Technical Officer

The Company:

SASA is a division of the Scottish Government based on the outskirts of Edinburgh, consisting of offices, laboratories, glasshouses and an experimental farm. Our scientists and their supporters work to ensure the quality, safety, and security of our food supply in Scotland, and contribute to the quality of our environment. ​

The Scottish Government is the devolved government for Scotland. We have responsibility for a wide range of key policy areas including: education, health, the economy, justice, housing and transport. We offer rewarding careers and employ people across Scotland in a wide range of professions and roles.

Our staff are part of the UK Civil Service, working for Ministers and senior stakeholders to deliver vital public services which improve the lives of the people of Scotland.

We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits. Find out more about what we offer.

As part of the UK Civil Service, we uphold the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

Responsibilities:

• Carry out general duties such as preparation for sowing of seed lots entered in the certification scheme, and for training crop inspectors, preparing seed for testing and ensure seed is stored securely.
• Participate in the varietal identity and purity assessment of control plots and crops entered for certification. This will include harvesting material and prepare it for use on training courses in varietal taxonomy / identification.
• Checking information received in terms of validity, accuracy and completeness for crop inspection entries and crop inspection findings. Ability to interpret data returned to SASA on crop inspection cards.
• Participate in crop inspections and seed sampling / enforcement activities in support of the seed certification scheme.
• Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of the taxonomy of cereal varieties in order to carry out detailed botanical descriptive work.
• Regular use of the bespoke database systems for data input, retrieval and analysis of information required for certification, the quality assurance system and procurement and purchasing of products for the team.

For more information on the role contact Margaret Hislop at Margarethislop@sasa.gov.scot