DIO - Assistant of Head Health and Safety - Policy / CESO

Job description

About the Health & Safety Team

The H&S team has 21 specialists in two branches, one being the policy and assurance branch under the Chief Environmental and Safety Officer (CESO) and the second being the Regional Health and Safety Support Team (RHSST) which directly supports and assures the infrastructure delivery programmes in DIO.

The DIO CESO role is a high-profile and evolving position in a large public-sector organisation that has a safety first value and a positive safety culture. As DIO CESO you will have the opportunity to shape how DIO manages infrastructure and organisational safety, developing the Safety Management System, informing the Safety & Environment Committee, managing the organisational safety risks and leading in safety assurance reporting to the Defence Safety Authority regulator.

As DIO CESO you will be formally appointed under Defence Policy and the Management of H&S at Work Regulations to advise the Chief Executive and his senior management team in the measures required to comply with statutory and Defence Regulations and assure compliance.

You will be a safety Subject Matter Expert, confident in understanding and interpreting safety data patterns and trends, setting clear expectations and standards and working in a safety leadership capacity in a highly regulated environment.

The CESO role currently has only limited responsibility to oversee environmental management but that aspect may grow in the future subject to organisation design decisions.

The DIO CESO role is broadly divided into the following areas of work:

Stakeholder engagement: 30%

Accident/incident reporting and recording: 20%

Leadership and Management: 20%

Provision of independent assurance and verification: 15%

Provision of specialist advice: 10%

Policy Advocacy and horizon scanning: 5%

Person specification

You will be an experienced Health and Safety professional with at least some infrastructure awareness wanting to undertake a high-profile exciting CESO role in the Ministry of Defence. You will be confident in dealing with senior stakeholders and willing to explore new ideas to simplify and improve safety management practice.

Essential Experience:

• Experience leading complex professional teams in the field of Health and Safety

Desirable Experience:

• Experience in an infrastructure management organisation

Qualifications
Degree-level academic qualification in a relevant technical discipline
NEBOSH National Diploma or equivalent H&S qualification

Memberships
Member of a relevant Professional Institution/Institute

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• HS&EP Functional Competency Framework Hazards and Risks (Advanced)
• HS&EP Functional Competency Framework Inspection, Audit and Assurance (Advanced)

Benefits

Alongside your salary of 57,670, Ministry of Defence contributes 15,570 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Highly competitive Pension Scheme with an average employer contribution of 27%
• Alternative working practices such as working from home
• Opportunity to join one of our several D&I Networks. We value diversity and are committed to being an equal opportunities employer
• 25 days annual leave rising (1 day per year) to 30 days upon completion of 5 years service
• Enhanced Parental Leave
• Most sites have free car parking, Sports & Social Clubs, Gym, on site shops and subsidised canteens

To learn more about our full range of benefits, view our Candidate Information Guide attached.

Employment Hours

The post advertised is for 37 hours net, however the Ministry of Defence offers a range of flexibilities to enable a better work-life balance for employees. Flexible working, Part-time working and Job Share working patterns will be considered.

Where business needs allow, this role may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working, therefore you must consider if any of the above locations are within a reasonable travelling distance. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all office-based employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in office, subject to capacity and any required workplace adjustments. Requirements to attend other locations for official business (i.e., detached duty) or work in another MOD office, will also count towards this level of attendance. Applicants can request further information regarding how this may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details). Defence Business Services cannot respond to any questions about working arrangements.

The post does not offer relocation expenses.

External recruits who join the MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period.

Please Note: Expenses incurred for travel to interviews will not be reimbursed. Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.

Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.

Any move to MOD 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 at eligibility https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment however some exemptions are in place, please refer to local guidance. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.

MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey

We may contact you regarding your experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. You may however be given the opportunity to provide additional information to help us improve our service which includes the collection of some personal data as defined by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The MOD Privacy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.

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.

Atapplicationyou will be assessed against the following:

• CV - Full Qualifications details and Job History
• Personal Statement - Please use up to 750 words in a Personal Statement to cover your experience delivering a successful H&S policy and assurance programme in a regulated environment

At interview you will be assessed against the above PLUS the following:

Behaviours:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical Skills:

• HS&EP Functional Competency Framework Hazards and Risks (Advanced)
• HS&EP Functional Competency Framework Inspection, Audit and Assurance (Advanced)

Please provide your evidence using the STAR Technique using the attached information on how to apply.

Situation:Describe the situation you found yourself in. You must describe a specific event or situation. Be sure to give enough detail for the job holder to understand. Where are you? Who was there with you? What had happened?

Task:The recruitment panel will want to understand what you tried to achieve from the situation you found yourself in. What was the task that you had to complete and why? What did you have to achieve?

Action:What did you do? The job holder will be looking for information of what you did, how you did it and why. Keep the focus on you. What specific steps did you take and what was your contribution? Remember to include how you did it, and the behaviours you used. Try to use I rather than we to explain your actions that lead to the result. Be careful not to take credit for something that you did not do.

Result:Dont be shy about taking credit for your behaviour. Quote specific facts and figures easily understandable. What results did the actions produce? What did you achieve through your actions, and did you meet your goals? Was it a successful outcome? If not, what did you learn from the experience? Keep the situation and task parts brief.

Concentrate on the action and the result. If the result was not entirely successful describe what you learned from this and what you would do differently next time. Make sure you focus on your strengths. When providing your evidence please ensure that you avoid acronyms and company specific jargon.

Application sifting is scheduled to take place on week commencing: 08/07/24 Interviews are currently taking place remotely through a digital platform, this will be confirmed with the successful candidates who are invited to an interview and will be conducted week commencing: 22/07/24.

A minimum of 2 full working days notice will be provided for interviews. We endeavour to stick to these dates, but these are subject to change around business needs.

To assist with your application please find attached below:

• HS&EP Functional Competency Framework
• DIO Candidate Information Guide
• DIO Candidate Information Guide - Accessible Version

For help and support with your application check out our Civil Service Careers Homepage and the How to apply section

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.

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) .