Chief Technology Officer

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.

The post holder is accountable for shaping and delivering HSE’s technology strategy, overseeing digital and IT platforms, and providing clear assurance on cyber and information security. Acting as the senior technical authority, the CTO leads enterprise architecture, technology risk management and governance, making proportionate, well evidenced decisions in complex and highly scrutinised environments. The role also shapes the CTO function and provides confident oversight of technology investment, ensuring public value, legality, resilience and long-term sustainability., 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.

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., 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 of the process (where applicable).

Indicative Timeline

Advert Closing Date: 23:55 Monday 3rd August 2026 Shortlist Meeting: W/C 17th August 2026 Individual Leadership Assessment: W/C 24th August 2026 Staff Engagement Exercise: W/C 31st August 2026 Panel Interviews: W/C 7th and/or 14th September. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

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 .

See our vetting charter . People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks., * 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)
• 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

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., * Leadership
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Changing and Improving

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 .

• 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%