Army - Safety, Health, Environmental and Fire Officer (SHEF)

The Ministry of Defence, Civil Service workforce is diverse, with many different functions and professions ranging from cyber and digital transformation, police officers, security guards, trainers, human resources, teachers, psychologists, storekeepers, and policy secretariat staff to support the British Army.

We are seeking a motivated individual to join our SHEF team. In this role you will be the principal Safety, Health, Environment and Fire (SHEF) advisor within the Area of Responsibility, leading SHEF governance, assurance, compliance and risk management activities on behalf of the Head of Establishment (HoE) for Safe Place, ensuring statutory and Defence policy requirements are met and providing professional advice, assurance and support to the JMC (Joint Military Command) Commander and Establishment Managers.

Whilst this post will be considered as part of a future Firm Base Transformation review, it is not expected to be impacted by the outcome of that review.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Reporting to the Head of Establishment, you will:

• Lead and manage Safety, Health, Environmental and Fire (SHEF) compliance across the Area of Responsibility, ensuring adherence to Defence and Army policy, statutory obligations and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 for Regular, Reserve and Cadet dependencies.
• Act as the principal SHEF Subject Matter Expert, providing advice, guidance and direction to the Joint Military Command Commander/Head of Establishment, Establishment Managers and affiliated units on all safety, health, environmental and fire matters.
• Develop, maintain and review the Commander’s SHEF governance framework, including the annual SHEF Statement of Intent, organisational arrangements, delivery plans, objectives and reporting requirements.
• Plan, coordinate and deliver assurance and audit activity, including Army Safety and Environmental Management System Audits (ASEMSA), inspections, assurance reviews and associated reporting to support the annual assurance process.
• Monitor, analyse and drive the resolution of SHEF risks, non-compliances and corrective actions, ensuring issues are tracked, reported, escalated where required and reduced to As Low As Reasonably Practicable (ALARP).
• Manage SHEF information, reporting and assurance systems, including reports and returns, assurance records, corrective action tracking and support for Defence SHEF management tools.
• Provide oversight of fire safety compliance and environmental assurance, including monitoring fire risk assessments, enforcement actions, remedial measures and other statutory SHEF requirements.
• Coordinate and promote SHEF capability across the area of responsibility through safety training, stakeholder engagement, governance meetings, liaison with higher headquarters and representation at internal and external forums.
• Undertake other duties appropriate to the grade and aligned to your knowledge, skills and experience, as directed by your line manager or branch head.
• Additional training maybe required that will involve time away from home.

Please note: The successful candidate may be required to undertake role-related training, such as NEBOSH or ISO 45001 Auditor qualifications, depending on their existing skills and experience. While some training can be completed remotely, certain courses may require travel and occasional overnight stays. Training is not expected to involve extended periods away from home.

NEBOSH Certificate or equivalent Health & Safety qualification.

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)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

At sift, you will be assessed against the following criteria, listed in priority order:

Experience

• Candidates will be required to provide a statement of suitability in no more than 750 words demonstrating your relevant skills and experience in line with the essential criteria.
• Candidates will be required to provide CV details to include job history; qualification details and previous skills and experience.

Behaviours

• Leadership
• Making Effective Decisions

Where a large number of applications are received, an initial sift may be conducted against the Personal Statement only. The remaining evidence submitted at the application stage will be assessed only if you are successful at this initial sift.

At interview, you will be assessed against the following criteria, listed in priority order:

Experience

• Experience-based questions will be asked at interview

Behaviours

• Communicating & Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together

Application sifting will be scheduled to take place within 7 days of the application closing date. Interview dates are to be confirmed and will be held in person. We endeavour to keep to these time frames, but these are subject to change around business needs.

Further information:

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.

There may be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all DCS candidates that meet the minimum criteria for the job. For example, in certain recruitment situations such as a high volume of applications, seasonal demand, or peak periods, the employer may wish to limit the overall number of interviews offered to both DCS and non-DCS applicants.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category, and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system.

Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.