About the job

Job summary

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 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 to protect 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 two enthusiastic scientists with a background in analytical chemistry to join our Exposure Measurement portfolio, working within the Analytical Chemistry and Biological Monitoring teams. The teams undertake research for HSE and others, as well as providing an analytical service, support to incident investigation and preparing samples for proficiency testing. The primary role is to protect worker health through the assessment of chemical exposure and uptake.

Your work will provide innovative support to HSE and industry in alignment with HSE’s aim to prevent death, injury and ill-health of workers and those affected by work activities.

These excellent opportunities 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

Job description

The post will be based in the Health Groups Exposure Measurement portfolio, in either the Analytical Chemistry or the Biological Monitoring team.

The Analytical Chemistry team provides both a forensic measurement service (analysis of samples from incident investigations) and regulatory measurement service (mostly air samples for assessing workers’ exposure to chemicals) in supporting the HSE mission. We also provide, under contract, analytical services for external clients similarly working in this health and safety environment. Provision of quality assurance services such as proficiency testing to external laboratories working in this field is another major team endeavour. Work will be focused on measuring organic compounds using gas and liquid chromatography techniques but in time opportunities may arise to develop your analytical skills elsewhere within the team.

The Biological Monitoring team undertake a significant amount of analytical service work, analysing human biological samples (mostly urine but also blood, breath and other matrices) for biomarkers of chemical exposure. Work will be focused on metabolites of organic chemical exposures; relevant analytical techniques include gas and liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry.

In either team, you will contribute to research projects for both HSE and commercial customers; you will need to design, plan and deliver research efficiently and with scientific rigor. You will need to be able to work flexibly within a small, hard-working cohort, making best use of instrument resources and delivering to defined turnaround times.

You will be handling hazardous materials and biological samples e.g. blood and urine, in a controlled and safe laboratory environment on a daily basis. There may also be periods of lone working.

You will have the opportunity to develop as a scientist by attending conferences, participating in workshops and support with membership of national and international expert groups.  You will be encouraged to share the outcomes of your work both internally and with the wider scientific community through peer-reviewed publications and presentations.

The Health Group has a wide range of technical and diverse disciplines requiring flexible and collaborative working; on occasion you will be expected to assist colleagues in their programmes of work.

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, attendance at conferences/meetings (occasionally these may be overseas) and training courses, including overnight stays. 

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.

Person specification

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

• Working with others to deliver research activities within the relevant team and more widely.
• Delivering standardised analytical services to defined turnaround times, identifying where improvements in efficiency and quality could be made.
• Implementing instrument maintenance and method improvements as required, contribute to quality systems.
• Responding to varying technical and work demands, which may at times have conflicting priorities.
• 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.
• Keeping up to date with developments in the scientific community and expanding your knowledge in relation to the work role.

Essential skills & Criteria:

You will have:

• Relevant and recent practical experience of laboratory-based analysis and / or research and training in the field of analytical toxicology or analytical chemistry.
• Relevant technical expertise in using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography analysers.
• Experience of developing projects from initial idea to final delivery.
• Experience of collating, managing, analysing and interpreting data, with attention to detail, quality and accuracy.
• Good IT & scientific instrument skills, with the ability to create and maintain spreadsheets, use research specific software and produce presentations. The ability to troubleshoot instrument and method issues.
• Good communication skills enabling you to collaborate effectively, maintain & develop positive professional working relationships and engage with others at all levels, both within HSE and with external collaborators/stakeholders. The ability to present research findings and data to a wide and varied audience.
• Good organisational skills for planning, scheduling and undertaking a varied workload. Including the ability to work on multiple projects at any one time to maximise productivity and ensure delivery to time, cost and quality.
• The ability to work both as part of a multidisciplinary team and autonomously.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £32,802, Health and Safety Executive contributes £8,856 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 information.

As part of your application, you will be invited to complete:

1) CV: A CV that concisely outlines your career history, skills, experience and qualifications.

2) Personal statement: A personal statement of up to 750 words, that demonstrates your experience in using relevant analytical techniques, such as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and/or liquid chromatography. 

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 CV and your personal statement.

The SIFT is due to take place on the week commencing 12th February 2024. 

Interview information

At interview, you will be assessed against the behaviours and technical skills detailed within the job advert.

Interviews will be held in person at HSE Buxton, and will take place on 28 or 29 February 2024.

Dates are subject to change and you will be notified should changes be required.

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

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 for 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.