About the job

Job summary

HSE’s Specialist Division comprises Specialist Inspectors and scientists who provide technical input and advice to support HSE’s core regulatory functions of inspection, investigation, policy development and guidance.

The Construction Engineering Specialist Team (CEST) comprises 4 Principal Specialist Inspectors, holding the role of Technical Strategy Lead, and 2 Principal Specialist Inspectors holding the role of Team Leader. Each Team Leader heads a team of up to 8 Specialist Inspectors located across Great Britain.

Job description

Our Civil and Structural Engineers help to ensure employers across Great Britain in a range of essential industries work safely. In this role, you can utilise your technical knowledge and practical experience to influence not only individual employers but whole industry sectors. 

A career with HSE gives you a rare opportunity to visit and interact with different and diverse employers and work activities, one day you could be inspecting at a large construction project and the next investigating an incident at a small extension. 

As a Construction Engineering Specialist, you’ll work alongside other technical specialists to ensure the work activities of those we regulate are operating within the legislative framework by inspecting, investigating, and assessing companies. 

Your work with HSE will make the most of your experience – whether that’s evaluating the guidance being given to the emergency services in a rescue situation after an incident, identifying the cause of a structural collapse or providing technical assistance to colleagues undertaking complex investigations into serious incidents involving plant and equipment. This role will broaden your knowledge and challenge your engineering skills. 

Responsibilities   

• Inspect a variety of workplaces as part of a team, to make sure that risks are being actively managed and reduced, driving improvements and gaining commitment to comply with the law. 
• Analysis of Construction Engineering related incidents to identify the root cause and where necessary, lead the technical aspect of the investigation, calling in other specialist support.
• Provide specialist opinion in reports to improve health and safety and guide legal decisions. 
• Appear as an independent expert witness at tribunals, inquests and prosecutions.
• Secure intelligence, share information and advice towards policy, research, and guidance to benefit other Government departments, the public, industry, professional bodies and trade associations. 
• Secure, maintain and develop relevant technical experience - breadth and depth of experience and ability to apply knowledge at the level relevant to the role in HSE. 
• Understanding and complying with statutory (and non-statutory) requirements – ability to understand and comply with legal requirements and technical standards and to carry out risk assessments.
• Apply scientific/Technical knowledge – ability to assimilate and analyse information.

Given that HSE regulates sites across the whole of GB you will be expected to spend occasional periods working away from home which will include overnight stays.

Person specification

Essential Skills and Criteria;

• Have a breadth of Civil and Structural Engineering experience including knowledge of site processes and techniques. Applicants should have an understanding of contractual appointments, the design, specification and practical application of design decisions on site, and have held positions that demonstrate professional responsibility for engineering activities. You will be expected to apply your knowledge and experience across a wide variety of industry sectors. 
• Have the ability to use appropriate theoretical and practical methods in applying first principles to analyse problems and develop engineering solutions. 
• Be able to make a rapid appraisal of available information and evidence, considering potential failure modes, wider possible causation and deduce reasonable lines of enquiry to resolve problems. 
• Be able to assimilate complex technical information and convey this to a variety of audiences, both technical peers and lay persons. 
• Enjoy technical debate, be resilient and able to support your opinions with clear explanations and evidence when challenged yet have the flexibility to revise your position as necessary should new information come to light. 
• Be a lifelong learner who welcomes fresh challenges. 
• Aside from your technical experience, you will also have strong communication, analytical and planning skills. We value people who embrace and enable inclusivity, work well in a team and can build robust relationships with colleagues and those we regulate. 

Training

At HSE, you can develop your expertise even further. While working, you will complete training to understand the legal requirements of this front-line role. This includes a mixture of e-learning and face to face tutorials. As well as learning on the job, you can complete bespoke courses to develop and grow your technical knowledge.

Acting as the independent expert witness in court proceedings is an integral part of this role, and you will be given support and training to develop your skills in this area.

Specialist Training Programme (STP)

On joining HSE, all new specialist inspectors are required to complete a 2-year Specialist Training Programme (STP). This two-year programme comprises both in depth legal training and assessments and also any further technical training that may be required e.g., cyber security. Training will take place in work time.

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 £54,816, Health and Safety Executive contributes £15,880 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, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

Application

As part of your application, you will be invited to complete a CV, setting out your professional qualifications, professional memberships and a full employment history, with details of any key responsibilities and achievements. 

You will also be asked to complete a Personal Statement of up to 1000 words which demonstrates how you meet the Essential Skills and Criteria outlined in the person specification. 

Throughout your application you should also provide evidence of: 

• Your level of responsibility. 
• The breadth and depth of your experience. 

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 Personal Statement. 

The Sift will take place week commencing 27th May 2024. 

Interview Information

At interview, you will be assessed against strengths, technical skills, your experience and three behaviours detailed within the job advert. You will also be asked to provide a short presentation at the start of the interview. More information around the presentation will be provided if you are successful at sift.

Interviews will take place during the week commencing 24th June 2024. 

Further Information:

If you are selected for interview, you be asked to provide your proof of qualifications, this must be provided prior to interview. Failure to provide this information, could result in your interview being delayed or your interview being cancelled and your application withdrawn. 

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.

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

Sponsorship

This role is not open to application from those who will require sponsorship under the points based system. Should you apply for this role and require sponsorship your application will be rejected, and any provisional offers of employment will be withdrawn.

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 HSE Terms and Conditions document.

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.

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. For example 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.

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

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.

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.