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.

You will be part of a multi-disciplinary team of scientists that is delivering HSE’s objectives as the Agency for UK REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) following the UK’s exit from the EU. With a world-class reputation for safeguarding the health and safety of people at work, HSE is adapting and evolving to meet the new challenges ahead. At CRD, we work with one goal in mind – to protect human health and the environment from the effects of potentially harmful substances.

To help us meet these challenges, we require a specialist in occupation hygiene or exposure control to join CRD’s REACH team.

HSE has now adopted hybrid working which will allow us all to work both in the office and at home and we will provide you with the necessary equipment to support you when working from home. However, please note that these posts are an office-based role, and they are not a remote location based or home worker post; as such, successful candidates will need to be in a position to attend the office from appointment date onwards and will be required to attend the office regularly and potentially at short notice. Successful candidates will also be expected to undertake some face-to-face training upon joining HSE and this will be office based.

Part-time working is available for this role, however the minimum number of hours we could accommodate is 30 per week. 

Job description

This is an exciting opportunity to join a team that is delivering HSE’s objectives in support of the UK REACH regulation. This is part of GB’s independent chemicals regulatory framework, enabling decision-making that best reflects the needs of GB, while maintaining some of the highest standards in the world.

You will provide expert knowledge in occupational hygiene and experience of chemical exposure assessment to support the development of regulatory positions on chemicals and decision making in our national regulatory schemes, with a specific focus on REACH. This will primarily include contributing to the evaluation of substances and the production of proposals to restrict chemicals that pose an unacceptable risk to humans or the environment. Additionally, before initiating a formal regulatory risk management process under REACH, an in-depth analysis of the most appropriate regulatory risk management option (RMOA) may be undertaken, for which your expert input on matters relating to occupational hygiene and human exposure will be vital.

You will also provide wider occupational hygiene/human exposure support to other priority regulatory risk assessment activities, as driven by the business needs, for example, the scientific scrutiny of Applications for Authorisations and the development of technical opinions.

The work may sometimes include consumer exposure assessment, although the main aspect for this post will relate to occupational exposure assessment. You will take account of exposure data and apply appropriate exposure modelling tools.

You will write up your expert opinions and be expected to explain any key decisions made within HSE and externally, to independent scientists, other government departments and relevant stakeholders.

You will be responsible for providing advice and guidance, and delivering training, to internal and external stakeholders on relevant aspects of risk assessment. This may be both in the specialist area of chemical exposure and occupational hygiene, and in the general REACH regulatory framework for managing the health risks posed by chemicals.

Please note that the role will involve specialist on the job training that will focus on the key work you will be delivering. We will also encourage and fund membership of the Occupational Hygiene professional body – BOHS, when joining HSE/CRD. No laboratory or field work is involved in these roles; data is provided in regulatory submissions from duty holders, gathered from the literature, or generated using models.  However, you will be encouraged to develop networks within the wider community of the occupational hygiene profession and human exposure assessment scientists.

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

Responsibilities

• To understand and apply the relevant regulations and guidance.
• To analyse information on occupational and consumer exposure data, and on industrial control mechanisms, against relevant regulations, guidance and models to make robust regulatory decisions.
• To use your occupational hygiene and human exposure experience and expertise to prepare critical assessments of the data that can contribute to the assessment of human health risks and regulatory decision making.
• To communicate clearly technical information both verbally and in writing, presenting clear summaries, conclusions and decisions.
• To possess good organisational skills in managing a varied workload to demanding deadlines.
• To show initiative and decisiveness, in making effective decisions, while being open to challenge and involving others.
• To build and maintain strong, positive working relationships both within HSE and externally to our organisation.
• To contribute to internal peer review and quality assurance processes

A relevant post graduate qualification in occupational hygiene is desirable but not essential.

Essential Experience requirement:

• Occupational Hygiene expertise and the ability to both draft and review chemical exposure assessments and risk assessments to time and quality.
• Analytical skills with the ability to write/present effective technical information in a clear, concise and timely way.
• Initiative and decisiveness, supporting your ability to make effective decisions, while being open to challenge and involving others.          
• Experience of delivering output to time, cost and quality criteria.
• Outstanding organisational skills in managing a varied workload to demanding deadlines.
• Experience in building and maintaining strong, positive working relationships both internally and externally to our organisation.

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 information

As part of your application, you will be required to provide evidence of your experience against the two technical areas listed within the advert (250 words each).

In addition to the technical questions, you will also complete a CV (job history, key responsibilities and membership of any professional bodies/societies) and Personal Statement (up to 500 words) in which you should provide additional evidence to explain how your experience meets the essential experience requirement for the role.

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 the sift stage, you will be assessed on your technical skills, CV and Personal Statement. 

Please note - your CV will be used for information purposes only and will not be scored. 

The sift will take place from the 24th of January 2024.

Interview Information 

If you are successful following the sift you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed against the three behaviours listed in the advert. We will also assess you on your experience for the role. 

The interviews are due to take place from the 5th of February. Interviews will be held via MS Teams.

Please note that dependent on numbers of applications received these dates could be subject to change.

Further Information

Please note that a reserve list may be held for a 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 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.