Description

Location

East Midlands (England), East of England, London (region), North East England, North West England, South East England, South West England, Wales, West Midlands (England), Yorkshire and the Humber

About the job

Job summary

The Inspectorate is seeking a Principal Inspector to support the Senior Management Team (SMT) in the delivery of the Drinking Water Inspectorate's vision and strategic objectives.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate is the independent regulator of drinking water quality in England and Wales. Established by Parliament in 1990, the strategic objective is to protect public health and maintain public confidence by securing safe and clean drinking water, now and for future generations.

The powers and duties under which the Inspectorate operates are established in legislation and are wide-ranging, covering all aspects of the quality and sufficiency of water together with duties in regard of network and information systems of public water supplies as delegated by the Secretary of State and Welsh ministers. Statutory duties in relation to private supplies for the provision of technical advice to local authorities and the authority of appeal are provided on behalf of the Secretary of State and Welsh ministers.

The Inspectorate produces its own independent reports for ministers in both England and Wales; reporting on the operational performance of the water companies that it regulates in both countries, and on the performance of local authorities in their duties with respect to private water supplies. These cover assessment of the results of monitoring of drinking water supplied by the water companies’ month by month; investigation of notified events; and site visits and meetings with companies to audit technical operating practices, procedures and policies for compliance with regulation and enforcement notices. In addition to the statutory function, further non-statutory functions are provided, including an evidence programme; consumer and media advice on information about drinking water safety and regulation as well as the running of an independent website.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate recovers its costs from the industry which it regulates, but operates as a business unit within Defra’s Floods and Water Directorate. The Directorate has formal responsibility for sponsoring the Inspectorate in Defra. 
Job description
Each Principal Inspector leads a team of Inspectors, data and support staff with strong academic, technical, scientific, engineering and practical backgrounds in the water and allied industries. The Inspectorate’s technical and support staff includes experts in network and information systems, data management, information and knowledge management and business administration (including HR, recruitment and finance).

Each of the teams are involved in the delivery of one or more of the Inspectorate’s drinking water regulatory processes including: water quality event investigation, drinking water quality compliance assessment, risk based technical audit, the approval of products and processes, the improvement of public and private supplies, fit for purpose regulations and drinking water standards and public reporting .

As a Principal Inspector you will need to demonstrate leadership skills with managerial experience and an excellent track record in the execution of the technical tasks carried out by Inspectors. In addition to being responsible for the performance of your own team, Principal Inspectors are collectively responsible for the development of staff and the effective prioritisation and allocation of resources to deliver the Inspectorate’s strategic objectives.

Principal Inspectors work under the direction of a Deputy Chief Inspector, however, there is a high degree of autonomy of decision making within the context of the Inspectorate’s policies and procedures. Principal Inspectors are responsible for managing the relationship between the Inspectorate and one or more stakeholder at national level and for communicating the policies and decisions of the Inspectorate. As ambassadors of the Inspectorate, Principal Inspectors are expected to identify and deliver change through the use of project management so as to maintain the credibility of the regulatory regime and ensure that the Inspectorate remains a leading proponent of better regulation.

The work requires a proven level of expertise in all aspects of drinking water supply and the provision of sound advice. The post holder must be able to work collaboratively, be inclusive and be able to work within the context of the respective Government policies.

Person specification

Responsibilities:

To be responsible together with the Management Team to deliver the operations of the Inspectorate. 

 These include:  

Operational delivery on a national or area basis dependent upon assigned responsibilities;  
Delivery of overall business and strategic objectives set by SMT;     
Staff management including work allocation, rotation, training, performance and welfare;  
Engagement with the regulated industry, Local Authorities and other key participants when delivering your objectives;     
On-site liaison, audits and inspections as part of your team;  
Enforcement activities as part of your role;    
Support the Senior Management Team in the operational delivery of the Inspectorate’s strategy;              
Responsibility for performance reporting to the SMT.       
 More generally you will be expected to:               

Establish and maintain effective and appropriate professional relationships with internal and external stakeholders;  
Manage resources efficiently and effectively, constantly seeking improved methods of working, ensuring that any new or amended processes are formally captured and disseminated throughout the Inspectorate;
Contribute to the style, direction and reputation of the Inspectorate including the production of the Chief Inspector’s reports covering England and Wales;    
Contribution to the provision of information for the general public through an enquiry and complaint handling service and a website as part of a policy of openness and transparency;  
Familiarisation with statutory water quality regulation and how the law may be interpreted and enforcement applied;  
Understanding of internal IT systems and development and innovation of emerging technologies;  
Knowledge and interpretation of data collated by the Inspectorate;  
Understand and support the Inspectorate’s cost recovery process;  
Familiarity and compliance with Defra procedures with regard staff management, finance and procurement.
Licenses:

As travelling is an integral part of the job, often to areas not served by public transport, you should have a valid driving licence.

 Qualifications:

The post holder will be expected to have an honour’s degree or equivalent qualification in microbiology, chemistry, engineering or environmental science; supported by postgraduate experience in the water industry.

 Memberships:

You should have attained, be working towards or willing to work towards chartership of their professional body.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Managing a Quality Service
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions
• Changing and Improving
• We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

Leadership

Managing a Quality Service

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £56,375, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £16,331 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
A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
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, Strengths and Experience.
Application Process

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete:

A name-blind (anonymous) CV with details of your full job history, experience and qualifications.
2 x Behaviour Statements (250 word max).
Personal Statement. Please use the Personal Statement (750 word max) to set out your reasons for applying for the role of a Principal Inspector. Please detail your experience and explain how your current skills are transferrable.
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

 Sift

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the CV. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

 Interview

If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on behaviours, strengths and a written exercise. The written exercise needs no prior preparation and is used to measure an applicant's experience in the water industry.

A presentation or additional exercise may also be assessed. 

Interviews will be held in person in London.

Security Check (SC) is a requirement for this role.Please note you must have resided in the UK for the last five years to be eligible for SC clearance.

Location

As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s)

Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

Successful applicants currently employed by the hiring Defra organisation for this post may choose to remain in their current contractual location or may choose to change contractual location to one of those listed above. This should be discussed and agreed prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.

Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.

The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.

Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.

Salary

New entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to Defra 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; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. 

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: 

Contact Government Recruitment Service via defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. 

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Visa Sponsorship Statement

Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship.

Criminal Record Check

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out. 

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading. 

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. 

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security 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 the Civil 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.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
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 :Business Performance Unit - Drinking Water Inspectorate
Email : dwi.enquiries@defra.gov.uk
Telephone :0330 041 6501

Recruitment team
Email :defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: here