Senior Regulatory Toxicologists (CRD Band 3/SEO)
Health and Safety Executive
Apply before Midday on Monday 13th May 2024
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About the job
Job summary
The Civil Service embraces equality, diversity, and inclusion. At HSE, your personal qualities are as important as your professional experience. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and all walks of life. Our approach is to recruit “on merit on the basis of fair and open competition”, in line with the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. As such, our thorough selection process ensures that you and every other candidate receive equal and fair treatment.
This is an exciting time to join Chemicals Regulations Division (CRD) with opportunities to develop and shape our regulatory schemes for the future. Our primary role is to deliver regulatory schemes intended to protect the health of people and the environment, balancing the economic and social benefits that chemicals offer to society and helping to ensure the safe and sustainable use of chemicals. We also have a role through guidance, partnership working and leadership to raise awareness and promote behaviour change to help improve the control of hazardous substances in the workplace.
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 across 4-5 days (5 days preferable).
Job description
You will be part of a team that is delivering HSE’s objectives. The UK having left the EU offers an exciting opportunity to develop and shape our regulatory schemes for the future. With a world-class reputation for safeguarding the health and safety of people at work, HSE is adapting and evolving to meet the new challenges ahead.
To help us meet these challenges, we are excited to welcome three ambitious Senior Regulatory Toxicologists to our teams. We have two posts available in all office locations listed, and one position available in any office location listed outside of London.
From the start, toxicologists will apply expert knowledge and experience to assess the human health hazards and risks of a variety of chemicals, including pesticide and biocide active substances and their formulations, and general chemicals regulated under UK REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals). These evaluations are performed to support substance approval and product authorisation under the GB PPPR (Plant Protection Products Regulation) and GB BPR (Biocidal Products Regulation). They are also undertaken to support hazard classification under the GB CLP (Classification, Labelling and Packaging) Regulation and chemical risk assessment for the purposes of evaluation, restriction and authorisation under UK REACH.
As a senior toxicologist, you will independently evaluate data from standard regulatory studies (including animal data), non-standard studies, in vitro studies, computational approaches and also mechanistic and literature information. You will explain your expert assessments and key decisions in detailed written reports and verbally within HSE and externally, to independent scientists, other government departments and relevant stakeholders. You will also work effectively in multi-disciplinary teams and provide advice on a wide range of toxicological issues to specialist and policy colleagues and wider stakeholders.
You will mentor, support and contribute to the development of less experienced members of the team, provide peer review of work and lead on specific technical aspects. There will be opportunities for you to lead for HSE on national and global activities, to ensure we keep pace with new and emerging issues in regulatory toxicology and take a leading role in new developments, such as new approach methodologies (NAMs) or non-animal techniques to hazard and risk assessment and their regulatory uptake.
You may also have opportunities to provide training at external commercial events organised by CRD.
Responsibilities:
You will:
- Be one of our Senior Regulatory Toxicologists, with a vital role in delivering our business plans, providing timely, expert toxicological input whilst working within multi-disciplinary project teams.
- Understand and apply the relevant regulations, guidance and models in relation to complex and challenging situations to make important decisions on the hazard and risk assessment of chemicals.
- Communicate these assessments in written reports and verbally to various audiences, presenting clear and defensible conclusions.
- Work flexibly to support the approval/authorisation of biocides and pesticides and/or delivery of our commitments as the regulator in the REACH and CLP frameworks.
- Support team colleagues and peer review the work of others, ensuring assessments meet quality criteria and helping to build capability as well as contribute to work planning and manage delivery to quality, time and cost.
- Provide advice, guidance and potentially deliver training to internal and external stakeholders on various aspects of the regulations and a wide range of toxicological issues.
- Represent HSE, including presentation of your conclusions to a variety of internal and external stakeholders, e.g., expert groups and other government departments.
- Lead key projects and/or work areas, monitoring and reporting on progress and delivery of projects to deadline and legislative targets.
You may also have line management responsibilities.
Please note: this is not an exhaustive list and there may be other tasks/responsibilities that will be required as part of these roles.
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.
