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
A key operational arm of HSE, the Chemicals, Explosives and Microbiological Hazards Division (CEMHD) regulates the UK's major hazard industries - companies whose products are essential to our everyday life, but where failures in safety management and risk control can lead to catastrophic harm to workers and the public at large.
Employing around 300 professional engineers and scientists across a wide range of disciplines, we are responsible for securing safety across a range of industries including energy production (oil, gas and emerging technologies), chemical/pharmaceutical production and storage, as well as explosive manufacture and installations that work with biological agents.
Part time working hours are available for this role. We can accept part time applicants who can commit to working a minimum of
27 hours per week.
Drop-In Session
We will be hosting a drop-in session on
Friday, 5th December at 12pm until 1pm for candidates who wish to know more about the role and HSE. If you are interested, please email Paul.Cooper2@hse.gov.uk to be sent a link.
Be advised that unsolicited approaches from agency will be rejected.
Job Description
From the outset, 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.
To become an effective mechanical engineering specialist inspector, it is essential that you bring to the role your existing knowledge and experience of working in a high hazard industry, where you have been working in and making important decisions from a position of responsibility.
When Operational, Your New Job Will Include:
- Carrying out inspections of major hazard installations with the aim of preventing loss of containment and mechanical failure and investigation of accidents and incidents.
- Taking or supporting enforcement action, including preparing Notices.
- Providing technical reports and expert evidence in legal proceedings, in addition to contributing to the development of technical and operational strategy.
- Assessing Safety Reports, verifying compliance with the requirements of the Control of Major Accidents Hazard Regulations (COMAH), the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and supplementary legislation.
- Representing HSE at meetings with fellow professionals, industry, standards committees, and training events, including speaking and making presentations at conferences.
Specialist Training Programme (STP)
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. For the legal requirements of the role, you will be enrolled on the Specialist Training Programme (STP) and will be required to study for and successfully complete a formal assessment. We also have a strong focus on ongoing technical CPD and training in our core subject areas.
Travel
You will need, as business requires, to frequently travel to sites and other HSE offices, which may necessitate overnight stays.
From the outset, 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.
To become an effective mechanical engineering specialist inspector, it is essential that you bring to the role your existing knowledge and experience of working in a high hazard industry, where you have been working in and making important decisions from a position of responsibility.
When Operational, Your New Job Will Include:
- Carrying out inspections of major hazard installations with the aim of preventing loss of containment and mechanical failure and investigation of accidents and incidents.
- Taking or supporting enforcement action, including preparing Notices.
- Providing technical reports and expert evidence in legal proceedings, in addition to contributing to the development of technical and operational strategy.
- Assessing Safety Reports, verifying compliance with the requirements of the Control of Major Accidents Hazard Regulations (COMAH), the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and supplementary legislation.
- Representing HSE at meetings with fellow professionals, industry, standards committees, and training events, including speaking and making presentations at conferences.
Specialist Training Programme (STP)
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. For the legal requirements of the role, you will be enrolled on the Specialist Training Programme (STP) and will be required to study for and successfully complete a formal assessment. We also have a strong focus on ongoing technical CPD and training in our core subject areas.
Travel
You will need, as business requires, to frequently travel to sites and other HSE offices, which may necessitate overnight stays.
Person specification
Essential Skills And Criteria
In order to fulfil that role, you will need:
- Practical Mechanical Engineering / Integrity Management experience gained whilst working in an industrial setting with major accident potential.
- A track record of making independent, authoritative decisions based on technical evidence;
- Experience working with other technical disciplines to achieve and maintain safe operation of plant;
- An understanding of the basic legal requirements for safe operation of high hazard plant;
- A thorough understanding and experience of maintenance regimes, maintenance management and related systems – including maintenance planning and execution, backlog management and deferrals processes, etc.
- Experience of integrity management systems for primary containment equipment, including pressure vessels, pipework, tanks and associated equipment including an understanding of welding and joining techniques.
Licences
Full UK driving licence required to carry out role.
Qualifications
A degree or equivalent qualification in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related subject. You will be asked to provide evidence of this should you be invited to interview.
Memberships
Membership of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (or similar), Chartered status and registration with the Engineering Council. You will be asked to provide evidence of your Chartered status and registration with the Engineering Council should you be invited to interview.
Alternatively, if you hold the necessary qualifications, skills and experience to become chartered, contact Paul.Cooper2@hse.gov.uk before submitting your application. Following this, if deemed applicable, please answer YES in your application and detail how you meet the criteria.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Making Effective Decisions
Alongside your salary of £55,063, Health and Safety Executive contributes £15,951 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 28.97%, far more than 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 your application, you will be invited to complete an anonymised CV which should include your career history, qualifications and your previous skills/experience to demonstrate how you meet the Essential Skills and Criteria of the job advert.
Please ensure you tailor your CV to match the Essential Skills and Criteria as listed within the advert.
Sift Information
The sift will take place from 15th December where you will be assessed on your CV.
Interview Information
Interviews will take place from week commencing 5th January when you will be assessed against the Behaviours detailed within the job advert along with your Experience.
IMPORTANT: Please be advised that, if successful at sift stage, you will be asked to provide evidence of your Licences, Qualifications and Memberships prior to interview.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 : Paul Cooper
- Email : paul.cooper2@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/
