Aberdeen, Ashford (Kent), Basingstoke, Birmingham, Bootle, Bristol, Buxton, Cardiff, Carlisle, Carmarthen, Chelmsford, Crewe, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Leeds, Milton Keynes, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxted, Plymouth, Sheffield, Wrexham, York
Job Summary
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is seeking technically qualified fire engineers to help the building control team assess and decide upon building applications for Higher Rise buildings (known as Gateway 2 and Gateway 3) to protect people in and around buildings.
This is an exciting time to join BSR. As part of this team you will be help deliver high performance and continuous improvement that will help to create cultural change in building safety in England and for the future.
Working Pattern
Part time working hours are available for this role. We can accept part time applicants who can commit to working a minimum of 30 hours per week
Job Description
The government announced on 30 June 2025 that the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is to become an Arm's Length Body (ALB) of Ministry for Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG) and will be moved out of HSE. This is the natural next step in the development of the regulator and was always a likely outcome once BSR was established.
It has been confirmed that the ALB will be a Non-crown, Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), and as such its employees will be Public Servants, rather than Civil Servants.
Any successful candidates recruited to this vacancy will initially be onboarded to HSE, with a move to the new NDBP to be undertaken in due course.
Key Responsibilities
- Act as principal advisor on fire matters for caseworkers managing, evaluating and discharge duties and responsibilities for (Gateway) applications in high rise (and often complex buildings and developments) that are in scope of the BSR.
- Act as a specialist Fire Engineer expert, providing competent advice to BSR and Multi Disciplinary Teams (MDT) whilst adhering to the regulators code and within their level of competence.
- Maintain an expert understanding of the fire safety requirements of the Building Safety Act 2022 and associated legislation, including Approved documents, key British Standards and technical codes and guidance.
Travel
Occasional travel to other HSE offices and inspection sites may be required for this role.
The government announced on 30 June 2025 that the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is to become an Arm's Length Body (ALB) of Ministry for Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG) and will be moved out of HSE. This is the natural next step in the development of the regulator and was always a likely outcome once BSR was established.
It has been confirmed that the ALB will be a Non-crown, Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), and as such its employees will be Public Servants, rather than Civil Servants.
Any successful candidates recruited to this vacancy will initially be onboarded to HSE, with a move to the new NDBP to be undertaken in due course.
Key Responsibilities
- Act as principal advisor on fire matters for caseworkers managing, evaluating and discharge duties and responsibilities for (Gateway) applications in high rise (and often complex buildings and developments) that are in scope of the BSR.
- Act as a specialist Fire Engineer expert, providing competent advice to BSR and Multi Disciplinary Teams (MDT) whilst adhering to the regulators code and within their level of competence.
- Maintain an expert understanding of the fire safety requirements of the Building Safety Act 2022 and associated legislation, including Approved documents, key British Standards and technical codes and guidance.
Travel
Occasional travel to other HSE offices and inspection sites may be required for this role.
Person specification
Essential Skills And Criteria
- Demonstrable experience in fire safety design and assessment for complex and higher-risk buildings (HRBs) including the application of Approved Document B, BS999, BS7974 or equivalent fire engineering standards.
- Experience interpreting and critically analysing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling.
- Experience and specialist fire knowledge of a range of building types including non-standard buildings and HRBs.
- Knowledge and experience of relevant legislation with specific reference to a range of building types including complex buildings and HRBs.
- Knowledge and experience of approved documents, best practice and guidance to a range building types.
- Demonstrable experience of Fire Safety, Construction Safety, building systems, health & safety and design & construction.
- Experience of assessing compliance against Building Act 1984 (as amended), Building Regulations 2010 (as amended) and other applicable legislation, standards and guidance in relation to complex, non-standard buildings and HRBs.
- Experience of carrying out site inspections, plans assessments and developing and implementing inspection schedules for a range of building types including complex buildings and HRBs.
Qualifications
Level 6 (Degree) qualified in fire engineering, building studies, construction or another relevant discipline.
https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean
Memberships
Professionally qualified Fire Engineer – e.g. Chartered Engineer (CEng) with the Institution of Fire engineers (IFE) or an equivalent recognised fire safety engineering qualification.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Making Effective Decisions
Alongside your salary of £62,898, Health and Safety Executive contributes £18,221 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
- Learning and development tailored to your role
- An environment with flexible working options
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
We Invest In Our People With:
- Competitive rates of pay
- Access to the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme to which HSE contribute 28.9% - far more than in the private sector
- Family friendly policies and working hours to help balance your home life and career
- Carer friendly policies to help create a supportive working culture
- 25 days annual holiday increasing to 30 days after 5 years' service, plus bank holidays and 1-day Civil Service privilege leave
- Parental leave benefits
- As a member of HSE you will gain access to a wide range of fantastic benefits that you can take advantage of such as the Cycle to Work Scheme, E-Gift Cards and Vouchers via our partner EdenRed
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.
Application information
As part of the application process you will be asked to complete the following:
- A CV that displays your career history, skills, experience and qualifications. This will be for information purposes only and will not be scored.
- 750 word personal statement based on the essential criteria above
- 250 words on the behaviour Making Effective Decisions .
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
The sift will take place from 5th January 2026. At Sift, you will be assessed on your Personal Statement and Behaviour.
Interview Information
The interviews will take place from 2nd February 2026.
At Interview, you will be assessed on your experience and the behaviour listed in the advert.
Please note the sift and interview dates could be subject to change due to panel availability.
AI Tools & Platforms
Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
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.
Further Information
Please note that a Reserve List will be held for the period of up to 12 months. There is no guarantee you will be offered a role from our reserve lists, so if you see a vacancy on Civil Service Jobs that you are interested in, we recommend you apply.
HSE reserve the right to conduct additional checks, including Google and social media checks, when recruiting candidates into a role within HSE. These checks will be carried out in line with the Civil Service Commission Principles and, if used all candidates will be subject to these additional checks.
From 23rd June 2025, if you are successful at interview, as part of your pre-employment checks, HSE’s Recruitment Team are required to check your details against the Internal Fraud Hub (IFH), using your personal details – name, NINO, and date of birth. If you are included on the database, you will be refused employment. If you believe that there has been an error in the inclusion of your data and wish to make an appeal, please contact the CO email box internal.fraud@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.
Details of the types of internal fraud/dishonesty covered by this process are defined by the Cabinet Office and can be found here Internal Fraud Register privacy notice - GOV.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 HSE Terms and Conditions document.
Progression through pay ranges is subject to annual pay awards as permitted within annual Civil Service pay remit guidance and negotiations with Trade Unions.
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.
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 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.
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.
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.
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.
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.
Diversity and Inclusion
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 (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job Contact :
- Name : Andrew Moore
- Email : andrew.moore2@hse.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : hr.resourcing-team@hse.gov.uk
Further information
If you believe that Civil Service Commission principles of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of Fair and Open competition have not been met, you can raise a complaint by emailing: HR.Resourcing-Team@hse.gov.uk or by writing to HSE at the following address: HR Resourcing Team, 2.3 Redgrave Court, Merton Road, Bootle, Merseyside, L20 7HS. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact Civil Service commissioners: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/code/civilservicecodecomplaints/
