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.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the independent regulator for work-related health and safety. We act in the public interest to reduce work-related illness, death and serious injury across Great Britain’s workplaces.

This exciting opportunity will be based in the Science Division of the HSE. Science Division offers science and technical advice and support to HSE and commercial organisations. The scope of our work requires a diversity of talented individuals. Science Division employs around 360 people including scientists, engineers, economists, doctors, psychologists, social scientists, health professionals and other technical specialists.

Our capabilities encompass a wide range of topics including: occupational and environmental health; risk assessment; work environment; fire, explosion, process safety and engineering; specialist photographic and analytical services. This breadth of expertise underpins our particular strength in creating multidisciplinary teams to support major incident investigations and policy development, annual national statistics as well as undertaking high quality research and development and foresight work.

 

Job description

We are looking to recruit a Risk & Process Safety Scientist to join our Risk Team in the Risk and Human Factors Capability Group. The Team carries out a range of research and risk assessment work including:

• Emerging technologies relating to; alternative fuels (hydrogen, ammonia, batteries) for transport and heating, carbon capture and sequestration schemes, UK Space Industry, Nuclear Fusion, automation and artificial intelligence.
• High risk buildings and land use planning assessments around sites and pipelines storing and transporting hazardous substances,
• Supporting HSE in its regulatory functions at major hazard sites including those subject to the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations and undertaking incident support work.
• Providing technical training to commercial customers and partner organisations.

Our expertise lies in hazard identification, risk assessment and identification of suitable risk reduction measures to reduce the risk as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP), finding solutions incorporating inherent safety, pressure relief systems, safety-related control systems, and fire/explosion prevention and protection systems etc.

As a Risk and Process Safety Scientist, you will be expected to contribute on a diverse range of projects especially on emerging technology, including both commercial and HSE work. There will be a strong emphasis on team working and collaboration. You will be expected to work with specialists and technical experts across many other disciplines.

Examples of the type of work involved are:

• To carry out projects and provide expertise in the application of risk assessment and process safety, including topics such as Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (DSEAR), major accident risk reduction measures as well as the principles and application of ALARP.
• To undertake hazard identification studies.
• To apply science to the development of policy and regulation.
• To assess relevant aspects of safety reports and other technical reports and information, including those in line with UK’s NetZero Strategy and other emerging technology.
• To update data tools using programming languages

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.

For any successful candidates there will be the expectation to travel to our Buxton Science and Research Centre at least 3 days per week.

Part time working hours are available for this role. We can accept part time applicants who can commit to working a minimum of 24 hours.

Person specification

You will be able to demonstrate:

• Application of process safety principles, risk assessment and management as well as analysis in research, support and incident investigations for HSE and external customers, including international.
• Reporting the outcomes of scientific work through writing journal articles, reports and providing verbal feedback to customers.
• To technically contribute to scientific packages of work, working with project technical leads to ensure they are delivered to time, cost and technical quality.
• To liaise with colleagues in other parts of HSE and other government departments to provide multi-disciplinary teams that offer the best possible service to customers.

Essential Skills and Criteria:

• Expertise in either chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, chemistry, mathematics or a related discipline relevant to health and safety applications.
• Excellent communication skills, including report writing and presenting to customers.
• Experience in planning, managing and delivering input to projects for customers.
• To be able to work with scientists and non-scientists from a range of disciplines.
• You must have a Degree, in a relevant Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths (STEM) subject in chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, chemistry, mathematics, or a suitably related discipline.

Desirable:

• Membership / Chartered status with a relevant science or engineering professional body.
• Previous experience with data science programming languages such as Python or R.

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 a CV and a Personal Statement of up to 750 words which demonstrates how you meet the essential skills and criteria of the job advert.

You will also be asked to complete 250 words on the lead behaviour: Communicating and Influencing against the Civil Service Success Profiles Framework Level  3.

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, your Personal Statement and your behaviour.

The Sift will take place during the week commencing 5th February 2024.

Interview information

At interview, you will be assessed against your behaviours. This will be combined with a 5-8 minute presentation to assess your technical skills against the GSE Framework: Applying Knowledge, and Communicating Science and Engineering for Government. We will give you further details of the presentation topic if you are invited to interview.

Interviews will take place during week commencing 19th and 26th February 2024.

Further Information

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

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.

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 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 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.