Become a Senior Chemist with Fera Science and make your contribution to the UK’s Biosecurity and Food Safety!

With a heritage stretching back over 100 years, we built our reputation on delivering science for the public good against threats including plant pests, diseases and chemicals that have a global impact on our food security and natural environment. We respond to key challenges facing our society and the implications that this will have. Original thinking…applied.

We’re recruiting for a Chemist to join our CCSS diverse scientific service programme, which conducts highly technical assessments for public and private sector stakeholders. CCSS prides itself on delivering high quality, regulatory projects which adhere to and comply with Good Laboratory Practice (GLP). We engage within scientific research and development, which ensures we remain at the forefront of scientific and regulatory development within chemistry, environmental fate, metabolism and ecotoxicology. As a Chemist within the environmental fate and metabolism section, you will work across a variety of wet chemistry, radiochemistry, chromatography and mass spectrometry to perform method development, method validations and to analyse samples across a range of compounds in multiple matrices.

What you’ll be doing:

  • Develop methods to enable the determination of a target compound concentration and residue profiles within environmental and animal matrices.
  • Employ bespoke methods to extract, analysis and quantify environmental relevant compounds.
  • Design analytical methods and set validation protocols for regulatory studies following international and regulatory guidelines.
  • Contribute to the running and maintenance of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) quality systems, meticulously following standard operating procedures.
  • Engage with clients at a technical level advising them of technical challenges and project plans.
  • Extraction and clean-up of a wide variety of sample types using standard wet chemistry techniques.
  • Operate and perform routine maintenance on analytical instrumentation Liquid / Gas chromatography, mass spectrometry.
  • Validate new methods against current guidelines for a variety of analytes in different sample types.
  • Analyse samples for a variety of analytes in different sample types following a written method.
  • Perform laboratory procedures using standard laboratory equipment and be responsible for laboratory facilities and maintenance.
  • Lead Radio Protection Supervisor (RPS) for the department to ensure compliance against relevant ionising radiation regulations.

    • What we’re looking for:

  • Preferably, you will hold a degree within a chemistry based subject and have previous experience working within a commercial laboratory under a GXP quality system.
  • Ability to work with limited technical supervision to deliver solutions for our clients and project stakeholders.
  • You’ll be methodical with excellent attention to detail.
  • Ability to keep clear and accurate written records of experimental work to a high standard.
  • Good team working skills but with the ability to work independently as required.
  • Practical IT skills in software packages including Microsoft Office, Excel and Word.
  • Understanding of state-of-the-art analytical instrumentation and have an awareness of equipment validations
  • Experienced in organising, prioritising and completing work to required standards and to tight deadlines.
  • You may be required to work with potentially hazardous substances and matrices of animal origins. Full training and PPE will be provided.
  • An ability to work within a multi-disciplinary environment.
  • Evidence or desire to work radioactive samples, using various radioisotopes.

    • About Fera

    Fera, we’re making the world a better, healthier and safer place. We’re a joint venture partnership between Capita and Defra and we’re working proactively to protect the world we live in and the food we eat. Fera is a national and international centre of excellence for interdisciplinary investigation and problem solving across plant and bee health, crop protection, sustainable agriculture, food and feed quality and chemical safety in the environment. Join us and contribute to delivering world-class science for the future.

    Fera are part of Capita Plc, a leading UK provider of technology enabled business services. We’re supporting and improving the lives of millions of people every day and we can only do this with the right people in place, working towards a shared goal. We encourage an open, honest working environment where everyone can be true to themselves, and people are valued for their differences. We’re always challenging each other to learn and improve, because we know when we work together, we can deliver better outcomes. We work across such a huge range of businesses and sectors, that you’ll have the opportunity to grow and develop your career in any number of directions.

    What’s in it for you?

  • A competitive basic salary £35,000 
  • 23 days’ holiday (rising to 27) with the opportunity to buy extra leave
  • Company matched pension, life assurance, a cycle2work scheme, 15 weeks’ fully paid maternity, adoption and shared parental leave, paternity pay of two plenty more
  • Voluntary benefits designed to suit your lifestyle – from discounts on retail and socialising, to health & wellbeing, travel and technology
  • The opportunity to take a paid day out of the office, volunteering for our charity partners or a cause of your choice
  • Access to our Employee Network Groups, which represent every strand of diversity and allow colleagues to connect and learn from each other on an open, inclusive platform
  • This role is based at our world class site near York, UK with access to start-of the-art facilities, on site gym, free parking and discounted public transport
  • You’ll be required on site full time hours per week, Monday – Friday. We offer flexi time anytime between 7am and 7pm

    • What we hope you’ll do next:

    Choose ‘Apply now’ to fill out our short application, so that we can find out more about you.

    We’re an equal opportunity and Disability Confident employer, which means we recruit and develop people based on their merit and passion. We’re committed to providing an inclusive, barrier-free recruitment process and working environment for everyone. If you need the job description or application form in an alternative format (such as large print or audio), or if you’d like to discuss other changes or support you might need going forward, please email Iqbal at For more information about equal opportunities and process adjustments, please visit the Capita Careers website.