Governance Lead (Band 3/SEO)

Job summary

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has established the new Building Safety Regulator (BSR) to ensure high-risk residential buildings (HRBs) are safe and to enable people to feel safe in their homes.

BSR will oversee changes to the safety and performance of all buildings and raise industry professional standards year after year, working with residents and industry to make sure everybody has a voice in achieving this goal. BSR will serve as a lasting tribute to those who have lost their lives due to poor and substandard buildings and will help ensure tragedies of such proportions as Grenfell are consigned to the past.

This is an exciting time to join BSR, and as part of this team you will be responsible for shaping an internal culture of high performance and continuous improvement and bringing about cultural change in building safety in your community and in the future.

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 over 4 days per week.

Job description

The government announced on 30 June 2025 that the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is to become an Arms 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 it’s 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

• As governance lead, oversee and support the management of information governance, information security and data protection frameworks
• Lead processes to ensure compliance with subject access requests, including Freedom of Information (FoI) and Environmental Information Regulations (EIR)
• Manage and quality assure corporate audit and compliance activity, preparing reports and metrics for senior management and relevant stakeholders identifying areas of strength, weakness, improvements and lessons learnt
• Provide senior level assurance and logistical support to Letter of Assurance activity
• Maintain and quality assure relevant governance policies and documentation, including corporate risk registers
• Promote a culture of compliance, integrity, and ethical behaviour across the organisation.
• Manage relationships with national regulatory, audit and inspection bodies
• Deliver training and awareness initiatives across the organisation
• Lead and manage junior personnel
• Deputising for the Head of Governance & Compliance where necessary

Person specification

Essential Skills & Criteria

• Strong leadership and team management skills with a proven ability to work with a range of stakeholders and build effective working relationships both inside and outside of the organisation
• Knowledge and experience of creating, implementing and iterating organisational compliance and governance procedures to effectively assess and manage corporate risks.
• Ability to audit, critically evaluate and analyse information to assess compliance with governance frameworks and where necessary, make evidence-based recommendations and deliver continuous improvement
• Knowledge of GDPR, FOI/EIR and corporate governance arrangements and /or willingness to undertake relevant training to support such activities
• Ability to communicate clearly in writing and orally with diverse internal and external audiences
• Excellent IT skills and experience of using Microsoft Office products desirable

Travel

Occasional travel for team meetings to HSE locations, including overnight stays

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Changing and Improving
• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Making Effective Decisions

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £47,686, Health and Safety Executive contributes £13,814 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 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.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

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 (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

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 asked to complete an anonymised Personal Statement, of no more than 500 words which demonstrates how you meet the essential skills and criteria listed within the person specification.

You are also required to write an example of no more than 250 words on the lead Behaviour which is 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 week commencing 2nd March 2026 where you will be assessed on your Personal Statement and Making Effective Decision behaviour.

Interview Information

Interviews will take place from week commencing 16th March 2026 where you will be assessed against the behaviours detailed within the job advert as well as your experience.

Please note the sift and interview dates could be subject to change due to panel availability.

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.

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.

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 theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

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 : Austin.fuller@hse.gov.uk
• Email : Austin.fuller@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/civilservicecode…

Attachments

HSE Terms and Conditions - CSJ Advert Annex Opens in new window (pdf, 116kB)