We have an exciting opportunity for a Hazardous Material Scientist to join our growing team. This vacancy is for a scientist to join our Hazardous Materials Team in the Major Hazards Group, specifically to work in the areas of battery and explosives safety and testing. This is an excellent opportunity to use your skills to contribute to innovative work to support HSE incident investigations, and valuable HSE and industry research projects to directly improve the lives of people in their workplaces.

Recruitment of up to 12 Independent Members for the Scientific Advisory Committee on Genetic Modification

Duration:  3-year appointment

Remuneration: This is not a paid post. Members are entitled to allowances for subsistence and travel whilst on SACGM business, at rates set centrally.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is looking for experienced scientists in genetic modification activities to become members of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Genetic Modification (SACGM). SACGM has been operating since 2004 and it provides technical and scientific advice to the Competent Authorities (HSE, Defra and the devolved governments Wales and Scotland) responsible for contained use activities with genetically modified organisms. Its remit covers all aspects of the human and environmental risks of the contained use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

In particular the Committee has the following specific roles:

• to advise on the technical aspects of policy development in this field
• to provide detailed advice on risk assessments for contained use activities involving GMOs
• to develop and update guidance on all aspects of contained use of GMOs including the Compendium of Guidance

Appointments to SACGM will normally be for three years and may be extended.

Applicants should be leading academics, professionals, or researchers in an area of expertise aligned to genetic modification activities of microorganisms or organisms. We are looking for applications from candidates from various industry and work environments such as academic, industrial, clinical, government or other sectors.

We would welcome applications from the following areas of expertise which are likely to be relevant to the SACGM are listed below. However, it may be that additional areas of genetic modification expertise may be relevant to the committee and we welcome candidates to bring additional areas of expertise to our attention. We also recognise that some areas of expertise may be overlapping with other areas.

• Molecular bacteriology
• Molecular virology
• Molecular immunologist
• Molecular parasitologist
• Molecular mycologist
• Vector biology
• Synthetic biology
• Engineering biology
• Gene therapy
• Gene editing
• Plant molecular biology
• Modification and handling of highly pathogenic micro-organisms
• Modification and handling of micro-organisms for industrial applications

It is anticipated that this role requires on average 4 days participation from committee members per year. Each member will be expected to attend two or three meetings every year which are predominantly held online. Face to face meetings may be organized as the need arises. Some members may also be asked to participate in a sub group or working group on a particular topic such as guidance review if required.

How to apply

Read the SACGM-Independent-Member-Applicant-Pack for details about the role, the application criteria and the forms you need to complete.

You can also apply for this vacancy via the NewScientist and Jobs.ac.uk.

Deadline for applications: midnight, 3 October 2025.

All appointments are subject to security clearance.

Interviews will take place online via Microsoft Teams in mid-November 2025.

If you have any questions about the role or the application process, email SACGM@hse.gov.uk.

We are looking for a General Support Technician with Joinery Skills to join our Technical Support Team who are part of the Major Hazards Capability Group (MHCG) in the Science Division.

This exciting opportunity will be based at the HSE Science and Research Centre, our research laboratory and unique outdoor testing facilities, in Buxton, Derbyshire.

The MHCG has teams of scientists and engineers in areas including fire and explosions, hazardous materials, mechanical engineering, and materials science. These teams work on research relating to the safety of new technologies such as green energy and batteries, as well as investigating incidents.

The team supports the group and the wider HSE in a range of ways including building test equipment for research projects and incident investigations, and collecting and managing evidence from incident sites enabling them to deliver their research and incident investigations making this role varied and interesting.

This role will involve driving cars/vans to locations across Great Britain to collect and/or deliver evidence that may be used as part of a criminal investigation. This will require travel and overnight stays approximately 2-3 times per month.