillberesponsible forensuring the strategic leadership, governance, and assurance of food safety standards across all Scottish Prison Service (SPS) establishments/SPSC. This role will involve theupdatingand reviewingof the SPS food safety manualwithrelevant HACCP system requirements and provisions,in line with legislative requirements.Ensure compliance with UKFoodSafetyLegislation in prison cateringoperations andsafeguardingthe health and wellbeing of prisoners and staff.

Proactively work with stakeholders to ensure we are offering the mostnutritious,value for money foodoptions,in line with the government buying standards.Work towardsstandardisedrecipedevelopment that meets nutritional needs, religious, specialist and health care needs / diets, for the two seasonal changes.

Ensure all sites are using the allergen software product to meet Natahas Law requirements.

Pro-actively responds to EHO visits and improvement notices and shares best practice across the SPS estate and wider stakeholders and be able todemonstrateflexibility to adapt.

Work with PPDS andEstates in any new kitchen design or new build to support the catering facility layout and equipment, including business cases for replacement equipment.

During loss of services/contingency meal provisions the Head of Food Safety will support any establishmenteither virtually or on site, depending on theimpact of the loss of service/contingency.

The Head of Food Safety willbe responsible forHACCAPannual audits across the estate.The post holder must be willingto work towards HACCAP Level 4, if not alreadywithin the first 12 months of taking up the post.The post holder will also be expected to hold theHealth and Safety NEBOSH (level) General Certificate and NEBOSH Fire Certificate orbewilling to work towards.

About Us

Civil Service Values

All Civil Servants, and therefore anyone employed by the Scottish Prison Service, must be able to fully comply with the requirements of theCivil Service Code. Everyone is expected to carry out their role with dedication and uphold the core values of the Civil Service: Honesty, Integrity, Objectivity and Impartiality.

The Civil Service Commission

Our recruitment is conducted in line with the Civil Service Commissions Recruitment Principles and external competitions are regulated by the Civil Service Commission. While the legal requirement to follow these Principles applies specifically to external appointments, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) recognises these standards as best practice. Accordingly, SPS fully adopts these principles as the foundation for all recruitment activity, including internal recruitment and selection processes.

External competitions:if you believe that the requirement for selection for appointment on merit based on fair and open competition has not been met, you have the right to raise a complaint. Further information on the Commissions complaints procedure is available at:https://www.civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/.

Internal competitions:if you believe that the requirement for selection for appointment on merit based on fair and open competition has not been met, you can raise a complaint to your HR Business Partner.

Apply Now