Explosives Specialist Inspector – Hazard Characterisation portfolio (Band 3/SEO) ***Deadline Extended***

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.

At HSE, we work with one goal in mind – to help keep Britain’s workforce safe and healthy. Our work touches virtually every sector of Great Britain’s industry. Combining specialists from numerous fields, we strive to keep people and their working environments safe.

We don’t just inspect workplaces and implement the law, we campaign for better H&S practice, we craft and review guidance and regulations, we provide specialist products and services, and we produce crucial research and statistics.

Our Explosives Safety specialists ensure employers across Great Britain – a whole range of essential industries with thousands of workers – to work safely. In this role, you can utilise your considerable technical knowledge and practical experience to influence not only individual employers but whole industry sectors.

A career with HSE gives you a rare opportunity to visit and interact with different and diverse employers and work activities, one day you could be engaging with a large multi-national munitions manufacturer and the next a small fireworks store.

You’ll work alongside other HSE technical and regulatory specialists to ensure work activities are operating within the legislative framework by various regulatory interventions including inspecting, investigating and providing advice.

Your work will make the most of your experience – whether that’s inspecting an explosive processing plant, helping an employer understand the right controls to have in place, or contributing to the development of industry standards and guidelines. The balance of an individual’s key responsibilities will depend on their role within the Unit. As you can see this role will broaden your knowledge and your professional credibility like no other role can.

Together with the widest range of health and safety specialists in Britain, you’ll be helping to protect thousands of people, whilst working in an inclusive environment where all our people can thrive and be themselves.

From day one, you will be supported by your manager and colleagues to understand your role in HSE, develop your skills and support you in your continuing professional development. All of the locations include specialist and regulatory colleagues providing a wider support network. You will receive appropriate legal training and will be required to study for and successfully complete a legal assessment.

Given that HSE regulates sites across the whole of GB you will be expected to spend periods working away from home, typically 2 to 3 days every fortnight. HSE is flexible on how this expectation is delivered and recognises individuals’ personal commitments.

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. 

Key responsibilities include;

• Advising and engaging on explosives safety matters in support of legislative compliance, to HSE colleagues, other government departments and regulatory agencies, professional bodies and trade associations such as the British Standards Institute, the Institute of Explosives Engineers and the Explosives Industry Group of the CBI;

• Inspecting a variety of workplaces, either on your own or with a specialist team, to make sure that risks are managed appropriately, deciding whether conditions meet minimum legal requirements and relevant good practice, driving improvements and gaining commitment to align with the law.

• Forensically analysing explosives safety related concerns, accidents and reportable incidents to identify the root cause and where necessary, lead the technical aspect of the investigation, calling in other specialist support and supporting legal action to prevent a recurrence;

• Providing specialist opinion in reports to guide legal decisions;

• Appearing as specialist witness at tribunals, inquests and prosecutions;

• Undertaking permissioning activities on the licensing of explosives storage and manufacturing sites and on the classification of explosives for transport;

• Securing intelligence and sharing information to inform policy, research, and guidance to benefit other Government departments, the public, industry, professional bodies and trade associations.

• Contributing as a member of the Explosives Safety Unit to promote Health and Safety improvements to national and international standards at various fora, and at relevant conferences.

Essential Criteria;

You must be able to demonstrate:

• A breadth of knowledge and practical experience of the facilities used for the manufacture, storage and/or handling of explosives and associated energetic materials including experience of controlling explosives risks;
• Experience and practical understanding of applying the principles of explosives testing and characterisation, including knowledge and experience in explosives sensitiveness testing and/or UN testing;
• A practical understanding of explosives chemistry, including in-depth knowledge of explosive ignition mechanisms;
• Good communication skills
• Good analytical and planning skills

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions

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

• Secure, maintain and develop relevant technical expertise
• Understanding and complying with legal requirements, key technical standards and work systems that ensure safety in their current role
• Apply Scientific/Technical Knowledge

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity

We invest in our people with;

• 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
• 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: Maternity, adoption or shared parental leave of up to 26 weeks full pay followed by 13 weeks statutory pay and a further 13 weeks unpaid, and paternity leave of 2 weeks full pay

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 : Dave Adams
• Email : dave.adams@hse.gov.uk

Recruitment team

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