Reporting to the Permanent Secretary for Environment and Ecology (Food)(Note 1), the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene (DFEH) is responsible for the following main duties –

• (a)To steer and oversee the operations of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) in providing quality services in tandem with the changing needs and expectation of the community;
• (b)To exercise the authority conferred upon him under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap.132), the Food Safety Ordinance (Cap. 612), the Private Columbaria Ordinance (Cap. 630) and the related subsidiary legislation or regulations, and oversee related enforcement duties undertaken by FEHD;
• (c)To oversee the licensing functions and duties undertaken by FEHD in relation to Places of Public Entertainment Licences under delegated authority from the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs;
• (d)To provide input to the Environment and Ecology Bureau on the formulation of policies and strategies relating to services and enforcement duties undertaken by FEHD in respect of food safety, cleansing, pest control, public hygiene, licensing and regulatory control of food premises, public market management, hawker control and operations of crematoria, cemeteries and columbaria, etc;
• (e)To manage and deploy the financial and manpower resources of FEHD in delivering its full range of services and enforcement duties;
• (f)To steer and oversee staff management and development, to cultivate and maintain good staff relations and staff discipline; and
• (g)To serve as an ex-officio member of the Advisory Council on Food and Environmental Hygiene and the Chairman of the Private Columbaria Licensing Board.

(Note 1: Except that for item (c), DFEH is reporting to the Permanent Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs.)

Candidates should possess –

• (a)a Bachelor’s or post-graduate degree from a university in Hong Kong, or equivalent;
• (b)at least 15 years of administrative and management experience, including at least 7 years in a senior position;
• (c)sound knowledge of the government system and administration of substantial financial resources;
• (d)strong leadership capabilities;
• (e)strategic vision in policy, enforcement and operational matters, with strong forward planning and organisational abilities;
• (f)strong political acumen to manage political sensitivities adeptly;
• (g)solid experience in staff management and driving change in an organisation, as well as knowledge and experience in law enforcement work will be preferred advantages;
• (h)strong command of both written and spoken Chinese (Cantonese and Putonghua) and English; and
  • (i)a pass result in the Basic Law and National Security Law Test (BLNST).