Health and Safety Executive
Chief Technology Officer
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Chief Technology Officer
This role can be based in the following HSE locations: Birmingham, Bootle, Cardiff, Edinburgh or York.
Regular travel is involved in our locations, particularly to Bootle and Birmingham. There may also be travel across the UK (including overnight stays).
Job Summary
The Chief Technology Officer provides authoritative, strategic leadership for technology across the Health and Safety Executive, exercising strong judgement to ensure digital and technology services are secure, resilient, compliant and fit for a modern, science‑led regulator.
The role enables HSE to protect people and places from work related harm by ensuring technology underpins effective regulation and enforcement, scientific capability, and robust, evidence‑based decision making.
Job Description
Key Responsibilities:
Technology Strategy and Alignment to HSE’s Mission
- Own and evolve HSE’s enterprise technology strategy, ensuring technology investment directly enables effective regulation, inspection, enforcement, scientific and laboratory services, and evidence-based decision making.
- Ensure alignment with HSE strategy, Government Digital and Data standards providing clear strategic direction on priorities and tradeoffs.
Enterprise Architecture, Platforms and Technical Standards
- Act as the senior technical authority, establishing and enforcing enterprise architecture principles and technology standards, while providing assurance on legacy risk, technical debt and service resilience.
- Ensure effective and reliable business‑as‑usual technology services and shape a clear digital technology roadmap that supports future organisational needs.
- Ensure coherence and interoperability across regulatory, enforcement, scientific and data platforms and external systems.
Cyber Security, Resilience and Technology Risk
- Be accountable for HSE’s technology resilience, availability, and overall technology risk posture, working closely with cyber and security and information management and governance leadership.
- Ensure secure handling of sensitive enforcement, legal, evidential, and scientific data, and that disaster recovery, business continuity, and incident response arrangements are robust, tested, and continuously improved.
Governance, Assurance and Compliance
- Establish and operate effective technology governance and assurance frameworks, including architectural review boards and technical design authorities.
- Provide clear assurance to the Executive Committee and Audit and Risk Committee, ensuring compliance with the Government Service Standard, Technology Code of Practice, data protection legislation, and broader public‑sector assurance requirements.
Major Programmes and Investment Oversight
- Provide senior technical oversight and challenge for major technology investments, including system replacements, cloud and hosting services, and data and analytics platforms.
- Review business cases for feasibility, sustainability, risk, and long‑term maintainability, ensuring technology investments deliver value for money and are supportable over time.
Supplier, Commercial and Partner Management
- Shape and oversee HSE’s technology supplier strategy, ensuring effective management of strategic IT suppliers and specialist technical vendors.
- Reduce vendor lock‑in and technical dependency, and ensure contracts support security, scalability, resilience, and effective knowledge transfer.
Workforce, Capability and Culture
- Define the future technology capability model for HSE, ensuring the right balance of in‑house expertise and external provision.
- Support the development of senior technology and digital professionals, embedding a culture of professional discipline, risk awareness, resilience, and continuous improvement.
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Senior Stakeholder Engagement and Influence
- Provide authoritative advice to the HSE stakeholders on technology risk, assurance, and strategic choices.
- Engage confidently with central government, sponsor departments, and other regulators, explaining complex technical issues in clear, non‑technical terms grounded in safety, evidence, and public trust.
- Represent HSE externally as required on technology matters.
Person specification
Essential Criteria To Address In Your Statement Of Suitability
Leadership and Strategy
- Proven senior leadership experience in shaping and owning a digital and technology portfolio within the UK Civil Service or wider public sector, with the ability to work collaboratively to rapidly understand organisational priorities and influence digital and technology services.
- Applies strong judgement and evidence‑based decision‑making to galvanise teams, suppliers and stakeholders, leading delivery with calm authority, collaboration and a commitment to public value and accountability.
Technical Expertise
- Proven enterprise‑scale technology expertise, with experience shaping future roadmaps and technology provision through robust strategy, architecture and technical assurance, supported by relevant professional qualifications or equivalent experience.
People and Communication
- Proven ability to lead and develop multidisciplinary teams, building future‑ready capability and an inclusive, high‑performing culture.
Delivery and Decision Making
- Demonstrated ability to deliver modern and transformed technology services at scale, taking an evidence-based approach, navigating public‑sector governance, dependencies and risk to set realistic and impactful delivery plans.
Commercial and Financial
- Advanced understanding of public sector procurement, demonstrating commercial and financial acumen, through managing major technology investments and suppliers, and galvanising sector expertise to unlock value.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Leadership
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Making Effective Decisions
- Changing and Improving
Salary and Benefits
Alongside your salary of £86,000, Health and Safety Executive contributes £24,914 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).
- 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%
Application Process
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.
The closing date for receipt of applications are 23:55 3rd August 2026
To apply you will need to complete the online application process via Civil Service Jobs
- Complete your comprehensive CV online via Civil Service Jobs (CS Jobs). This should concisely cover your career history, current substantive pay band (if in civil service)/ latest remuneration and provide details of associated responsibilities, your main achievements and qualifications.
- A supporting statement. This should set out why you are interested in the post, and how your experience matches the essential criteria of the person specification. Complete this within the statement of suitability section of your application form within CS Jobs (this should be no longer than 1250 words).
- A completed equal opportunities form (Annex B) attached in your CS Jobs application. Your information will be treated as confidential and used for statistical purposes. It will not be treated as part of your application or disclosed to anyone involved in assessing your application. If you do not wish to declare any particular characteristics you can choose ‘prefer not to say’.
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If you encounter any problems please email hr.resourcing-team@hse.gov.uk
Any dates you might have difficulty with as shown in the indicative timetable below please email scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you have any questions or wish to have an informal discussion please contact
scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Personal data
In line with GDPR, we ask that you do NOT send us any information that can identify children or any of your Sensitive Personal Data (racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, data concerning health or sex life and sexual orientation, genetic and / or biometric data) in your CV and application documentation. Following this notice, any inclusion of your Sensitive Personal Data in your CV/application documentation will be understood by us as your express consent to process this information going forward. Please also remember not to give anyone’s information or details (e.g. referees) who have not previously agreed to their inclusion.
Shortlist
The panel will assess your application to select those demonstrating the best fit with the role by considering the evidence you have provided against the criteria set out in the person specification section. If you do not address any or all of the criteria it may affect your application.
You will be advised of the outcome as soon as possible after the dates indicated in the timeline.
Assessment
Assessment is a two-way process. If you are shortlisted, you will be asked to take part in a series of assessments, which will include psychometric tests. These assessments will not result in a pass or fail decision. Rather, they are designed to support the panel’s decision making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview.
You will be offered the opportunity to have an informal conversation with Ranuka Jagpal prior to the final interview. Full details of the assessment process will be made available to shortlisted candidates.
Final Interview
In addition to Ranuka Jagpal, the panel will also consist of:
- Dan Ellis
- Sian–Nia Davies
You will be asked to attend a panel interview in order to have a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the criteria set out in the Person Specification.
Candidates may also be asked to make a presentation to the panel based on a scenario topic.
Full details of the assessment and interview process will be provided to shortlisted candidates.
Interviews will be held in Bootle.
Offer
Regardless of the outcome, we will notify all candidates as soon as possible after the final interview We will send you a copy of any report for any assessment that you may have undergone as part
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