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.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the independent regulator for work-related health and safety. Our purpose is to prevent workplace death, injury or ill health and protect the environment.

Great Britain has one of the lowest rates of fatal and non-fatal work-related injury across Europe. We have seen real progress in how businesses understand and control workplace safety risk and we have well-established standards for safety, recognised and understood by industry. These have helped to reduce death and major injury, particularly in construction and manufacturing however this isn’t the same for work-related ill health.

Job description

A crucial part of our mission to protect people and places is to reduce work-related ill-health, and we have two roles working on health policy and two roles working in major hazards and net zero policy.  All will involve working collaboratively with colleagues from across science, regulatory and policy disciplines, along with engaging across Government and industry.

Post 1 - Respiratory Health Policy Team: Working with colleagues on the area of COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) Regulations.

Post 2 - Occupational Health and Musculoskeletal Disorder Policy team.

Post 3 – Chemicals and Land Use Planning policy team – you will support policy development relating to onshore major hazards and energy sectors and new and emerging onshore major hazards technologies. 

Post 4 – Hydrogen Heating Programme team – you will support the delivery of HSE’s input to the Department of Energy and Net Zero Clean Heat programme. 

B3 policy advisors are expected to work flexibly in line with policy priorities which will change over time. There are other B3 policy posts in EPD which will become available in the coming months and any reserve list will also be used to support filling of these posts. If you are offered a role from the reserve list, positions may not be restricted to the teams mentioned above and we cannot guarantee your preferred team. Roles will be offered in merit order.

Policy makers in Engagement and Policy Division (EPD) are at the heart of how HSE reduces risk and protects people in the workplace – it leads on HSE’s communications and business insight interventions and helps shape our policy and frontline inspection interventions. The strength of EPD is our ability to bring to bear our collective capability on policy, operational strategy, insight and communications, to support HSE’s prevention mission on such important issues as promoting proportionality in health and safety management and our better regulation work. 

You will manage a number of areas of policy work and will need to work flexibly and dynamically, often at pace, in line with the demands of the policy areas you are responsible for to ensure that HSE interests and priorities are met. You will have the opportunity to develop policy and processes in emerging areas of work. You will also review and, if necessary, amend existing practices and processes to ensure they best support HSEs and Government’s wider objectives.

To succeed you will need to quickly establish credibility with both HSE colleagues and a range of external stakeholders by developing a thorough understanding of the underpinning policy, regulatory frameworks, technical and legislative issues and by proactively building and maintaining collaborative networks. The high-profile nature of HSE’s policy work and the rapid pace of activity coupled with working with uncertainty is particularly challenging. This will require you to be politically astute, tenacious, creative and able to act decisively to keep projects moving forward.

As a workstream lead you will need to set clear objectives and co-ordinate the work of a range of colleagues both within your team and elsewhere in HSE, motivating individuals to contribute to enable you to deliver effectively.

You will be expected to travel to meetings with stakeholders in the UK to build and maintain relationships. This may sometimes be at short notice and involve occasional overnight stays, with the potential for some, optional, international travel.

 Job description

• Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team to develop evidence-based policy proposals, including providing drafts of high-quality advice and briefing to HSE senior management and Ministers.
• Lead the delivery of the projects and workstreams you are responsible for to agreed objectives and timescales.
• Represent HSE’s interests at stakeholder meetings and cross-Government departmental meetings.
• Proactively build and maintain a network of contacts and work collaboratively and inclusively to ensure that policy proposals are joined up with related policy programmes across HSE and wider Government.
• You may have line management responsibilities.

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 per week unless part of a job share.

Person specification

The work requires a person with a flexible approach who is ready to take on new challenges and areas of work when needed and to take advantage of opportunities for improvement. 

You will need to hit the ground running with new subjects and to understand not just the technical and legal aspects but the implications for HSE, to demonstrate your analyses are well-informed and also to ensure your findings and proposals have influence and impact.

You will need to be able to work at pace and be an excellent communicator who relishes the challenge of achieving objectives through mutually beneficial relationships with a diverse stakeholder community.

 You will have:

• Good communication skills with the ability to negotiate and influence stakeholders to help shape outcomes.
• Sound analytical skills to identify underlying issues.
• Ability to work under your own initiative make sound decisions based on evidence and at pace.
• Good organisational and planning skills, taking responsibility for delivering outcomes on time to required standard.
• The ability to work collaboratively as part of a multi-disciplinary team, maintaining positive working relationships with colleagues and external stakeholders.
• The ability to effectively write and present complex information in a clear and concise way for nontechnical audiences.
• Experience in policy development and implementation.
• Experience of project management in a policy context is desirable.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £40,788, Health and Safety Executive contributes £11,013 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 and Experience.

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Application information

Please be advised that upon submitting your short application form, all candidates will be invited to complete a Civil Service Judgement Test.

Please complete the online Civil Service Judgement Test as soon as possible, within 24-48 hours is recommended, to allow time to then complete your full application. You will only be invited to submit a full application if you successfully complete the the Civil Service Judgement Test.

Candidates must complete their full application form AND online tests by 1st March 2024.

If you fail to complete the online test and full application form before the deadline, your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website.

If successful at the Civil Service Judgement Test you will then be invited to submit the following as part of your full application form:

• CV setting out your career history, with qualifications, key responsibilities and achievements. The CV will not be assessed. However, we will take your CV into account when assigning successful candidates to vacant posts.
• Personal Statement (up to 500 words) which must explain how you have used policy (or other significant issues you have dealt with), to develop a range of options and decided which one to recommend.

Your answer will be assessed against the policy profession standards – Strategy 1.1 Policy context and purpose. More information on this can be found here: Policy Profession Standards (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Please note both the test and the full application form must be completed by 1st March 2024.

Application Guidance

Please access the following link for guidance on how to apply and how to complete a personal statement https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/how-to-apply/

Sift information

At Sift you will be assessed on your Personal Statement

The Sift will take place w/c 4th March 2024.

Interview Stage

If successful at sift you will be invited to an interview which will include a presentation. More details about this will be supplied following the sift. At interview we will assess you on your policy experience as demonstrated through the five behaviours listed in the advert.

Interviews will take place w/c 18th March 2024.

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.

Further information

Please note that a Reserve List will be held for the period of up to 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:

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. 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.