Trainee Trading Standards Officer

The role of a Trading Standards Officer (TSO) is to ensure fair trading practices and protect consumers and businesses by enforcing laws related to the buying and selling of goods and services. They investigate complaints, conduct inspections, and can prosecute those who break the law. Their work covers various areas like product safety, weights and measures, enforcing elements of the Renter’s Rights Act 2025, animal welfare, and combating scams and fraud. 

The team’s aspiration is to develop this apprentice to a qualified Trading Standards Officer. You will initially work towards a Level 4 Regulatory Compliance qualification.  On completion of this qualification, you will progress onto the Trading Standards Professional Degree.  Both qualifications will be fully funded by the Skills and Growth levy and the successful candidate will be supported with off the job time for studying.

Once in this role the team are hopeful a career pathway will be developed beyond the Level 4 and 6 qualifications leading to permanent employment in this professional role

Please note that the successful candidate will be required to be office based at least 2 days a week. Location: Bexley Civic Offices.

For an informal discussion about the role please contact Bill Ewing, Team Manager on [email protected].

Candidate Profile

This apprenticeship will ideally suit someone who has a keen interest in the Borough and would like experience in reaching and helping a wide variety of our residents, ranging from the very young to our retired population. Strong communications and organisational skills are vital, a willingness to work with different types of technology and 5 GCSEs at A-C/4-9 level including ICT, English and Maths (or equivalent).

For the full list of essential and desirable criteria for this role then please refer to the Person Specification within the Job Description attached. The council will also consider qualified Trading Standards Officers for the role. 

Please upload your personal statement under the Relevant Experience and Skills section and ensure this fully aligns to the role criteria. This should not be more than two sides of A4.

Bexley is a vibrant and diverse outer London Borough nestled in the Thames Gateway between London and Kent which means it combines the perfect blend of city vibe and the tranquillity of Kent. It's got award-winning parks, open spaces, and heritage sites. The borough has excellent transport connections, including the Elizabeth Line and proximity to the M25. Bexley offers fantastic amenities such as libraries, leisure centres, and shopping areas. Our borough is also home to numerous primary and secondary schools, as well as further education institutions.

Our Offer to you

We will offer you in return a package that includes a competitive salary, coaching and mentoring programmes, an excellent pension scheme and generous annual leave plus bank holidays. For more information on the benefits package on offer please refer to the Candidate Information document attached.

Recruitment Information

As a disability confident employer Bexley welcomes applications from people with all disabilities, including hidden disabilities and mental health conditions. We will interview any disabled applicant who meets the minimum criteria. If you require reasonable adjustments to be made to any part of the recruitment process due to your disability, please contact us on  [email protected]

This role may be available as a development opportunity through secondment for the Council’s existing employees.  The Council’s Secondment Scheme can be found here. If this option is of interest, please contact the recruiting manager.

We reserve the right to close adverts earlier than the closing date.