About the job

Job summary

The Civil Service embraces equality, diversity, and inclusion. At HSE, your personal qualities are as important as your professional experience. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and all walks of life. 

Our approach is to recruit “on merit on the basis of fair and open competition”, in line with the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. As such, our thorough selection process ensures that you and every other candidate receive equal and fair treatment. 

At the Health and Safety Executive, we believe everyone has the right to come home safe and well from their job. That's why our mission is protecting people and places, helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.

We don't just inspect workplaces and investigate incidents, we campaign for better Health & Safety practice, we develop and review guidance and regulations, we provide specialist products and services both here and overseas, and we produce crucial research and statistics, all towards our goal of helping Great Britain work well.

We have an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic Physicist, Acoustician or allied scientific discipline with experience and understanding of human exposure to noise / vibration in the workplace or in the wider environment to join the Exposure Assessment and Control (EAC) Team at the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).

Exposure Assessment and Control is part of HSE Science Divisions' Health Group whose purpose is to prevent worker ill health caused by exposure to chemical, physical and biological hazards.

In this role you will develop and manage the portfolio of research and scientific support in noise and vibration that underpins HSE's guidance and regulatory approach.

The position will be based at our Science & Research Centre in Buxton, Derbyshire. The Centre is an internationally renowned scientific facility for health and safety, employing scientific, medical and technical specialists in a purpose-built laboratory at our 550-acre site.

More details about the services available at the Science & Research Centre and HSE can be found on our website here: www.hsl.gov.uk 

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 per week.

Job description

The practical laboratory-based nature of the work does mean there will be a requirement to regularly attend the Buxton site for routine work activities and collaborative working. In addition, you may be required to travel across the UK for site visits, including overnight stays.

The responsibilities of your role will include but will not be limited to:

• Develop and lead the delivery of a portfolio of work for HSE and other stakeholders on noise and vibration exposure and control in humans within the wider context of workplace health risk management. This will include working with colleagues/end users from original idea stage through to project approval and final delivery of outputs.
• Lead and develop the technical capacity and professional standing of the science of noise and vibration exposure and control and keep up to date with developments in the worldwide community. Also, to identify suitable continuous professional development (CPD) and training opportunities.
• Technically lead projects as appropriate including identifying skills and resource required from other colleagues and working with them and project managers to direct and suitably deploy resource.
• Work with and encourage team colleagues to conduct innovative research and development that is aligned to SD's business and science strategies.
• Present findings of research to HSE, industry stakeholders and scientific peers in the UK and internationally.
• Travel for site visits and meetings as required, as well as taking the opportunity for attendance at conferences both within and occasionally outside the UK.
• Apply your expertise in other technical areas within the context of health risk management e.g. aerosols, ventilation, RPE if required. 

Person specification

Essential skills and Criteria:

You will have:

• Practical experience of leading research or carrying out assessment of human exposure to noise and/or vibration. Experience within the workplace, environmental impact assessment, product safety or other contexts will be considered.
• Experience of initiation and development of projects from idea to final delivery including, for example, writing research proposals, business cases and/or applications for funding.
• Experience of leading a portfolio of projects/work in the field of human exposure to noise and/or vibration.
• Understanding of the principles and practice of the science of human exposure to noise and vibration.
• Experience of leading, motivating and managing other project team members.
• The ability to work both autonomously as part of a multidisciplinary team, promoting cross team working and effective communication to identify solutions and ensure work can be delivered.
• Communication skills, enabling you to manage and collaborate effectively, maintain positive professional working relationships, engage with others and influence at all levels both within HSE and with external collaborators and stakeholders.

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.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £40,788, Health and Safety Executive contributes £11,053 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

Application Guidance:

To apply for this post please complete a CV which demonstrates your job history, qualifications, skills and experience.

Sift:

At Sift, we will assess your CV against the Essential Skills and Criteria of the job advert.

The sift will take place on Wednesday the 10th of April 2024.

If you are successful at sift, you will be invited to attend an interview.

Interview:

At interview, you will be assessed on your experience, the behaviours detailed within the job advert and the two technical skillsets.

Interviews will take place from Monday the 29th April 2024

All dates are subject to change. 

AI Tools & Platforms 

During the application process candidates are allowed to utilise AI (artificial intelligence) platforms and Tools to support them in writing their Behaviours, CV’s and Personal Statements. However, all information submitted must be factually accurate. This includes presenting the ideas and experience of others, or those generated by artificial intelligence, as your own. All presented information will be assessed at the Interview Stage. 

Due to the nature of security checks undertaken, applicants must have 3 years continuous residency in the UK up to the date of the application and, Home Office approval for indefinite leave to remain within the UK.

Further Information

Please note that a Reserve List will be held for the period of 12 months.

It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of the terms and conditions they will adopt should they be successful in their application. 

For a summary of HSE terms and conditions as part of Civil Service Reform, please see the attached document.  

Any move to HSE from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at here 

HSE is proud to be a part of the Disability Confidence Scheme (DCS). As a Disability Confident employer, we positively welcome applications from disabled people. We are committed to making workplace adjustments to ensure anyone can participate in the recruitment and selection process.  

We offer a guaranteed interview scheme for all disabled applicants who provide evidence of meeting the minimum requirements necessary for the post.  

If, during the application or interview process, you require any assistance due to a disability or a medical condition, please contact us at the email address below to discuss how we can support you.  

If successful in securing your role, HSE can provide suitable workplace adjustments to support you throughout your career with HSE. 

If you have a disability and you need an application form in an alternative format or you would like to know more about our recruitment process, please contact: hr.resourcing-team@hse.gov.uk   

Please note, if you are a current civil servant and you are currently undergoing any of the following formal actions your application will not be progressed any further; 
Formal discipline action, any formal action regarding attendance, poor performance or any restriction of duties as a result of disciplinary action. 

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). 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. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.