As an occupational hygiene specialist inspector, you will be involved in frontline regulatory work and developing technical policy. You will work as a member of a specialist regulatory team, led by a Principal Specialist Inspector, regulating workplaces to ensure that workplace health risks have been identified, evaluated and eliminated or adequately controlled. Field Operations Division (FOD) is the largest operational inspectorate in HSE, covering many employment sectors including agriculture, general manufacturing, engineering, waste and recycling, education, health services, utilities and transport, government departments and domestic gas safety.

Frontline regulating is managed regionally in geographically dispersed areas across offices in England, Wales and Scotland. You will provide in-depth technical expertise through planned and reactive support to regulatory inspectors gaining occupational hygiene experience across a wide range of issues and industries, whilst developing skills in intervening in businesses and enforcing the law. You may also be asked to provide independent expert witness input to court, securing justice for sufferers of ill health in the workplace.

Developing operational and technical policy is about influencing and raising standards of control and clarifying legal requirements. You will work with others on projects and initiatives to review and inform health and safety policy, developing guidance and identifying any changes needed to expected standards and published information. You will also work with specialist and non-specialist colleagues helping to influence strategic stakeholders and campaigns.

This is a hugely varied and rewarding role. Whilst there are technical challenges to overcome, you will be working with many different people at every level and every part of your work will be geared to achieving one goal: protecting people's health and safety at work.

At the HSE, in order to fully understand the legal and enforcement requirements of this frontline role, you develop your regulatory expertise by completing a 2 year specialist training programme (the STP), this includes a mixture of e-learning and face to face tutorials. As well as learning on-the-job, you will continue your development. You will also have wider learning opportunities through your Civil Service access. You will receive appropriate training and complete and pass a legal assessment.

You will be office-based but as part of your role, you will be required to inspect and visit sites across Great Britain. This will require regular travel and 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

Your role will involve:

Applying occupational hygiene expertise and provide opinion in a wide variety of workplaces, working on your own or supporting colleagues inspecting, investigating and taking enforcement action where required to secure compliance with the law.

- Forensic analysis following incidents and reported concerns, comparing conditions with minimum legal requirements and good practice to identify underlying causes and support legal action to avoid further risk.
- Providing specialist opinion and expert evidence in reports for legal proceedings and expert witness statements, and when required, presenting these to courts and tribunals.
- Developing an evidence base and advising HSE colleagues working on operational policy, guidance and procedures on occupational hygiene matters.
- Sharing information, including HSE policy, research and guidance, at national and international forums involving other Government departments, professional bodies and trade associations, such as the British Standards Institute and British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS).

Essential Criteria:

To excel at this role, you will;

- Have in-depth knowledge and current practical experience in the field of occupational hygiene and a proven track record of identifying occupational exposure control issues and solving problems.
- Use sound analytical skills to identify underlying gaps and challenge deficiencies in risk management, with a practical understanding of hazard identification and risk assessment techniques, such as taking/interpreting measurements and applying the hierarchy of controls and principles of good practice for controlling exposure to hazardous substances.
- Apply initiative and decisiveness to influence organisations to bring about improvements, making sound decisions based on available and incomplete evidence, and writing clear, accurate and concise reports that present complex information in a way that is easy for others to understand.
- Build influential relationships, engaging with HSE colleagues at different levels and with employers and other partners including shop-floor workers, technical advisers and the most senior levels within an organisation.
- Maintain your professional competence within the occupational hygiene discipline through relevant training, networking and continuing professional development, and where not already achieved, working towards Chartered or Specialist Membership of the Faculty of Occupational Hygiene (BOHS) or other relevant occupational/industrial hygiene institution.
- Given that HSE regulates sites across the whole of GB you will be expected to prioritise and organise your work to deliver to the expected quality on time, working as part of a multi-disciplinary team and alone, and spending short periods away from home.

Licences

A full driving licence that permits you to drive in the UK unless a case for reasonable adjustments can be made under the Equality Act 2010. Should a reasonable adjustment be required, please answer yes to this criteria.

Qualifications

Essential:

- Science-based Honours degree or an equivalent academic/ professional qualification, which includes the BOHS Certificate of Operational Competence in Occupational Hygiene or the International Certificate of Operational Competence in Occupational Hygiene

Desirable:

- BOHS Diploma of Professional Competence in Occupational Hygiene.

Memberships

You must be a current professional member of the British Occupational Hygiene Society Faculty of Occupational Hygiene at a minimum grade of Licentiate or Specialist Licentiate Grade (i.e. LFOH or LFOH(S)) or higher.

If this role sounds interesting and you would like to find out more information about the selection process and our recruitment timeline, please select the ‘Apply Now’ button shown.

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