Chemistry Team Leader

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. The UK having left the EU offers an exciting opportunity to develop and shape our chemicals regulatory schemes for the future.

To help us meet these challenges, we require a scientific team leader to lead our Chemistry team.

To lead a Scientific team, securing external input where required, to meet Chemicals Regulation Divisions regulatory and scientific commitments relating to the evaluation of the chemistry (physical and chemical properties and analytical methods) of substances used in pesticides and biocides.

There will be the expectation that the post holder will also personally contribute to evaluation work, including undertaking quality assurance for chemistry evaluations. The post holder will also be expected to participate in national and international meetings, conferences, and events. At the national level there will be liaison with industry stakeholders and with colleagues from within CRD and other government departments.

The post will require regular travel between the two offices in Bootle and York and there may be some international travel.

This is a Scientific Team Leader role, available with the option for flexible working arrangements.

HSE has adopted hybrid working which allows us all to work both in the office and at home and we will provide you with the necessary equipment to support you when working from home. However, please note that this post is an office-based role; it is not a remote location-based or home worker post. As such, the successful candidate will need to be in a position to attend their local office from the appointment date onwards. The majority of the staff in the team are based in Bootle and York, and, if this is not the local office, regular travel to the Bootle or York office will be required as well as occasional travel (with overnight stays) to elsewhere in the UK and internationally. The successful candidate will also be expected to undertake some office-based face-to-face training upon joining HSE.

Please note: part-time working is available for this role, however the minimum amount of hours we could accommodate is 30 hours per week across 4 days.

The successful candidate will have:

• Extensive post-graduate (or equivalent) experience working in a regulatory or other setting, performing evaluations on the chemistry or residues/consumer risk aspects of substances, demonstrating both your scientific skills and your ability to apply them.
• Knowledge and experience of chemicals legislation and experience of working in a regulatory environment
• Significant experience of leading teams, supporting wellbeing, recognising achievement and managing performance.
• Strong organisational and planning skills, taking responsibility for planning, allocating resource, monitoring and delivering team outcomes to time and to required standards
• The ability to work collaboratively as part of a multi-disciplinary team, maintaining positive working relationships with stakeholders
• Initiative and be decisive, making sound decisions based on evidence
• Strong communication skills with the ability to negotiate and influence
• A commitment to a continuous learning culture, for themselves and their team

 

Responsibilities 

In your role you will be responsible for the following areas:

• To jointly lead a large team of scientists undertaking desk-based assessments of chemistry and chemical residues data.
• Specifically, lead all aspects of the team’s technical expertise in chemistry and their input to science-based regulatory assessments and evaluation, the implementation of new scientific methods and emerging areas.
• Lead and manage the team, inspiring people and developing their capabilities as well as driving a culture of teamwork, high performance and continuous improvement. Including direct line management for up to 8 x Band 3 (SEO) Scientists.
• Work closely with CRD’s other Science Team Leaders, to ensure that business planning, task allocation and resource deployment is cohesive.
• Set the culture of the team, for example by maintaining a can-do attitude and healthy and productive working relationships with others within CRD and beyond.
• Identify, through liaison with others, the work demands of the team; plan and organise the distribution of the work to secure its delivery.
• Maintain oversight of the team’s work, monitor team’s performance and output using the appropriate tools, setting clear expectations for quality and timeliness and ensuring that these are adhered to by the team.
• Secure regulatory assurance for the work of the team, including effective internal peer review and liaison with other government departments, so that science-based assessments and decisions are robust and accurate.

Minimum of a 2:2 degree or equivalent in an appropriate scientific subject or relevant/equivalent regulatory experience