Please note, however, that these posts are office-based roles and are not being considered as fully-remote located or home-worker positions. As such, successful candidates will need to be in a position to attend their chosen HSE office from the appointment date onwards and will be required regularly to attend this or another HSE office to work with colleagues, potentially occasionally at short notice. Successful candidates will also be expected to undertake some face-to-face training upon joining HSE and this will be office-based.
Person specification
Essential experience and skills’ requirements
- Extensive experience of undertaking human-health hazard and risk assessment of chemicals, including the evaluation of complex, contradictory and/or incomplete datasets - This experience will include the collation and evaluation of data on a range of toxicological effects from various sources, including standard and non-standard animal studies, in vitro studies, mechanistic and literature information to conclude on the toxicological properties of chemicals.
- Technical credibility and experience of leading teams and/or projects, developing your own and others’ toxicology knowledge, experience and awareness, applying this to assessments.
- Initiative and decisiveness, supporting your ability to make effective decisions, while being open to challenge and involving others.
- Comprehensive analytical skills with the ability to explain complex technical information in a clear, concise and timely way.
- Excellent communication skills, enabling you to collaborate effectively and engagingly with others.
- Experience in building and maintaining strong, positive working relationships both internally and externally as well as experience of performing representational roles in relation to toxicology.
- Outstanding organisational skills in managing a varied workload to demanding deadlines and delivering to time, cost and quality criteria.
Qualifications
Biochemistry
Biological Sciences
Biomedical Sciences
Chemistry
Pharmacology
Pharmacy
Toxicology
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Leadership
- Making Effective Decisions
- Working Together
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Experience of leading on relevant toxicology technical issues, including mentoring and supporting colleagues, and sustaining team technical capability where appropriate.
- Experience in a regulatory or scientific area relevant to the role of toxicologist and knowledge and experience of the human health hazard and risk assessment of plant protection products, biocides, and/or general chemicals.
- Your range of Toxicology knowledge.
- Assessment of Toxicological information in a regulatory context.
We only ask for evidence of these technical skills on your application form:
- Experience of leading on relevant toxicology technical issues, including mentoring and supporting colleagues, and sustaining team technical capability where appropriate.
- Experience in a regulatory or scientific area relevant to the role of toxicologist and knowledge and experience of the human health hazard and risk assessment of plant protection products, biocides, and/or general chemicals.
Benefits
- 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 27.1%, 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.
This post is eligible for Excess Fares Allowance. A successful internal candidate currently based at another office may be entitled to Excess Fares Allowance in line with HSE policy (http://intranet/finance/expenses/excess-fares-allowance-policy.htm)
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Application Information
In your application you will provide evidence of your toxicology experience and of your technical skills and knowledge.
To demonstrate your experience, you will complete
- A CV that details your employment history, key responsibilities, contributions and achievements, and membership of any professional bodies or societies
- A statement of suitability (up to 500 words) that provides additional evidence to explain how you meet the essential experience and skills’ requirements of the roles.
You will also be required to provide evidence of up to 250 words each for the technical skills listed within this advert.
Application Guidance
Please access the following link for guidance on how to apply and how to complete a Statement of Suitability https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/how-to-apply/
Sift Information
The sift will take place week commencing 13th May 2024.
We will use your CV and statement of suitability to assess how your toxicology experience and skills meet the essential experience and skills' requirements of the roles. Your CV and statement of suitability will be assessed as one score; it is important to provide full details in both these parts of the application.
We will assess your technical skills and knowledge against the two technical areas listed within this advert. These will be scored separately; therefore, it is important to fully answer each part.
Interview Information
The interviews are scheduled for week commencing 28th May 2024 and/or 3rd June 2024 via MS Teams.
At interview, you will be assessed against the three behaviours listed in the advert. Additionally, you will be asked about the breadth of your toxicology knowledge and your ability to assess toxicological information in a regulatory context.
Please note that dependent on numbers of applications received these dates could be subject to change.
Further Information
A reserve list may be held for a period of up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made.
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.
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.
Additional Information
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 document.
Any move across the Civil Service on or after 4 October 2018 may have implications on an employee’s ability to carry on claiming childcare vouchers.
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
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
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Working for the Civil Service
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).
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Andrew Smith
- Email : andrew.smith@hse.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : HR.Resourcing-Team@hse.gov.uk
Further information
