About the job

Job summary

At HSE, we work with one goal in mind – to help keep Britain’s workforce safe and healthy. Our work touches virtually every sector of Great Britain’s industry. Combining specialists from numerous fields, we strive to keep people and their working environments safe.

We don’t just inspect workplaces and implement the law, we campaign for better H&S practice, we craft and review guidance and regulations, we provide specialist products and services, and we produce crucial research and statistics.

Job description

Our Explosives Safety specialists ensure employers across Great Britain – a whole range of essential industries with thousands of workers - to work safely. In this role, you can utilise your considerable 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 engaging with a large multi-national munitions manufacturer and the next a small fireworks store.

You’ll work alongside other HSE technical and regulatory specialists to ensure work activities are operating within the legislative framework by various regulatory interventions including inspecting, investigating and providing advice.

Your work will make the most of your experience – whether that’s inspecting an explosive processing plant, helping an employer understand the right controls to have in place, or contributing to the development of industry standards and guidelines. The balance of an individual’s key responsibilities will depend on their role within the Unit. As you can see this role will broaden your knowledge and your professional credibility like no other role can.

Together with the widest range of health and safety specialists in Britain, you’ll be helping to protect thousands of people, whilst working in an inclusive environment where all our people can thrive and be themselves.

From day one, you will be supported by your manager and colleagues to understand your role in HSE, develop your skills and support you in your continuing professional development. All of the locations include specialist and regulatory colleagues providing a wider support network. You will receive appropriate legal training and will be required to study for and successfully complete the Regulatory Training Programme (RTP).

Key responsibilities include;

• Inspecting a variety of workplaces, either on your own or with a specialist team, to make sure that risks are managed appropriately, deciding whether conditions meet minimum legal requirements and relevant good practice, driving improvements and gaining commitment to align with the law.
• Forensically analysing explosives safety related concerns, accidents and reportable incidents to identify the root cause and where necessary, calling in other specialist support and taking legal action to prevent a recurrence;
• Undertaking permissioning activities on the licensing of explosives storage and manufacturing sites and on the classification of explosives for transport;
• Contributing as a member of the Explosives Safety Unit to promote Health and Safety improvements to national and international standards at various fora, and at relevant conferences.

Given that HSE regulates sites across the whole of GB you will be expected to spend periods working away from home, typically 2 to 3 days every fortnight. HSE is flexible on how this expectation is delivered and recognises individuals’ personal commitments.

Person specification

You must be able to demonstrate:

Essential Skills & Criteria;

• A breadth of knowledge and practical experience of the facilities used for the manufacture, storage and/or handling of explosives and associated energetic materials including experience of controlling explosives risks;
• Practical understanding of applying the principles of explosives testing, including knowledge and experience of explosives properties and behaviours;
• A practical understanding of explosives safety, chemistry or engineering and including knowledge of explosive ignition mechanisms;
• Good communication skills
• Good analytical and planning skills

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 £50,060, Health and Safety Executive contributes £14,502 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 1250 words that demonstrates how you meet the essential skills and criteria outlined above in the person specification. Please also include evidence that displays your level of responsibility, demonstrating the breadth and depth of your experience and the technical quality and standard of your work.

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 will take place week commencing 24th June 2024.

Interview information

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

Interviews will take place weeks commencing 8th and 15th July.

The interview will take place via Microsoft Teams. 

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.

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.

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. 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.