Principal Occupational Hygiene Specialist Inspector – (FOD Band 2/Grade 7)

Diverse Perspectives and experiences are critical to our success, and we welcome applications from all people from all backgrounds with the experience and skills needed to perform this role. We look forward to receiving your application.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Principal Specialist Inspectors lead for their professions and are responsible for strategic direction, technical developments, operational practice, regulatory decision making and delivery in their teams.

Accountable to the Head of Unit, you will manage a significant workload and have a high level of personal responsibility for setting direction and ensuring effective delivery. You will need to work collaboratively with people across HSE, inspiring others in achieving impact on risk and coordinating strategy with operational work delivery.

Field Operations Division (FOD) is a national delivery division covering a range of industry sectors. Specialists in FOD’s Health Unit support developments across HSE’s regulatory and policy activities through strategic technical leads and three teams of occupational hygienists working alongside noise and vibration specialists and occupational health inspectors. We are looking for leaders with extensive technical experience and people skills who can set direction to reduce risks and secure delivery under challenge by engaging specialists and non-specialists, including at the most senior levels within organisations.

Occasional overnight stays and travel to other HSE offices including Bootle will be required. 

Principal Occupational Hygiene Specialist Inspectors are responsible for planning and delivering projects developing standards and policy, intervention campaigns and support to others aimed at improving controls and changing behaviours in the workplace. At any time, you could be asked to lead a team of occupational hygienists, or to lead a mixed project team or to undertake personal performance work whilst collaborating closely with stakeholders.

Whether leading a team or making personal contributions, they apply their expertise and specialist regulatory opinion in a wide variety of circumstances to enforce risk control, helping others apply technical standards to difficult situations and contributing to more complex investigations as experts.  Demonstrating sound judgment through decisive, timely and proportionate decision-making about standards and risk reduction is key, across a range of industry sectors.

Leading technical developments involves both commissioning research and driving actions to secure application of expected standards. Strong networks are essential for identifying emerging issues, gaps in control, and priorities for action and developments. Promoting continuous improvement and the standards expected with other government departments, stakeholders and intermediaries is essential.

At HSE, we are proud to be able to offer our people the opportunity to work in a hybrid way which combines working from home and the office. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and your allocated office will be your contractual place of work. There will be a requirement to travel to the office for various activities e.g., collaborative working, supporting and training colleagues. If hybrid working is suitable for you and your role, the arrangements will be determined primarily by business need, but personal circumstances and other relevant circumstances will also be taken into account. Therefore, we would encourage candidates to consider if the commute from home to the office is a feasible distance to travel before making an application. Please note that if you are successful, hybrid working will be discussed prior to taking up the post.

Part time working hours are available for this role. We can accept part time applicants who can commit to working a minimum of 30 hours (4 days) per week

As part of your role you will:

• Lead others to deliver quality regulatory outcomes from intervention activities by ensuring the quality of regulatory decisions in line with policies and procedures.
• Determine difficult decisions and leading interpretation of enforcement benchmarks, plus providing expert witness in especially complex/novel casework.
• Plan and prioritise work with divisional colleagues, policy teams and sectors to support strategic developments, operational decision-making and evaluating impact on risk.
• Commission/manage projects for influencing and intervening on occupational risk improvement and compliance (e.g. new legislation, Approved Code of Practice and guidance) and advising on operational policy, guidance and procedures.
• Secure topic-related research to develop a sound evidence base.
• Build internal and external networks for engaging influencers, stakeholders and industry, including representing HSE with other government departments, professional bodies and trade associations.
• Develop specialist skills and team resilience, including assessing the competence of new Specialist Inspectors and co-ordinating continuous professional development, including peer review.
• Make a corporate contribution to promote continuous improvement, particularly in support of HSE’s operational priorities, and demonstrating the behaviours contained in the Civil Service Leadership Statement through productive relationships with others.

Completion of HSE’s Field Training Programme for Inspectors/Specialist Inspectors

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Leadership

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• Competitive rates of pay
• Access to the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme to which HSE contribute 27.9%, far more than in the private sector
• Family friendly policies and working hours to help balance your home life and career
• Carer friendly policies to help create a supportive working culture
• 25 days annual holiday increasing to 30 days after 5 years’ service, plus bank holidays and 1-day Civil Service privilege leave
• Parental leave benefits

This post is eligible for Excess Fares Allowance. A successful internal candidate currently based at another office may be entitled to Excess Fares Allowance in line with HSE policy http://intranet/finance/expenses/excess-fares-allowance-policy.htm

Job contact :

• Name : Duncan Smith
• Email : duncan.smith@hse.gov.uk
• Telephone : 07917090726

Recruitment team

• Email : hr.resourcing-team@hse.gov.uk