Environmental Health Advisor

Do you want to work on one of the most exciting transformation projects in the public sector?

The Defence Housing Service (DHS) is being created through the Armed Forces Bill to deliver a step-change in housing for the UK’s Armed Forces and their families following the publication of the Defence Housing Strategy on 3 November 2025, which marked the most significant change to Armed Forces housing in over 50 years. DHS will bring a dedicated focus to improving the homes, communities and lived experience of Service personnel, placing families firmly at the heart of everything it does.

This is one of the most ambitious housing transformation programmes in the UK today. Backed by a £9.2 billion investment, DHS will modernise tens of thousands of homes, introduce a more proactive and customer-focused approach to maintenance, and unlock new opportunities to develop housing on Defence land. DHS will have the focus and agility to deliver change at pace, combining public service values with greater flexibility to build the skills, systems and partnerships needed for the future.

This is a rare opportunity to be part of shaping its culture, influencing how it works, and helping deliver lasting improvements for Service families across the UK.

The Defence Housing team is currently part of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), who respond to the evolving needs of our military personnel, and the ways in which they live, work, train and deploy. We are proud to be the expert partner Defence needs for all their infrastructure requirements. From large scale infrastructure projects such as runways for the F35 fighter jets to net carbon-zero accommodation for our Service families, our activities focus relentlessly on our customers, and our outputs are unique in the UK and across the globe! DIO , What we deliver every day.

The future delivery model for this team is currently under review and may change as part of potential organisational developments. This could include the team or function transferring to a different employer or organisational structure in the future. Should activities transfer out of the Ministry of Defence existing employees transferring with those activities will maintain the same or substantially the same terms and conditions of employment.

As an Environmental Health Advisor, you can choose to be based at any of the locations listed at the start of the advert. You will provide expert guidance and support to ensure safe, healthy, and compliant delivery of housing and DHS accommodation services. Working closely with colleagues across DHS and our Industry Partners, the role is central to maintaining high standards of health and safety in both our properties and day-to-day operations, while also supporting the wellbeing of DHS employees.

You will offer advice on a range of environmental health risks, including damp and mould, legionella, lead, radon, and asbestos. As a subject matter expert, you will develop and review environmental health standards, ensuring they reflect current legislation and industry best practice. You will also support the implementation of the DHS safety management system and help embed the principles set out in the DHS health and safety policy and strategy.

Working as part of a small national team of safety specialists, you will play a key role in promoting a positive health and safety culture, identifying and monitoring risks, and driving continuous improvement across DHS. As this is a national role, travel and flexibility are essential to respond to incidents, complaints, and business needs, helping DHS meet its legal obligations and protect Service families.

What you'll be doing

• Providing competent environmental health advice in relation to hazards and compliance, providing day-to-day Environmental Health (EH) advice to managers, staff, suppliers, and contractors.
• Conducting scheduled and ad hoc inspections, audits, and site visits across housing estates, including void properties, maintenance activities, and refurbishment works.
• Producing reports and escalating non-compliance or areas of concern.
• Assisting with supplier performance monitoring through evidence gathering and contractor reviews.
• Supporting effective investigation of EH related complaints and incidents, ensuring root cause analysis is undertaken in line with DHS standards and good practice.
• Undertaking as necessary EH assessments in line with DHS standards, Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) legislation and good practice.
• Assisting with the identification and management of EH risks, including housing hazards (e.g. damp and mould, legionella, asbestos etc).
• Maintaining accurate records of inspections, audits, incidents, and corrective actions.
• Contributing to performance reporting and trend analysis for senior leaders and assurance Committees.
• Provide data and updates for dashboards and senior leaders.
• Working closely with DHS Delivery teams, industry partners, estates staff, and other internal and external stakeholders to support safe and healthy living standards.
• Supporting the relationship with external bodies (e.g. local authorities, UKHSA) during audits or regulatory visits.
• Delivering and supporting the delivery of EH briefings, toolbox talks, and internal awareness campaigns.
• Carrying out EH specific training to DHS staff as needed.

Environmental Health Level 4 or higher 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, Experience and Technical skills.

Your application will go through the following stages of assessment:

At sift stage, applicants will be required to provide:

• A CV in the Job History section, ensuring it clearly demonstrates how you meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification. We encourage you to use specific evidence from your experience to illustrate your suitability for the role.
• A personal statement (no more than 500 words) providing specific examples of how you meet the top two most critical criteria for the role. Further guidance is given within the Personal Statement section of the application.

Applications will be assessed against the essential criteria, with each criterion scored on a scale of 1 to 7. An overall score will then be calculated using the average of all criterion scores. To progress beyond the sift stage, applicants must achieve a minimum score of 4 on every essential criterion. This means that even if your overall average score is 4 or higher, you will not progress if you score below 4 on any individual essential criterion.

Please note that, in the event of a high volume of applications, the selection panel reserves the right to increase the overall pass mark.

At interview, you will be assessed against the following behaviours and technical skills

• Behaviour 1: Communicating and Influencing
• Behaviour 2: Working together
• Behaviour 3: Making effective decisions
• Behaviour 4: Delivering at pace
• Technical Skill 1: Incident reporting and investigations
• Technical Skill 2: Inspection, audit, and assurance

Link to the Technical Framework

20240216---S-E-Functional-Competency-Framework-V2--1-.pdf

In the event of a tie at interview, candidates will be ranked according to their scores in the assessed behaviours/technical, in the order listed below.

• Behaviour 1: Communicating and Influencing
• Behaviour 2: Working together
• Technical Skill 1: Incident reporting and investigations

If invited to interview, it will be conducted in-person at St. George's House, DMS Whittington, Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS14 9PY.

We will try and offer as much flexibility as we can, but it may not be possible to offer alternative dates or locations for interviews.

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