Animal Care and Welfare Technician

Job summary The Home Office works to build a safe, fair and prosperous UK. We achieve this through our work on counter-terrorism, policing, crime, drugs policy, immigration and passports. Border Force is a law enforcement arm of the Home Office. We are responsible for handling the UK border control by implementing immigration and customs regulations and working with the wider Home Office on counter terrorism, organised crime, modern slavery and trafficking.

Learn more on the Border Force careers page. The National Dog Team is a small team within UK Command Operations with a hugely important mission; to transform our canine detection capability and performance, ensure that we have the right policies, processes and procedures in place to support the operational business to drive up performance and ensure our dogs are trained on Control Strategy Priorities.

Detector Dogs provide a specialised service to front line staff. They are a highly visible demonstration to society of our work in addressing criminality. Border Force has both body and goods detection dogs. We have two posts available at Gatwick Dog Unit and one post at Felixstowe Dog Unit. Job description As a National Dog Team Animal Care and Welfare Technician, you will play a crucial role in supporting handlers and training instructors, by ensuring you monitor and record the welfare needs of each animal, as well as ensuring that all dogs receive the appropriate level of exercise and enrichment to meet their individual needs when the handler or instructor is off duty.

It is therefore essential that applicants have a natural affinity with animals and be prepared to provide the highest levels of care and welfare management to all dogs within the Border Force Detector Dog programme. You should be aware that the post is physically demanding and requires a high level of fitness as you will be required to lift and carry the dogs. This will be assessed during the selection process.

You will also be required to work outdoors in often hostile weather conditions. Key Responsibilities (list is not exhaustive) Ensuring that all dogs receive sufficient daily care, including twice daily exercise, feeding, grooming, accurate interpretation of medication boards and dispensing medication as required. Kennel duties will involve occasional lone working with minimal support and supervision.

Delivering kennel enrichment and stimulation to meet the individual needs of the animals in your care and recording this information in line with policy. This will include undertaking High Intensity Interval Training and Target Training. Maintaining the high hygiene standards of the kennels with a daily cleaning regime of kennels and surrounding estate. This will include picking up dog faeces and working with chemicals and cleaning products.

Maintaining the service records of detector dogs. Utilising training received to deal with dog fights and dog aggression, reporting and recording of these incidents in line with Border Force Policy. Daily driving of official vans to/from exercise areas, visits to veterinary providers and transportation of detector dogs across the UK when required. Weekly cleaning of the unit’s fleet of vehicles and maintenance and cleaning of other assets as instructed.

Checking and maintaining kennel stores, food, medical and cleaning stocks. Working Pattern Due to the nature of the role, this role is available on a full-time basis only. Successful candidates will need to be able to attend for all shifts including early starts, late night finishes, and overnight shifts. These shifts may be outside of public transport operating hours. Training A high level of physical fitness is required as this post is physically demanding.

It is essential applicants can lift and carry dogs as well as provide daily exercise and high intensity interval training to a number of dogs who may have to be exercised individually. This role requires Public and Personal Safety Training 2 (PPST2). This demands