Senior Policy Advisor (Band 3 / SEO)

Job summary

This role is central to ensuring that HSE is able to deliver its mission in Scotland. Based in our Engagement and Policy Division, the role sits within the small but mighty Devolution Engagement and Policy Team. The team enjoys a wide variety of work in fulfilment of its key objective: supporting HSE’s capability to regulate equally effectively across all three nations of Great Britain (GB). This includes the delivery of internal support and guidance functions, managing key devolved relationships and shaping HSE’s devolution approach.

You’ll provide internal and external Scotland-focused support, as well as contributing to our general devolution service. You will help colleagues across HSE negotiate the devolved landscape and understand how to:

• Ensure that their policies and operations are relevant to, and appropriately implemented in Scotland
• Maximise devolution related opportunities
• Engage effectively in Scotland.

This is a fascinating opportunity to help shape policy, programmes, priorities and engagement to deliver HSE’s work in Scotland.

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

You will be an integral part of HSE’s Devolution Team, working to embed a positive culture and strong knowledge base across the organisation. You will lead Scotland-focused activity, with a particular emphasis on promoting active consideration of the Scottish policy and legal context, and the priorities and responsibilities of the Scottish Government (and other relevant stakeholders) as they relate to HSE’s mission by:

• Leading HSE’s engagement with key stakeholders and partnerships to strengthen HSE’s presence in Scotland, identifying opportunities to further its strategic objectives. This includes the Partnership on Health and Safety in Scotland (PHASS), which has recently undergone a review and is entering an exciting new period, and supporting senior level staff to deliver engagement in Scotland through drafting clear and concise briefings

• Proactively building and maintaining a network of internal and external contacts, working collaboratively and inclusively to protect and enhance HSE’s role and reputation in Scotland. This will include representing HSE’s interests at stakeholder and cross-Government meetings in Scotland, in conjunction with other parts of HSE.

• Delivering and promoting an internal devolution advice and support function, particularly with respect to HSE’s activities in Scotland. This will include the maintenance and promotion of the Devolution Framework, Devolved Nations Impact Assessments, Divisional Devolution Leads Network, Devolution Bulletin, and internal resource bank.

• Contributing to the shaping of HSE’s devolution policy, with a specific emphasis on Scotland. This will also include supporting policy colleagues to actively consider Scotland within their own policy areas.

• Leading on Scotland-specific elements of the development and promotion of organisational learning and development, as well as associated resources. This will include supporting the design of annual Devolution Week events.

Person specification

You will need a flexible approach, the ability to manage a varied, dynamic workload and be comfortable working with internal and external stakeholders.

You will be able to quickly develop a broad understanding of the role, remit, context and priorities of HSE, UK Government and the Scottish Government, and understand how these intersect in order to spot potential opportunities in addition to being able to quickly develop an understanding of the policy cycle to advise and support on policy design and delivery in Scotland.

You will need to be able to work proactively and collaboratively, building mutually beneficial relationships with key external stakeholders to understand how HSE’s strategic priorities intersect with theirs.

Essential Skills and Criteria:

You will have:

• An awareness of the devolved context in Scotland and how this may apply to the work of HSE (e.g. legal, policy or political context).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to effectively present complex information in a clear and concise way for non-technical audiences and confidently negotiate and influence stakeholders to help shape outcomes;
• Confidence in working independently and proactively to drive workstreams, taking the initiative to identify and progress opportunities in alignment with wider team and organisational priorities
• Sound analytical skills to identify underlying issues and make sound, evidence-based judgements, even in cases of uncertainty
• The ability to work collaboratively across boundaries, maintaining positive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders

Behaviours

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

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Working Together

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 invited to complete:

• An anonymised CV which should include your career history, experience, and qualifications. Please ensure you tailor your CV to match the Essential Skills and Criteria as listed within the advert.
• An anonymised 750 word Personal Statement demonstrating how you meet the Essential Skills and Criteria.

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

Sift will take place from week commencing 2nd February when you will be assessed on your CV and Personal Statement.

IMPORTANT: Please be advised that the sift will be conducted on a knock-out basis. An initial sift will be conducted on your CV. Candidates who meet the standard for the CV element will be progressed to a full sift in which the Personal Statement will be scored. If you do not meet the benchmark for the CV, you will not receive a score for your Personal Statement.

Interview Information

Interviews will take place from week commencing 16th February when you will be assessed on the Behaviours advertised.

In the event of a high number of applications at interview, the Lead Behaviour 'Seeing the Big Picture' will be used to determine the outcome in a tie-break.

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 : Harriet Topping
• Email : Harriet.Topping@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)